President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday, 13 July, for a four-day visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia. The visit will focus on reaffirming U.S. support for the Jewish state and reassuring Israel of U.S. efforts to slow down Iran’s nuclear program. President’s visit to Saudi Arabia intends to improve US-Saudi relations and ensure energy.
The President said a new nuclear deal with Iran would be safer for Israel, but the U.S. would use any means, if necessary, to impede Iran from developing a bomb.
President Biden paid a visit to the Holocaust memorial.
During his visit to Israel, U.S. President met with President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
“President Nixon was the first American president to visit Israel in 1974. I was actually — my first visit was, as you mentioned, as a young United States senator from Delaware in 1973, just a few weeks before the Yom Kippur War. I had the privilege of spending time with Prime Minister Golda Meir. I’ll never forget — I was sitting next to a gentleman on my right, one of her aides. His name was Rabin,” said President Biden in his speech at the Arrival Ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv.
“I look back on it all now, and I realize that I had the great honor of living part of the great history of this great — and I did say and I say again, you need not be a Jew to be a Zionist. The fact is that, since then, I’ve known every single Prime Minister and it’s been an honor, formed strong working relationships with each of them. And now, this is my 10th visit,” U.S. President added.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken accompanies President Biden. Following meetings in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, President Biden and Secretary Blinken will continue to Jeddah for the Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council along with Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan to discuss integration efforts to support regional stability and prosperity as well as other shared interests.
US-Israel relationship
The President of the United States and the Prime Minister of the State of Israel reaffirmed their commitment to elevating the strategic partnership between the two countries to new heights by launching the new Strategic High-Level Dialogue on Technology, tasked with establishing a U.S.-Israel technological partnership on critical and emerging technologies and solutions to global challenges: pandemic preparedness, climate change, implementation of artificial intelligence, and trusted technology ecosystems. The dialogue will also reinforce existing collaboration mechanisms.
The United States and Israel pledged to boost their mutual innovation ecosystems, deepen bilateral engagements, advance and protect critical and emerging technologies following their national interests, democratic principles, and human rights, and address geostrategic challenges.
“Because the connection between the Israeli people and the American people is bone deep. It’s bone deep,” said President Biden at Ben Gurion Airport. “And generation after generation, that connection grows. We invest in each other. We dream together. We’re part of what has always been the objective we both have. And now, as President, I’m proud to say that our relationship with the State of Israel is deeper and stronger, in my view, than it’s ever been,” he continued.
“And with this visit, we are strengthening our connections even further. We’ve reaffirmed the unshakable commitment of the United States to Israel’s security, including partnering with Israel on the most cutting-edge defense systems in the world. From here, I’m going straight to a briefing on Israeli missiles and rocket defense capabilities, including the U.S. support for the Iron Dome and Israel’s new laser-enabled system called the Iron Beam.”
U.S. President emphasized the two countries are going to deepen their connections in science and innovation and work to address global challenges through the new Strategic High-Level Dialogue on Technology.
“We’ll continue to advance Israel’s integration into the region; expand emerging forums and engagement — like the new I2U2 Summit, which will bring Israel, the United States, the UAE together, and India as well — to deepen economic cooperation between the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.”
“Greater peace. Greater stability. Greater connection” added President Biden.
Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial of Israel
President Biden paid a visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial of Israel, to lay a wreath and then meet with a couple of Holocaust survivors.
“Later today, I will once more return to the hallowed ground of Yad Vashem to honor the 6 million Jewish lives that were stolen in a genocide and continue — which we must do every, every day — continue to bear witness, to keep alive the truth and honor [horror] of the Holocaust — horror of the Holocaust, honor those we lost so that we never, ever forget that lesson, you know, and to continue our shared, unending work to fight the poison of anti-Semitism wherever it raises its ugly head. Wherever we find it in the world, we make real on the promise of “never again” by taking it on,” President said at the Arrival Ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport.
“I’ve been part of that as a Senator, as a Vice President, and, quite frankly, before that, having been raised by a righteous Christian who — we had dinner at our table every night before he went back to work, and it was a place where we had conversation and, incidentally, ate. And I remember he taught us all about what happened in the Holocaust. “Why weren’t the tra- — tracks bombed? Why did we not — why, why, why?” And he imbued in us a sense of obligation that we all have.”