Issue Position: Israel

Issue Position

The United States and Israel have established a special relationship that is evident in our shared values, economic ties, bilateral institutions, and our military cooperation, and these bonds must be protected.

Under President Obama, U.S.-Israeli relations have suffered to an extent that should leave all those who value our unique relationship with Israel very concerned. The fact is that President Barack Obama has fundamentally altered our relationship with Israel, and this intentional shift in U.S. foreign policy has emboldened Israel's mortal enemies and jeopardized its national security.

In spite of denials from Debbie Wasserman Schultz, it is impossible to square the President's rhetoric with the diplomatic humiliation and coercion his administration has demonstrated towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. President Obama's recent demand that Israel must concede its right to defensible borders as a precondition for peace negotiations was not only an unprecedented insult, it is proof positive of his contempt towards Israel. To this day, Debbie Wasserman Schultz refuses to criticize any aspect of President Obama's reckless foreign policy towards Israel.

This administration's naïve policy change towards Israel couldn't have come at a worse time.

We must take Iranian President Ahmadinejad seriously when he expresses his intention to wipe Israel off the map. Iran is getting closer in its quest to develop nuclear weapons, and it will be critical for Israel to receive strong support in Congress, not the continued doublespeak of Debbie Wasserman Schultz that excuses President Obama's indefensible policies.

As your representative in Congress, I will firmly support Israel and its right to chart its own path to peace with its neighbors. Israel must be allowed to govern its own affairs, and we can no longer dictate to Israel where it can build its settlements as it safeguards its security and pursues peace in the region.

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