Congressmen from both parties vow to support to Israel

Christian leaders, pastors, and joined together with officials from the Israeli Embassy, Jewish leaders, entrepreneurs and guests from Israel who attended the reception.

By OMRI NAHMIAS
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. January 30, 2018 (photo credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. January 30, 2018
(photo credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)
WASHINGTON – Dozens of Jewish and Christian leaders gathered on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to relaunch the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus Reception. Members of Congress from both parties attended the event and spoke about the importance of the bipartisan alliance with Israel.
Christian leaders and pastors joined together with officials from the Israel Embassy, Jewish leaders, entrepreneurs and guests from Israel who attended the reception.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-California) joked that Washington became so hyper-partisan, that “It’s getting to the point now where I pray that [US President] Donald Trump doesn’t put out the message in favor of Mother’s Day coming up, because there’ll be pressure on me to come out against Mother’s Day and vice versa.”
Speaking about the importance of bipartisanship support of Israel, Sherman added, “It took us two millennia to get a state. We cannot bet that state on the success of either political party.”
He said that Republicans and Democrats are likely to hold the White House for half the time, and therefore the relations between the two countries must remain bipartisan. “This idea that one party or the other is always pro-Israel – there is only one president to threaten Israel with sanctions. His name was Eisenhower,” Sherman added.
“Sometimes, one party appears to be more pro-Israel, sometimes another,” he continued. “But for us to create a circumstance where the Israeli government or Israeli politician seems to prefer this party or that party, is a very dangerous thing for the state. Because it’s not like if you don’t have friends in Washington, you can turn to Tokyo or Paris, because you’re not going to find friends there unless you have them in Washington.”
Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado), praised President Trump, and said that the last few years “have been monumental for the US-Israel relationship.”
Lamborn said that “President Trump boldly recognized Jerusalem as the true capital of Israel, something we in Congress have been fighting for years. He subsequently moved our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and most importantly, he recently recognized Israel’s sovereignty in the Golan Heights.”
“These meaningful actions,” he continued, “send the strong message to our friends in Israel and around the world that America is restoring our relationship with Israel, marking an important shift in America’s policy in the Middle East, from emboldening our enemies to supporting our friends.”