OXON HILL, Md. From well-worn anecdotes about Golda Meir to rousing statements of support for Israels security, Joe Biden captured the audience in his remarks at the General Assembly of Jewish Federations of North American (JFNA) on Nov. 10.
What began as a low key talk evolved into a passionate speech about the vice presidents long-standing commitment to Israel and the American Jewish community, culminating in a standing ovation.
We have a responsibility to guarantee [Israels] absolute security, Biden said. He and President Obama share the view that Israel has a right to defend herself.
The motivation for this support of Israel varied, however, ranging from Bidens affectionate anecdotes of spending time at the Wilmington, Delaware JCC at the start of his career to a realpolitik view of geopolitics.
Were there not an Israel, the US would have to invent one. We will never abandon Israel out of our own self-interest, said Biden.
The Middle East, said the vice president, is a very rough neighborhood, and its getting rougher.
Aware that Irans nuclear program is a key issue for this audience, especially with the Nov. 24 deadline for a deal fast approaching, Biden declared, We will not let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon. Period. Period. Sensing perhaps a certain amount of skepticism, he followed up with, I would not put my 42-year reputation on the line if I were not certain when I say it.
Concrete measures for how to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon were not forthcoming, yet the vice president was certain that an acceptable solution for all parties could be found.
On the reports of strained relations between Netanyahu and Obama, Biden tried to clear the air. Israel has no friend like the US, and the US has no friend like Israel. But like good friends, we talk honestly with one another. We disagree.
He also tried to reassure the crowd of Americas commitment with statistics of US military support for Israel, stating that one fifth of Israels defense budget comes from the US.
DESPITE THE current upsurge in violence in Israel, Biden remains convinced that the vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians want peace, and spoke of a favorable constellation in the Middle East, where some Gulf States have recently made overtures toward Israel.
He called for both Israelis and Palestinians to move beyond distrust, and not to turn to violence.
Biden did not mention the two terrorist attacks that took place earlier that day in Israel, one in Tel Aviv that left a soldier dead and another in Gush Etzion, where a 24-year-old woman, Dalia Lemkus, was killed. [See Page 1.]
BIDEN ALSO spoke about his personal connection to Israel and the Jewish community, recounting a trip to Prague with his granddaughter, Finnegan. They visited the Maharals medieval Altneu Synagogue and touched history at the overgrown, mystical cemetery nearby.
The vice president expressed concern about increasing anti-Semitism and specifically about efforts to delegitimize Israel as a Jewish state, and said that for the administration, this is not negotiable. Israel is the guarantor for Jews security worldwide.
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
