Both Biden and Harris "care deeply about Israel and the Jewish people," he said.
By GIL HOFFMANYair Lapid
Opposition leader Yair Lapid painted himself as the ideal counterpart to US President-elect Joe Biden in a statement to the press at the beginning of Monday’s Yesh Atid-Telem Knesset faction meeting.Lapid made a point of speaking in English while congratulating Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their election.“I know that they both care deeply about Israel and the Jewish people, about our security and about our future,” he said. “I look forward to working with them and with our friends in both parties to rebuild a US-Israel relationship that goes beyond party lines.”The US-Israel relationship has always been based not only on critical shared interests but also on deeply held shared values, Lapid said.“President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will find in me someone who shares their commitment to the American values of democracy, liberty, integrity, equal opportunity, freedom of the press, freedom of worship, LGBTQ rights and good, solid governance that puts the interests of the people first,” he said.Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz told the Knesset plenum it would be difficult for Israel to recover from mistakes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made in handling Israel’s relations with the US.“Netanyahu put all of Israel’s eggs in the Republican basket,” he said. “In doing so, he turned off half of America and the overwhelming majority of American Jews.”Netanyahu’s associates declined to respond.