President of Israel, Isaac Herzog departed Tuesday for a diplomatic visit to the United States of America. During his visit, he met President Biden at the White House and addressed a special joint session of the Houses of Congress marking the State of Israel’s 75th year of independence. The visit marks the President's second visit to the US since taking office.
"On November 10th 1987, I was sitting at home with my wife, Michal, expecting our first child," he told US legislators yesterday. "We were watching the first Israeli President invited to address a Joint Session of Congress, in honor of Israel’s 40th Independence Day... Speaker McCarthy, I thank you for hosting this festive joint session of Congress celebrating the first 75 years of Israel’s independence. Just a few weeks ago, during your first trip abroad as Speaker, you honored the Israeli people by addressing the Knesset in Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel, and the Jewish people.
Your sincere expression of friendship on behalf of the United States of America truly resonated with the Israelis.
"Thank you. Vice President Harris, it is such a great pleasure to see you again. I vividly recall hosting you at the Knesset a few years back. Your stirring remarks at the Israeli Embassy’s Independence Day reception a few weeks ago, reflect both yours and President Biden’s decades-long, ironclad friendship with Israel.
"A special thanks goes to Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi who first invited me less than a year ago, together with Senator Chuck Schumer. And special thanks to my dear friends, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Minority Leader Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, for this bipartisan, bicameral invitation.
"In 1949, the President of the United States of America, Harry S. Truman, met with the Chief Rabbi of the newly established State of Israel, my grandfather Rabbi Yitzhak Isaac Halevi Herzog, in the Oval Office. This was just a few years after each of them had pleaded and campaigned for the rescue of Europe’s Jews being slaughtered in the Holocaust by the Nazis. In speaking to President Truman, Rabbi Herzog thanked him for being the first world leader to officially recognize the State of Israel, eleven minutes after its foundation. He spoke of the Divine Providence that destined President Truman to help bring about the rebirth of Israel, after two thousand years of exile. Witnesses of the encounter recalled tears running down President Truman’s cheeks. We are honored to have President Truman’s grandson, Clifton Truman Daniel with us here today."
President addresses Congress — warns against Iran & complacency
The President's address follows a meeting with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. "Iran is building nuclear capabilities, that pose a threat to the stability of the Middle East and beyond," he told Congress members. "Every country or region controlled or infiltrated by Iran has experienced utter havoc. We have seen this in Yemen, Gaza, in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. In fact, we have seen this in Iran itself where the regime has lost its people and is suppressing them brutally," he said.
"Iran has spread hatred, terror, and suffering throughout the Middle East and beyond, adding fuel to the disastrous fire and suffering in Ukraine. Iran is the only nation on the planet publicly calling, plotting, and developing means to annihilate another nation, a member of the family of nations, the State of Israel.
"Israel has no border with Iran. Israel has no resources contested by Iran. Israel has no conflict with the Iranian people. And yet, the Iranian regime – 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 free world. Allowing Iran to become a nuclear threshold state – whether by omission or by diplomatic commission – is unacceptable... The State of Israel is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapon capabilities."
"A new generation of Israelis and Americans are assuming leadership roles. A generation that was not privy to the hardship of Israel’s formative years. A generation that is less engaged in the roots that connect our peoples. A generation that, perhaps, takes for granted the US-Israel relationship... Yet, at this moment I choose optimism. Because to me it is clear that the shift in generations does not reflect changing values. Nor does it indicate changes in our interests. When the United States is strong, Israel is stronger. And when Israel is strong, the United States is more secure."
Blinken: You affirm democratic values
Before embarking on the journey to the US, President Herzog commented: “Even when I am there in the United States, my heart and thoughts will be with what is happening in Israel... It is possible to arrive at reasonable formulas - both on the subject of the reasonableness clause and on other matters... Tisha B'av (a day of national Jewish mourning) is in less than two weeks, and we need to remember the cost of division, of strife, of internal tension.”
Following his meeting with President Biden at the White House, President Isaac Herzog held a meeting with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. At the beginning of their meeting, the two made statements to the media.
President Herzog: "I want to thank you Mr. Secretary for pursuing such important goals as containing and limiting, and stopping the Iranian nuclear program, as building a regional coalition of nations which pursues peace and wants more and more integration with Israel in the region. Of course, dealing with the major challenges of humanity is where Israel can contribute dramatically. And we will be discussing of course the situation in Lebanon and the issue of our missing in action and POWs in Gaza."
Secretary of State Blinken responded, "We are grateful for your leadership and partnership. We have indeed a unique relationship, grounded in our commitment to Israel's security, but also grounded in democratic values. And what you have been doing, the leadership you have shown in affirming those values, bringing people together in affirmation of those values could not be more important...
"We are deeply committed to working together in dealing with the challenge posed by Iran. In particular, making sure that it never acquires a nuclear weapon. We are deeply committed to the normalization process, both deepening and expanding Israel's relations with its neighbors far and wide, and to finding a way toward two states for two peoples, something that we feel is essential to Israel's long-term security and its standing as a democratic Jewish state."