AIPAC congratulates President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as they take office. We look forward to working together with the new administration and the 117th Congress to strengthen and expand the U.S.-Israel relationship.
A Partnership That Benefits Us: Addressing 21st Century Challenges
Israel is a global leader in providing innovative solutions to the environmental challenges of tomorrow.
This week, Israel's Minister of Environmental Protection Gila Gamliel released a video welcoming President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. She highlighted the shared commitment to a cleaner, more green planet.
The Jewish state is our partner in pioneering cutting-edge technologies that address water scarcity, climate change and renewable energy.
Congress invested $6 million for the year ahead to strengthen U.S.-Israel cooperation in energy, water, agriculture and alternative fuel technologies.
In an opinion piece, Michael Oren, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, and Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, analyze the strengths and flaws of the 2015 nuclear deal, and what the path to a future deal could look like.
While the 2015 deal was intended to ensure Iran could not quickly produce a nuclear-capable weapon, Oren and Klein Halevi believe the agreement "didn’t diminish the Iranian nuclear threat; it magnified it. … The JCPOA was supposed to provide Iran with the time and the incentive to moderate; instead, it gave Iran the means and the legitimacy to intensify its aggression now, while enabling it to go nuclear later."
They call on President Biden to resist an unconditional return to the JCPOA. "The JCPOA allowed Iran to both maintain its nuclear program and revitalize its economy. Biden must make clear to Tehran that it can have one or the other, but not both."
But what does a new deal entail and how do we get there?
"America must consult its Middle East allies about what they think a better deal would look like. … A better deal will deny Iran the ability to commit the violations it is now committing with impunity," they say.
Top Biden Aides: Return To Iran Deal Will Take Time
Biden administration nominees made clear on Tuesday that there will be no quick and sudden return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
Both Director of National Intelligence nominee Avril Haines and Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken said that the Biden administration was "a long way" away from rejoining the agreement.
Both officials expressed vehement and unqualified opposition to Iran getting a nuclear bomb—and both cited a need to reign in Iran's ballistic missile program and its destabilizing of the Middle East.
The Iranian regime recently convicted an American citizen on spying charges.
In November, Emad Shargi was convicted without a trial and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Including Shargi, there are now 4 Americans illegally held hostage in Iran.
The United States and all civilized nations must continue to condemn Iran's human rights abuses and stand with the Iranian people opposed to the brutal theocratic regime.
Direct Flights to Begin Between Israel and Morocco
America's Chevron Corp. and other companies helping to develop Israel’s natural gas fields will invest around $235 million in pipelines to export the fuel to Egypt.
"The fact that we are paying most of the costs involved in building the new pipeline reflects the security and the confidence we have in continuing to increase exports to the countries of the region," Delek Drilling LP Chief Executive Officer Yossi Abu said in astatement.
For over a decade, the United States and Israel have worked closely to research and develop clean energy solutions.
