Lazar Berman is the diplomatic reporter for The Times of Israel
U. S. President Joe Biden delivered a heartfelt speech alongside his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, on Thursday night, calling his love for Israel “deeply rooted. “
In a speech that spanned everything from Irish poetry to the Bible, Biden said, “Seeing Israel prosper, seeing the wildest dreams of Israel’s founding fathers and mothers, a truth that Israel’s youth enjoy today, for me, is almost miraculous. “
The American president, who speaks of his Catholic faith, cited Balak’s Torah component in the Book of Numbers, in which Israel is called “the other people who live alone. “
“As I watch those proud and strong Israelis in the audience,” he continued, “the country that made the desert bloom and built the Iron Dome, I see other people who feel safer, more integrated, more confident and have closer relationships with their neighbors. A country that once forged peace and can do so again.
“And a country that will never be alone, as long as there is America, you will never be alone. “
Biden spoke before receiving Israel’s Presidential Medal of Honor through Herzog, calling the ornament “one of the greatest honors of my career, and I say that from the bottom of my heart. “
Before the speech, the two sat down for a one-on-one meeting.
Biden told Herzog he could call him at any time and invited the Israeli president to the White House, according to Herzog’s office.
Herzog raised the issue of Israelis held captive by Hamas in Gaza. He also laid out some of his opinion on how to address the climate update that emerged from the presidential climate forum.
The two men also talked about their ties with Ireland. Both have Irish ancestry.
Addressing Biden’s side after the one-on-one, and a 15-minute meeting between Biden and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Herzog under pressure that the United States and Israel “are united in our opposition to Iran’s terror and pursuit of nuclear weapons. capacity, which is the biggest risk for this region, and for the world at large.
The Israeli president painted the picture of a “challenged global order,” with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic combined with russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Under pressure that strong relations between Israel and the United States are for regional and global stability, peace and prosperity.
“Together, we can create only a new Middle East, but a renewable Middle East: a regional ecosystem of sustainable peace,” Herzog said.
“Under his leadership, we can continue to reshape our region from a source of global tension to a source of global stability and progress. The Middle East can be a rallying point for climate innovation and combined medical research, blank power and nonviolent exchanges between religions. and villages. This is the blessing that you will bring in the coming days to your assemblies in Jeddah.
Herzog also praised Biden’s stance against anti-Semitism and the delegitimization of Israel.
The Israeli president concluded by revealing that in their one-on-one meeting, he gave Biden the minutes of Biden’s meeting with former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir some 50 years ago, found in Israel’s national archives.
A diplomat who took note of the minutes wrote of Biden: “The senator filled with respect and admiration for the prime minister and continually said that he had come to learn, but, on the other hand, he was carried away by his enthusiasm. “
Biden arrived at the president’s apartment in the late afternoon, where he waved on the red carpet through Herzog and his wife Michal.
The trio spoke to Israeli schoolchildren dressed in white, who vigorously waved Israeli and American flags.
At the residence, Biden put his arm around Herzog before signing the guestbook on a mother-of-pearl-encrusted table that once belonged to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.
“Candle, my friend,” Biden wrote in the guest book at the president’s residence, Herzog’s nickname. “Thank you for all that you and your circle of family have done to deepen the unbreakable bond between our two wonderful countries.
“From our non-unusual Irish roots to our shared love for Israel, we are united in the center and mind. May our friendship experience and continue to grow!”
After signing, Biden stopped in front of the cameras and pointed to his non-unusual Irish relatives, claiming that Herzog’s grandfather, Ireland’s chief rabbi Isaac HaLevi Herzog, known as “Sinn Fein Rabbi. “
Herzog quotes former U. S. President Ronald Reagan, who said in his meeting with former President Chaim Herzog, the current president’s father, “This is a wonderful day for the Irish. “
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