Issue Position: Unwavering Support for Israel

Issue Position

Today, with the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the broader turmoil in the Middle East and beyond, the U.S. must continue its support for Israel, our oldest ally in the Middle East.

Israel is the most stable country in the region and upholds Western values at a level unmatched in the region. We as a nation must strongly and resolutely defend Israel's right to defend itself, and condemn the continued attacks by the terrorist group Hamas. Above all, the goal of America and Israel is peace, but as President Reagan stated, "Peace through strength," is the ultimate solution.

It is important to remember why Israel exists. The 20th century was a time of unprecedented violence toward many helpless minorities. Totalitarian regimes exterminated millions of their own citizens and no group suffered in greater proportionality than the Jews of Europe. When many governments, including our own, closed their frontiers to Jewish immigration, the chances of escape were greatly diminished. The only certain solution for the survival of the Jewish people is to have their own state.

Today, Israel faces several seemingly implacable neighboring states that publicly state the destruction of the Israeli state is one of their governments' objectives. No less than any people the Jews today are in the crosshairs of terrorism. It is among our country's finest foreign policy objectives to provide support for Israel and to take the lead in the search for a lasting peace in the Middle East.

The solution to peace in the Middle East is the peace process itself and progress has been made. As a result of our leadership in the process no major war involving Israel has erupted in over 40 years, a remarkable achievement. Egypt has renounced the goal of Israel's destruction and its military recently removed a government inimical to the peace between those two countries.

At this stage in the peace process it is too optimistic to seek to conclude a comprehensive peace agreement with all the stake holders of the region. Recent show-boating initiatives by our Secretaries of State seem to reflect more their desires for quick personal glory than mature approaches to build a lasting peace.

We should take our cue from the diplomatic success of the Northern Ireland peace process and try to foster confidence-building initiatives between Israel and its neighbors. We should seek to involve governments of good faith to invest in joint projects in such fields as agriculture, humanitarian relief, water conservation, small business growth, and the arts. These projects would be implemented by joint participation by the citizens of Israel and its neighbors.

However, governments of good faith are in short supply in the region and the U.S. must pursue active measures such as arms embargoes, boycotts, and other economic sanctions against nations and groups that support terrorism and other measures aimed at the destruction of Israel.

We believe all parties that participate in the peace process will benefit from relaxed military tensions, economic cooperation, and improvements in the lives of their citizens.

These are goals worthy of great nations.

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