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Why the U.S.-Israel Alliance Endures

(Jerusalem Post) Avi Mayer - I recently spent several days meeting with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders and administration officials in Washington. While I had braced myself for ominous talk of a growing partisan divide over Israel, surprisingly and happily, that's not what I heard. While there was acknowledgment of voices on the margins of both parties trying to tug the U.S. away from Israel, virtually all of my interlocutors on both sides of the aisle emphasized that Israel remains an area of broad bipartisan agreement. I heard hope of expanding the Abraham Accords to encompass additional countries, anticipation of closer cooperation on areas ranging from artificial intelligence to renewable energy, and confidence that the U.S. and Israel will work together to counter the threat posed by Iran and its terrorist proxies. Never once did anyone indicate that America is anywhere near "reassessing" its ties with Israel. Israelis don't just feel an affinity for America - they deeply love it. And, in some respects, they're more pro-America than Americans themselves. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that 87% of Israelis say they view America favorably. The love is very much mutual. A 2021 poll by Gallup found that 75% of Americans had a favorable view of Israel - the highest figure in thirty years. Surveys by the American Jewish Committee found that more than eight-in-ten Americans view anti-Zionism - that is, denying Israel's right to exist - as a form of antisemitism. American elected officials support the U.S.-Israel alliance because Americans do. The writer is editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post.
2023-07-17 00:00:00
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