Democrats on Israel

President Truman was the first world leader to recognize the State of Israel, marking the beginning of a strong alliance between the U.S. and Israel that has endured for over 70 years.

On Israel’s 10th anniversary in 1958, then-Senator John F. Kennedy celebrated Israel’s successes of the previous decade and praised the nation’s “inner strength and harmony.”

President Johnson, a great champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship, was the first president to invite an Israeli prime minister, Levi Eshkol, for a state visit.

President Carter was awarded a Nobel Prize for efforts to bring peace between Israel & Egypt, & publicly stated his wish for “Israel to be able to live at peace with all her neighbors.” Israel gave up the territory conquered from Egypt & uprooted every Jewish settlement there.

President Clinton worked tirelessly to bring peace. As he said, “I killed myself to give the Palestinians a state. I had a deal they turned down…”

President Obama negotiated a historic 10-year Memorandum of Understanding which codified the largest-ever level of U.S. security assistance to Israel and championed the Iron Dome missile defense system, bolstering Israel’s security.

President Biden has worked tirelessly to strengthen the U.S. – Israel relationship since his early days in the U.S. Senate. In 1986, he said, “Were there not an Israel, the U.S. would have to invent an Israel.”

When President Biden arrived at Ben Gurion airport in July 2022 for the 10th time in his career he declared, “you need not be a Jew to be a Zionist.” He and interim Prime Minister Lapid adopted The Jerusalem U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration, reaffirming the unbreakable bonds between our two countries and the enduring commitment of the United States to Israel’s security.