My family has a rich history of involvement in the relationship between the United States and the Zionist movement and State of Israel. Two generations ago until now, members of my family have visited the Oval Office and maintained relations with 14 US presidents. My grandfather, Rabbi Isaac HaLevi Herzog, met with President Franklin Roosevelt and asked him to bomb the Nazi death camps in Poland during the Second World War.
As Israel's ambassador to the United Nations and the country's sixth president, my father, Haim Herzog, met American presidents with the aim of strengthening relations between the countries. As did my uncle, Aba Eben, the mythological foreign minister; and another uncle, Yaakov Herzog, who served as Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office. My brother, Brig. Gen. Michael Herzog, and I have also met American presidents in various official capacities. My father always emphasized the importance of this relationship, and the spiritual and diplomatic strength it provides.
With every diplomatic crisis averted over the years, one unassailable fact emerged: The United States is Israel's most important, loyal and significant friend in the international arena. This friendship has withstood the test of time and to this day hasn't been challenged. The current American administration has fully backed Israel in its contention with multiple challenges. No other country, friendly as it may be, has supported Israel militarily, diplomatically, morally and ethically, as consistently as the United States.
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American military aid allows Israel's technological excellence to reach the critical mass needed to preserve its army's strategic superiority in the region. Diplomatic support buttresses Israel in its battles in the diplomatic arena and helps it affix its status as a country that can't be ignored. America's moral support fosters favorable public opinion in numerous democratic countries, even when their governments, for their own reasons, prefer to voice criticism or abstain from supporting the Israeli position. Ethical support creates a deep sense of a shared worldview that transcends fleeting political interests, which permeates many circles inside and outside the United States and unifies political, religious and socials groups around support for Israel.
The American-Israeli alliance stands on three pillars: shared values, strategic benefit, and organized support within civilian society. Both countries' declarations of independence champion universal values of democracy and liberty, tolerance and openness, justice and peace, equality in the eyes of the law and forceful defense of independence. Because of these values, Americans view Israel has a natural ally, support for which is inherently necessary. Power and influence are not eternal, however, and Israel must strain to preserve this partnership on both sides of the American political map, without alienating or heaven forbid giving up on one of them.
From Israel's perspective, therefore, it is critical to encourage widespread support across all stratum of American society. Comprising the most loyal kernel of this support, of course, are Zionist-Jewish organizations and earnest communities, whose dedication to Israel is fundamental, not conditional. Israel's historical and national duty is to cultivate and enhance the relationship with those Zionist Jews and ever-vigilant supporters across the United States. They are Israel's strategic home front, rallying in wholehearted support in times of trouble and joy. All differences of opinion aside – this is family. And although Israel does have many friends, it only has one family. We must listen to one another and talk, even get angry at times, but we must not forget the common historical destiny that connects our peoples.
