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Biden Should Publicly Show Solidarity with Israel
(The Hill) Douglas E. Schoen and Saul Mangel - Israel is not only one of America's closest allies - with deep cultural, social and religious ties to the U.S. - but also one of our most important national security partners, as the only true democracy in the Middle East. It is unfortunate to see the White House repeatedly inserting itself into Israel's internal conflicts and taking veiled shots at the current government. Increasing hostility toward Israel's current government is not going unnoticed by terrorists and their state sponsors like Hizbullah and Iran, which would happily take advantage of the growing distance between the U.S. and Israel. Moreover, any hostility in the U.S.-Israeli relationship will only dissuade Saudi Arabia, the most powerful Arab country, from making peace with Israel. America must not lose sight of the big picture: There is a long history of Israel using American military aid to further our shared geopolitical interests and protect both nations' national security - by taking actions that the U.S. could not without igniting a large-scale international conflict. Israeli strikes prevented both Saddam Hussein (1981) and Bashar al-Assad (2007) from developing nuclear weapons, and Israel continues to be at the vanguard of preventing nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of Islamic terrorists. Recently, Israel has carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities as well as factories making weapons for Russia's use in Ukraine. Israel has stood by the U.S. as our democracy has been tested time and time again, never losing sight of our shared goals and values, and it is incumbent on President Biden to pay the Jewish State the same respect. Douglas E. Schoen is a political consultant who served as an adviser to President Clinton. Saul Mangel is a senior strategist at Schoen Cooperman Research.