J Street warmly welcomes the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel that will ensure Israel’s security and its qualitative military advantage over any potential enemy for the next 10 years.
We congratulate President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as all those who worked hard to produce this agreement, which represents the biggest pledge of US military assistance made to any country in our nation’s history. It provides Israel with $3.8 billion a year in aid, up from $3.1 billion annually under the current pact, which expires in 2018.
This agreement gives the lie to those who have scurrilously attacked President Obama for the past eight years, questioning his commitment to Israeli security and to the US-Israel relationship. In fact, the President has come through for Israel time after time and he will be leaving Israel more secure than it was when he took office. As a result of last year’s historic deal between major world powers and Iran, blocking each of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon, Israel today is far safer – a fact attested to by many of Israel’s top military officials.
The fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu decided to conclude this agreement now, before President Obama leaves office, instead of waiting for the next President speaks volumes.
While this agreement is an important part of President Obama’s legacy, there is still more he can do before leaving office and we hope he carefully considers several suggestions on the table intended to breathe new life into efforts to forge peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
These include delivering a major speech laying out the possible parameters of a peace agreement – and potentially seeking to enshrine those principles in a new United Nations resolution.