Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, were guests of US Ambassador David Friedman at a 4th of July party held Tuesday evening at the Jerusalem International Convention Center.
Speaking at the event honoring 243 years of American independence, which was also the first time an official US 4th of July celebration was held in Jerusalem, both Netanyahu and Friedman praised US President Donald Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
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Friedman referred to the event as the "biggest Independence Day party ever."
Friedman also underscored the values that Israel and the US share, while Netanyahu noted that the alliance between Israel and the US had reached new heights. Netanyahu said that US support for Israel crossed party lines, and must remain bipartisan.
Netanyahu said, "A few days ago, David and Tammy [Friedman] and Jason Greenblatt and my wife Sara went to a place that is the wellspring of our existence. They went to a place that leads from the Siloam pool to Har Habayit [the Temple Mount], where our ancestors celebrated the various festivals of Jerusalem and where the last Jews fighting the Romans, fighting this greatest power on earth, submitted and where Jewish independence was extinguished.
"Well, we're back, and we're back standing for the truth, for our history, for our rights and it's wonderful to have the greatest power on earth not opposing the Jewish state but supporting the Jewish state. What a twist," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also expressed his thanks to the government of Bahrain for hosting the US-sponsored Peace to Prosperity workshop last week.
"The foreign minister of Bahrain said Israel is part of the Middle East. 'I want the people of Israel, the citizens of Israel, to know that we welcome them.' That's a change that should be applauded. It was encouraging to see numerous Arab governments participate in the workshop, despite Palestinian efforts to undermine it," the prime minister said.
