This week, we once again saw the strength of America’s partnership with Israel as Israeli Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid visited Washington, D.C. for a series of high-level meetings.
Lapid met with:
Vice President Kamala Harris, who reaffirmed "the strength and the endurance of the relationship between the United States and Israel."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a bipartisan congressional delegation.
Pelosi said, "It is a privilege to talk about the importance of the U.S.-Israel bond. It is one that is based on our mutual security. It is based on our mutual values."
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to discuss the threats facing both nations.
Lapid expressed "Israel’s concern about Iran’s race towards nuclear capability, and the fact that Iran is becoming a nuclear threshold state."
Why it matters: Iran remains America and Israel's greatest long-term threat in the Middle East. The U.S. must continue to make clear that Iran cannot receive sanctions relief through threats and escalations.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah.
In their first trilateral meeting, Blinken said: "We strongly support these historic [normalization] steps, and we're committed to continue building on the efforts of the last administration to expand the circle of countries with normalized relations with Israel in the years ahead."
AIPAC President Betsy Berns Korn and AIPAC CEO Howard Kohr.
Lapid thanked AIPAC "for your work to deepen the alliance between our countries and advance our nations' shared values and interests."
The big picture: America’s partnership with Israel helps keep both countries stronger and safer.
Below are more key news items from the week.
Brian Shankman Chief Strategy Director for National Affairs
Iran Escalates Threats Against U.S. and Israel READ MORE
Iran is a comprehensive threat that requires a comprehensive solution.
The latest:
The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center announced that Iranian hackers successfully targeted U.S. and Israeli defense technology companies.
During its war game exercises this week, the Iranian military said it has successfully tested anti-missile defenses for "sensitive" sites.
The defense system can allegedly destroy incoming cruise missiles.
The United States and Israel said they are exploring a "Plan B" for dealing with Iran if the regime does not return in good faith to Iran nuclear negotiations.
The U.S. must continue to make clear: Iran cannot receive sanctions relief through threats and escalations.
A New Era: A Week of Milestones for Peace READ MORE
It was another historic week for Israeli-Arab relations.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed met in Washington and discussed ways to advance the Abraham Accords.
The leaders announced that they will launch two trilateral working groups: one on religious coexistence and the other on water and energy.
Nearly a year after announcing the normalization of Israeli-Sudan relations, a senior Israeli delegation met with Sudanese Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari in Abu Dhabi.
Israel will double the amount of freshwater it provides to Jordan, one of the world’s most water-deficient countries.
The Abraham Accords are a model for peace, ushering in a new era of prosperity and progress in the Middle East.
What happened? The U.N. General Assembly elected the United States to the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday, more than three years after the the U.S. left over the Council’s inclusion of notorious human rights violators, its chronic bias against Israel and its lack of reform.
Our view: Rejoining an unreformed UNHRC lends credibility to a body with a reprehensible history of discrimination against Israel.
The way forward: The Biden administration must oppose UNHRC efforts to promote boycotts of Israel, and demand reforms—including removing Israel as a permanent agenda item.
Israeli Company to Build Largest Solar Energy Field in U.S. READ MORE
An Israeli solar energy project—the construction of Mammoth Solar—will become the largest solar field in the United States.
Construction began on Thursday.
The project will produce 1.3 gigawatts of clean, solar energy.
"The Mammoth Solar project is a milestone in the Israel-U.S. relationship," Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. and U.N. Gilad Erdan said at the groundbreaking.
Americans benefit from a close partnership with Israel to enhance clean energy technologies, help achieve global climate objectives, and protect our critical energy infrastructure.
125 vulnerable Afghans endangered by the Taliban were evacuated in a daring rescue mission led by Israeli NGO IsraAID.
The mission of AIPAC is to encourage and persuade the U.S. government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.
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