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US, Israeli officials agree to expand bilateral economic relations

Tobias Siegal — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 08:50:37 +0000

This annual economic policy dialogue between the two nations has been held since 1985.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who urged him to crank up pressure on Iran at a press conference in Jerusalem — (photo credit: AMIT SHABI/YEDIOTH ACHRONOTH/POOL)

American and Israeli officials on Monday reaffirmed their commitments to economic policy coordination and cooperation in a virtual event marking the 35th meeting of the US–Israel Joint Economic Development Group (JEDG.)

This annual economic policy dialogue between the two nations has been held since 1985, a press release from the US Embassy in Jerusalem noted. The event, held virtually for the first time this year due to coronavirus limitations, included over 80 representatives from dozens of agencies and ministries.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin headed the US delegation, while Israeli Finance Minister Israel Katz headed the Israeli one. Both officials underscored the unshakeable bond and everlasting partnership between the two countries.

Steven Mnuchin@stevenmnuchin1

Pleased to join @israel_katz to kick off the annual U.S.-Israel Joint Economic Development Group today. Our bilateral economic relationship is strong, and I am confident that this year’s #JEDG will support even greater collaboration, innovation & economic growth.

Besides reaffirming both countries’ commitment to the strong and enduring bilateral economic relations, participants in Monday’s meeting also expressed determination to expand the economic cooperation between the countries.

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman noted the Abraham Accords and the new economic possibilities they bring for all countries involved, such as high-value jobs and opportunities in healthcare education and tourism.

“The Abraham Accords are creating a more peaceful and prosperous Middle East. We look forward to the opportunities for American and Israeli companies that will flow from normalized relations,” Friedman said.

This year’s agenda also addressed the coronavirus pandemic and the economic challenges it brought with it, as well as exploring possible solutions and the gradual economic recovery necessary. The meeting also touched on issues of clean energy finance and development, and financial services.

Discussion were also held on developing secure mechanisms to protect the Israeli economy from potentially malign foreign investors and to safeguard the US-Israel innovation and investment ecosystem.

Finally, participants agreed to meet again and address the mutual interests of their business communities with US and Israeli private sector representatives in the coming weeks. In this first-ever JEDG follow-on event, senior government officials will present JEDG highlights and share practical business opportunities open to US and Israeli companies.

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/us-israeli-officials-agree-to-expand-bilateral-economic-relations-648990

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Israeli pro-Trump caravan drives from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

Arutz Sheva Staff — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 22:50:18 +0000

Trump campaign office in Israel organizes motor vehicle caravan from Tel Aviv to the capital, symbolizing relocation of US embassy.

A motorized caravan of Trump supporters in Israel set out from Tel Aviv Tuesday morning, making their way to Jerusalem in a sign of support for the US president a week before the 2020 election.

Dozens of vehicles joined in the caravan, which was organized by the Trump campaign’s offices in Israel.

The caravan route, linking Tel Aviv to the capital, was intended to honor the president’s decision to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Organizers say the caravan was intended to “show our gratitude to the greatest friend and ally Israel has ever had in the White House, for all he has done for us; moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, pulling out of the deal with Iran, leading the peace process between Israel and the UAE and with Bahrain and much more.”

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/289957

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Did Trump’s ambassador to Israel call for the Third Temple to be built in 2019?

David Sidman — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 08:06:47 +0000

Fireworks at the US Embassy, Jerusalem (Courtesy of FB screenshot: US Embassy Jerusalem)

Although July 4, is tomorrow, the US Embassy in Israel pre-emptively celebrated America’s 243rd Independence Day on Tuesday. The gala event was hosted by the US Embassy in Jerusalem. During his speech, the Ambassador, David Friedman, said: “leshanah Hazeh BiYerushalayim” (This year in Jerusalem).

At first glance, saying a phrase like ‘this year in Jerusalem’ may seem like a rather insignificant statement. But those who understand the wider context of the phrase are prone to interpret those words differently. That’s because there is a phrase that Jews proclaim during their prayers at the end of Yom Kippur and during the Passover feast that goes: “lshanah habah biyirushalayim habnuyah’’ (next year in the rebuilt Jerusalem). The phrase was initially coined by 11th century Spanish Rabbi Isaac Ibn Ghiyatt who wrote a poem called Yedidekha me-Emesh which contains the phrase. Last year, when the 242nd Independence Day celebration took place in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu relayed the passage to Friedman: “lshanah habah ’’ (next year in Jerusalem).

The ‘rebuilt Jerusalem part refers to the rebuilding of the Temple. However, Friedman made a clever play on words by replacing the phrase ‘leshanah habah’ (next year) with ‘leshanah hazeh (this year). And although he stopped short of saying the ‘rebuilt Jerusalem part’, it can be implied by those familiar with the phrase, that the natural continuation of the sentence is ‘in re-built Jerusalem’. That’s because there is no other context in the Hebrew language where the phrase ‘this year in Jerusalem’ or ‘next year in Jerusalem’ is used aside from the continuation of the phrase which invokes the building of the Temple.

Therefore, it is entirely plausible that Trump’s Israel Ambassador, David Friedman implied that the Third Temple will be rebuilt this year in Jerusalem. And right after he said it, he made the Jewish blessing on a glass of wine and drank it.

Just two days after swinging a 10-pound hammer to inaugurate the Pilgrimage Road archaeological site, Friedman showed no signs of fatigue. During his speech, the ambassador made a compelling connection of America’s founding fathers to Jerusalem.

The ambassador said: “The Declaration of Independence provided that every human being was created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

“The notion that essential human rights came from God and not man was a revolutionary concept. It made those rights permanent, undeniable and immune from the vagaries of politics, not only in the United States but around the world. How did our founding fathers know which rights God considered unalienable? Remember, the Declaration of Independence doesn’t just say these rights are important – it says these rights are divine. Well, I’m sure many of our founding fathers read John Locke and Thomas Hobbs and other great thinkers. But I’m even more certain that they read the Bible. Especially because all of the unalienable rights identified in the Declaration of Independence find their home in the Bible itself. Many believe – and certainly, our founding fathers believed – that the word of our creator is expressed in the Bible, and, as recognized by the prophet Isaiah, that word emerged from the city of Jerusalem. As Isaiah said, ‘out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.’”Friedman proclaimed.

“To understand this connection between the birth of our nation and the City of Jerusalem is to understand all that has transpired since between Israel and the United States. It is to understand why the Pilgrims risked their lives in the 17^th century to reach a new world and establish what many of them referred to as a ‘new Jerusalem’” he added.

As is the tradition, the event concluded with a fireworks display.

Source: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/132635/did-trumps-israel-ambassador-imply-third-temple-built/

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Analysis Trump’s Golan Declaration: Blessing for Netanyahu, Message to Russia

Amos Harel — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 09:49:23 +0000

The international response is likely to be weak, and returning the Golan isn’t something most Israelis support. The significance is mostly political, and the timing unsurprising.

MANDEL NGAN / AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tweet on his intention to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights reflects the new rules of the game in the Middle East.

In Trump’s eyes, the old conventions that guided previous U.S. presidents belong in the trash. In the Trump era, what matters is radiating strength – and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who gains the most out of this move, is on the winner’s team.

Compared to another decision that made Netanyahu happy – moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem – the international reaction to this move is expected to be fairly weak. Europe still sees Syrian President Bashar Assad with disdain over his responsibility for the mass murder of his people over eight years of civil war. A future negotiation over the Golan between Israel and Syria is nowhere near in sight, anyway.

For most Israelis, too, the civil war in Syria and Islamic State’s takeover of the southern Syrian Golan sufficed in determining whether Israel should give up the Golan. The fact that Netanyahu himself (in his first term in the 1990s, and during in his second term, in 2009) considered leaving the Golan seems irrelevant right now.

The American move is mostly important as a declaration. In the immediate term, it has no practical, security-related repercussions and it is not expected to change the pattern of activity of the UN force in the Golan, which only recently returned to its posts on the Syrian side of the border now that Assad’s regime has finished reclaiming the area.

It appears that at the heart of this move is a political issue. The timing of Trump’s statement enables Netanyahu to emphasize his experience and political connections as areas where he has a significant upper hand over his political opponents. Trump will reinforce the gesture in their joint press statement that they will hold when Netanyahu visits Washington next week, a trip during which the prime minister will speak at the annual AIPAC conference.

Netanyahu welcomed on Thursday evening the “Purim miracle” that Trump gave Israel. One can assume that the premier was also thinking about Trump’s timing. The submarine affair in which he is embroiled drew renewed public interest this week after failing to grab headlines for a year. Daily revelations in this corruption case have placed Netanyahu for the first time in the line of opposition fire, and it appears that the opposition has finally managed to set the agenda. Trump provided him with a respite and some good news.

The American president is not only joining the Likud election campaign – at the end of February, he enthusiastically extolled Netanyahu during a press briefing he gave at the end of a summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un – but is also completely aligned with Likud’s themes, as seen in the withdrawal from the nuclear accord with Iran, the decision to move U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and now, the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan.

Like the two previous moves, it appears that Trump coordinates everything with Netanyahu, down to the very content of his statement. This fulfills the dreams of the Israeli right wing, especially after years of mutual hostility between the premier and former U.S. President Barack Obama.

Those who won’t approve of Trump’s statement, except for the Syrians, are mostly the Russians and the Palestinians. Washington is already taking Moscow to task by stressing the need for political negotiations over the Golan. This also looks like an American response to the Russian alliance with Iran in Syria and the failure to make good on previous promises to Israel and to the U.S. that Russia would help distance Iranian forces and Hezbollah troops from the border along the Golan.

For the Palestinians, this is a dangerous precedent, because Washington is legitimizing a unilateral Israeli move – an annexation of territory taken while Israel occupied the West Bank during the Six Day War.

Brigadier Gen. (res.) Asaf Orion, a member of the Institute for National Security Studies and a former chief of the General Staff’s strategic brigade, told Haaretz pm Thursday that Trump’s decision “diverges entirely from the traditional approach of the American foreign policy, which determines that annexed territories will not be recognized without official agreements. This is the stance the United States took regarding border disputes in Ukraine, Crimea, Cyprus and other places.”

According to Orion, “Jerusalem is welcoming this move and of course it rings well to Israeli ears. But in the international arena, the security reasoning Trump used is less acceptable. There they discuss legitimacy, not security.”

Source: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-trump-s-golan-declaration-blessing-for-netanyahu-message-to-russia-1.7044940

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US envoy to Israel: Evangelical Christians firmer Israel backers than many Jews

Times of Israel — Sat, 19 May 2018 04:46:55 +0000

As David Friedman hails their ‘fervor and devotion’ in NY Times interview, his counterpart Ron Dermer calls devout Christians the ‘backbone’ of US support for Israel.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer, United States Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Pastor John Hagee, May 11, 2018. (CUFI)

The US Ambassador to Israel said evangelical Christians are more passionate supporters of Israel than many Jews.

Speaking to the New York Times about the prominent involvement of Christian supporters of Israel at the Monday inauguration of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, over which he presided, Friedman said evangelical Christians “support Israel with much greater fervor and devotion than many in the Jewish community.”

He backed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s alliances with leaders of the evangelical community by stressing, “You’re running a country, you need friends, you need alliances, you need to protect your people.”

Friedman acknowledged that he personally invited John Hagee, who gave the closing benediction at the event, and pastor Robert Jeffress, who gave the opening address.

In the article published Saturday, Friedman called them “two of the most followed leaders of the evangelical community,” and said he “wanted to honor the community for having been so constructive in helping to move this along.”

In his address Monday, Jeffress praised “the tremendous leadership of our great president, Donald J. Trump,” and also invoked the “prince of peace, Jesus our lord.”

A Southern Baptist who vigorously supported Trump during the final months of the 2016 presidential campaign and was a member of his evangelical advisory board, Jeffress once warned that Jewish people are going to hell and said Hitler was part of God’s plan to return Jews to Israel. Criticism of his selection to speak at the ceremony was led by former president candidate Mitt Romney, who called Jeffress a “religious bigot.”

Pastor John Hagee, head of Christians United for Israel, at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem’s Old City on May 11, 2018. (courtesy CUFI)

Echoing some of his counterpart’s praise for the evangelical Christian community, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States told the paper that “devout Christians” had become the “backbone” of US support for Israel. “It’s got to be a solid quarter of the population, and that is maybe 10, 15, 20 times the Jewish population,” Dermer said.

He insisted, nonetheless, that the Israeli government was determined to maintain wide, bipartisan US and US Jewish support for Israel. “You could say there’s a shift here or there, but obviously for us, it’s important that we have strong support that’s very broad and bipartisan,” Dermer said. “You can’t fly a plane with one wing.”

Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting in the Israeli parliament on April 30, 2018. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party and a key opposition rival of Netanyahu, warned on Thursday that Netanyahu was “dangerously” aligning his government with conservative, evangelical factions of the Republican Party, and furthering the divide with Democrats.

“The fact that the government completely identifies with the conservative, evangelical faction of the Republican Party is dangerous,” Lapid said.

He added that if there were a Democratic US president and Congress in 2020, it would spell a “serious problem” for Israel if Netanyahu were to remain in power.

Lapid said Jewish Democratic lawmaker Ted Deutch told him he was blackballed from attending the US embassy inauguration in Jerusalem on Monday. No Democratic lawmakers were known to be present at the event.

The New York Times piece, headlined “Israel and Evangelicals: New US Embassy Signals a Growing Alliance,” said the dedication of the embassy marked “the most public recognition yet of the growing importance the Netanyahu government now assigns to its conservative Christian allies, even if some have been accused of making anti-Semitic statements.”

It said this represented “a historic and strategic shift, relying on the much larger base of evangelical Christians, even at the risk of turning off American Jews who may be troubled by some evangelicals’ denigration of their faith.”

“The paradox is well known,” the paper observed. “The beliefs of many evangelical Christians that Israel is special to God — and, for some, a marker in apocalyptic prophecies — lead many to hawkish support of the Jewish state while they simultaneously insist that salvation awaits only those who accept Jesus as their savior.

As a consequence of the increasingly warm ties between the Israeli right and the Christian right a “polarization” is accelerating — “turning support for Israel into a partisan question in Washington.”

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-envoy-to-israel-evangelical-christians-firmer-israel-backers-than-many-jews/

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US Embassy Jerusalem - Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

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US envoy to Israel: Evangelical Christians firmer Israel backers than many Jews