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Obama: Bonds with Israel Are Ones that All Americans Hold Dear
(White House) President Barack Obama told the Union for Reform Judaism on December 16, 2011: As President, I have never wavered in pursuit of a just and lasting peace - two states for two peoples; an independent Palestine alongside a secure Jewish State of Israel. There's no question about how lasting peace will be achieved. Peace can't be imposed from the outside. Ultimately, it is the Israelis and the Palestinians who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them. The fact that peace is hard can't deter us from trying....That vision begins with a strong and secure State of Israel. And the special bonds between our nations are ones that all Americans hold dear because they're bonds forged by common interests and shared values. They're bonds that transcend partisan politics - or at least they should. We stand with Israel as a Jewish democratic state because we know that Israel is born of firmly held values that we, as Americans, share: a culture committed to justice, a land that welcomes the weary, a people devoted to tikkun olam. So America's commitment and my commitment to Israel and Israel's security is unshakeable. No nation can tolerate terror. And no nation can accept rockets targeting innocent men, women and children. No nation can yield to suicide bombers....No U.S. administration has done more in support of Israel's security than ours. We are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons....We have imposed the most comprehensive, the hardest-hitting sanctions that the Iranian regime has ever faced....And we're going to keep up the pressure. And that's why, rest assured, we will take no options off the table.