True partners (Extract)

By DANNY AYALON
Extract from an article in Issue 12, September 29, 2008 of The Jerusalem Report. To subscribe to The Jerusalem Report click here. As the presidential race gathers momentum, it is clear that whoever occupies the Oval Office, Israel and its supporters remain confident that the next American president will be a true friend. Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have proven by word and deed that they understand Israel's challenges. They both comprehend the complexity of our situation, as we try to achieve a meaningful peace in the region, while at the same time defending ourselves from constant threats. In fact, America's relationship with Israel runs far deeper than any particular candidate or platform. The "ironclad bond" between the U.S. and Israel, as former president Ronald Reagan famously stated, has been upheld by both Democrat and Republican presidents alike. Democratic Senator Tom Daschle epitomized this attitude when I met him with then-prime minister Ariel Sharon on a Washington visit in 2001. Daschle, then the Senate minority leader, crossed the proverbial aisle to welcome the prime minister in the chambers of his Republican rival, Senator Trent Lott, because, in his words, "when it comes to supporting Israel, there are no Republicans or Democrats, there are only Americans." Although the two political parties and their candidates differ markedly on many key issues, they share a strong commitment to Israel's security and well-being. Indeed, the American-Israeli alliance is truly a consensus issue in the corridors of power in the U.S. capital, as well as with the American public at large. While Israel obviously is not center stage, many of the crucial issues debated in this presidential campaign affect the Jewish State and the entire international community in very concrete ways. None more so than the question of Iranian nuclear power. Assuming that addressing the question of an increasingly belligerent Iranian regime is left for the next administration, it will almost certainly serve as the No. 1 foreign policy challenge that the new president will be required to confront. McCain has proven himself resolute about the need to safeguard Israel from Iranian aggression. When asked about the Iranian threat by an Israeli reporter a few weeks ago, he pulled no punches. "I have to look you in the eye and tell you that the United States of America can never allow a second Holocaust," the senator for Arizona declared. McCain has never veered from the assessment that Iran is continuing its nuclear weapons program and insists that it must be stopped by whatever it takes. "Every option," he says, "must remain on the table." Choosing Sarah Palin as a running mate is as shrewd as it is surprising. Although little is known of Palin's policies on Israel or the Middle East, it is clear that the Alaska governor is a highly principled person, who will prove an asset to the Republican campaign. Danny Ayalon, co-chairman of Nefesh B'nefesh,a Jerusalem-based organization dedicated to promoting immigration to Israel, is a former Israeli ambassador to the United States (2002-2006) and a member of the Yisrael Beiteinu party. Extract from an article in Issue 12, September 29, 2008 of The Jerusalem Report. To subscribe to The Jerusalem Report click here.