Relations between the Obama Administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been strained, but Obama continues to tout the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security. Here are four times the president has spoken on U.S. relations with Israel.
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In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2011:
“America’s commitment to Israel’s security is unshakeable, and our friendship with Israel is deep and enduring. And so we believe that any lasting peace must acknowledge the very real security concerns that Israel faces every single day. Let us be honest with ourselves: Israel is surrounded by neighbors that have waged repeated wars against it. ... Those are facts. They cannot be denied. The Jewish people have forged a successful state in their historic homeland. Israel deserves recognition. It deserves normal relations with its neighbors. And friends of the Palestinians do them no favors by ignoring this truth.”
December 2011 comments from Obama in support of Israel:
“We stand with Israel as a Jewish democratic state because we know that Israel is born of firmly held values that we, as Americans, share: a culture committed to justice, a land that welcomes the weary, a people devoted to tikkun olam. ... So America’s commitment ... and my commitment to Israel and Israel’s security is unshakeable. It is unshakeable. ... I am proud to say that no U.S. administration has done more in support of Israel’s security than ours. None. Don’t let anybody else tell you otherwise. It is a fact.”
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During a March 2013 visit to Israel; it was Obama's first trip to Israel since he was a presidential candidate in 2008:
“[The] United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and greatest friend. I see this visit as an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between our nations, to restate America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security, and to speak directly to Israel and to your neighbors.”
Writing for Haaretz's Israel Conference on Peace in June 2014, Obama said:
“From Harry Truman through today, the United States has always been Israel’s greatest friend. As I’ve said time and again, neither I nor the United States will ever waver in our commitment to the security of Israel and the Israeli people, and our support for peace will always remain a bedrock foundation of that commitment.
Over the past five years, we’ve expanded our cooperation and today, as Israel’s leaders have affirmed, the security relationship between Israel and the United States is stronger than ever.”
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