The American Jewish Congress wholeheartedly salutes the formation of a unity government in Israel. We want to congratulate Prime Minister Netanyahu and General Gantz for putting aside their differences and showing true leadership in agreeing to jointly govern and respond to the important challenges that Israel is facing – not only the coronavirus outbreak, but also other important regional and international challenges. Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and General Gantz have dedicated their long and successful careers to exemplary serving the State of Israel and they stayed true to that fact on this occasion as well.
The Jewish state has faced countless threats of violence and destruction in its history – many of which still exist nowadays – but has always counted on the support and friendship of the United States. The next Israeli government will have to continue working to solidify the U.S.-Israel alliance. At the center of this ironclad alliance is the long-term and steadfast bipartisan support for Israel. We look forward to working with the next government to keep Israel in the United States a bipartisan issue, with support from both Republicans and Democrats, as it has been for the past decades.
Israel is at a critical time in history. New opportunities have arisen for long-term peace and for finally moving towards the normalization of relations with its Arab neighbors. We call on the next Israeli leadership to strongly invest in peace efforts that would guarantee the security and prosperity of the Jewish State for decades to come.
It is true that Israel underwent this time an unprecedented third election in less than a year, after the elected Knesset failed twice previously to form a government. Yet, the high turnout emphasized and reinforced the commitment of the Israeli people to democracy. In a part of the world dominated by autocracies and authoritarian regimes, 71% of eligible Israeli voters cast their ballots in a free and fair election this month. Israel is not only a beacon of democracy in the Middle East that shares with the United States a deep and unbreakable friendship, but also a nation that is devoted to our same values of liberty, freedom, and democracy. We will continue to celebrate these shared values and support Israel in its path. Am Yisrael Chai!
