Israeli President Isaac Herzog drew cheers from a joint assembly of Congress Wednesday by stressing the United States and Israel should stay united on the frequent objective of stopping Iran from growing a nuclear weapon — no matter present tensions between the Biden administration and the federal government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The relationship has been unsettled by U.S. criticism of the right-wing Israeli authorities’s increasing settlement exercise on West Bank lands claimed by Palestinians, and of Mr. Netanyahu’s deliberate overhaul of Israel’s judicial system that opponents say will destroy the nation’s fragile checks and balances system and transfer the nation towards authoritarian rule.
Traditional bipartisan U.S. assist for Israel has been frayed since Mr. Netanyahu took workplace a 12 months in the past, however Mr. Herzon stated the 2 nations had a standard trigger in confronting Tehran.
“Israel and the United States must act forcefully together to prevent Iran’s fundamental threat to international security,” stated Mr. Herzog, whose journey to Washington coincided with rising home clashes again residence over Mr. Netanyahu’s agenda.
Mr. Herzog, whose place is basically ceremonial and nonpartisan, has sought this week to tamp down U.S. unease over his nation, underscoring Wednesday that Israel’s democracy stays “strong and resilient,” and that the heated protests in his nation are an indication of democracy in motion.
“I am well aware of the imperfections of Israeli democracy and I’m conscious of the questions posed by our greatest of friends,” he stated in an almost hour-long handle on the Capitol, a day after pushing the same message to Mr. Biden on the White House.
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“It’s no secret that over the past few months, the Israeli people have engaged in a heated and painful debate,” Mr. Herzog stated. “… In practice, the tense debate going on back home, even as we speak, is the clearest tribute to the fortitude of Israel’s democracy.”
His assertions got here lower than 24 hours after tens of 1000’s of protesters as soon as once more blocked highways and massed in central Tel Aviv in opposition to the judicial overhaul plan, the primary facet of which seeks to restrict the Israeli Supreme Court’s oversight powers and will grow to be legislation as quickly as subsequent week.
The unrest has been made worse by spiking Israeli-Palestinian violence tied to the West Bank settlements push. In late June, Israel carried out a uncommon airstrike on a automobile within the West Bank that officers stated was carrying Palestinian gunmen accused of killing 4 Israelis. The strike got here after Israeli settlers, outraged over the shootings, had stormed a Palestinian city, setting hearth to dozens of vehicles and houses.
Mr. Herzog’s U.S. go to has drawn consideration to Mr. Biden’s failure to concern the normal White House invitation to Mr. Netanyahu since his conservative authorities took energy final 12 months. The White House this week stated the 2 males had talked by cellphone and Mr. Netanyahu was invited to the U.S. at an unspecified time and place for a presidential assembly earlier than the tip of the 12 months.
Some Democrats have sought to amplify the tone of U.S.-Israel pressure, lending partisan overtones to Wednesday’s handle.
Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota led the so-called “Squad” of far-left Democratic House members in boycotting Mr. Herzog’s speech, saying through Twitter that there was “no way in hell” she would attend. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the one Palestinian-American in Congress, provided the same message, noting that, “this year alone, the far-right Israeli government has approved the construction of over 13,000 illegal settlement units on Palestinian land.”
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Mr. Herzog advised lawmakers that his personal “deep yearning … is for Israel to one day make peace with our Palestinian neighbors,” however that “true peace cannot be anchored in violence.”
He individually praised Washington’s promotion of the Abraham Accords, a Trump-era initiative that noticed a number of Arab nations formally acknowledge Israel for the primary time and open diplomatic relations with Jerusalem. Mr. Herzog expressed hope the accords will develop to incorporate Saudi Arabia, the area’s strongest Arab monarchy, saying “we pray for this moment.”
He additionally praised Mr. Biden for confronting assaults in opposition to Jewish folks. “I commend [him] for laying out the United States first-ever national strategy to combat antisemitism,” he stated.
Mr. Herzog’s feedback on Iran, in the meantime, coincide with uncertainty over Mr. Biden’s Iran coverage. The Islamic republic has rejected the administration’s try to revive the Obama-era nuclear deal that gave Tehran sanctions reduction in alternate for limits to nuclear enrichment, an settlement a number of Israeli governments have opposed.
“Perhaps the greatest challenge Israel and the United States face at this time together is the Iranian nuclear program,” Mr. Herzog stated. “Let there be no doubt Iran does not strive to attain nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, Iran is building nuclear capabilities that pose a threat to the stability of the Middle East and beyond.”
Iran, “together with its proxies throughout the Middle East, is aiming and working towards destroying the State of Israel, killing the Jews and challenging the entire world,” he stated. “The entire free world allowing Iran to become a nuclear threshold state, whether by omission or by diplomatic commission, is unacceptable.”
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