On Wednesday, as Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made his first visit with President Trump, the United States-Israel Security Alliance - a bi-partisan ad-hoc committee - convened on Capitol Hill to thank leading and influential members of the Senate who have shown unwavering support to Israel, and to urge them to continue to fight to protect Israel.
"The U.S.-Israel Security Alliance is comprised of prominent business leaders who represent a cross-section of views, but are staunchly unified in their approach when it comes to the security-related issues that impact the U.S. and its ally Israel," explained Ezra Friedlander, CEO of The Friedlander Group and founder of the Security Alliance. "We made sure to meet with members of the Senate from both sides of the aisle."
This mission comes at a vital time, as there has been a high level of anxiety and disappointment across the Jewish Community since the U.N. condemnation. As a direct result, two significant legislative efforts have been made by members of the Senate: the Safeguard Israel Act of 2017 by Senator Ted Cruz, which aims to cut off all funding to the U.N. until the vote is reversed, and the resolution by Senators Rubio and Cardin, which "object[s] to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 and to all efforts that undermine direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians for a secure and peaceful settlement."
"I believe we're in a dramatically different position under this administration. I am hopeful that the campaign promise to move the embassy to Jerusalem will be followed through, and I am energetically urging that as often as possible," Senator Cruz assured the co-chairs. "If we pass S.107 (The SafeGuard Israel Act), I think within a few days the U.N. would reverse the decision," Cruz said, hopeful for his bill.
"If you were to move your family to the Middle East, where would you take them?" Senator Ron Johnson, who co-sponsored both bills, poignantly asked. "All U.S. action should be to strengthen our relationship with Israel." Senator Steve Daines, who co-sponsored both bills, reassured the Alliance that "rather than finding the problem in Israel, this administration believes that the solution lies in Israel."
Senator Mike Lee explained that despite his state being primarily Mormon, Utah is a close friend to Israel, as Mormons, too, have suffered religious persecution. Fellow Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving Republican in Congress, echoed these sentiments: "This U.N. vote put Israel in a bind and our country in a bind, and I still haven't gotten over it yet" Senator Hatch urged. Both Utah senators co-sponsored both bills.
Senator Bill Nelson, a former astronaut, told the Alliance, "I brought a mezuzah with me to space!" As close a friend Senator Nelson is to the Jewish community, he does not support defunding the U.N., arguing that the U.N. serves an important purpose, and has only co-sponsored the second bill objecting to the UN resolution against Israel.
Other Senators that the Security Alliance met with include: Joni Ernst, Chuck Grassley, Roy Blunt, Al Franken, Bill Cassidy, Maggie Hassan, and Tim Scott.
The co-chairs of the Alliance concluded the day tired, but grateful and smiling. "It was an outstanding day. We covered a lot of ground and I think that we are probably going to see a lot of support for Israel coming out of this," assured Sol Goldner, CEO of Goldstar Healthcare. "It was interesting because Prime Minister Netanyahu was meeting with President Trump, so the Senators had one eye on them and one eye on us, and were giving us updates on what was going on in the White House. Israel was the topic of the day in Washington. Hopefully the right kind of pressure - financial and otherwise - will accomplish the goal of voiding vote 2334 and being more fair to Israel in the future."