Supporting Our Greatest Ally: Israel

Last week, over 18,000 people attended the 2018 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. I have always worked very closely with AIPAC, because I share their passion and commitment to preserve and protect the State of Israel.

In fact, for many years, I have given away hundreds of lapel pins that are very special to me. These lapel pins display the flags of the two Lone Star States: Texas and Israel. As a student of history and passionate defender of Israel, I quickly discovered that our two states have a great deal in common.

Texas and Israel were independent nations created by people who shared the same God and the same core principles in a part of the world where they were surrounded by enemies who wanted to drive them into the sea. Texas and Israelis are much too courageous for anyone to drive us into the sea. Israel has their own Alamo, and we have our own Masada. We share so much in common. As Texans, we share many special bonds with Israel.

Israel is the only nation on the face of the earth that can say they’ve stood by the United States 100% of the time for 100% of their existence. As the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel’s strength and devotion to the rule of law is a powerful, stabilizing influence in dangerous, turbulent region.

Therefore, it is imperative that the United States fully fund our commitments to Israel’s defense and do all that we can to preserve Israel’s prosperity and security. I have worked hard to ensure that Israel receives full funding for the military assistance we have promised them. This includes $3.1 billion for missile defense systems, such as Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow Upper Tier, and other critical technologies that also benefit American’s missile defense program. I fought hard to stop the disastrous deal the last administration struck with the radical regime in Iran, and I will continue to work to support our current administration’s efforts to prevent the Iranians from developing or obtaining a nuclear weapon. 

On Tuesday, I proudly joined Representative Carlos Curbelo (FL-26) to address the AIPAC Policy Conference. Together, we thanked the people of Israel for helping the people of Texas and Florida recover from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the people of Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria, and for coming to the aid of the people of California after their terrible wildfires. 

A full transcript of our remarks is available here, and a video of the full exchange is available here

Later in the day, I had a chance to visit with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reaffirm the unbreakable bond of friendship between the people of America and Israel, and particularly between the people of Texas and Israel.

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