Landing in Israel on Wednesday for his historic first visit as U.S. president, Barack Obama pledged “unwavering” and “unbreakable” support for the Jewish state and declared in Hebrew that the alliance between the two countries is “eternal”:
U.S. President Barack Obama pledged on Wednesday enduring support for the Jewish State, where concern over a nuclear-armed Iran has clouded U.S.-Israeli relations… “I see this visit as an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between our nations, to restate America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and to speak directly to the people of Israel and to your neighbours,” Obama said at a red-carpet welcoming ceremony at Tel Aviv airport. “I am confident in declaring that our alliance is eternal, is forever,” he said, adding the Hebrew word for forever — “Lanetzach” — to emphasis the upbeat message.
“It’s good to get away from Congress,” the president quipped to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they posed for photos.
Making his first foreign trip of his second term, Obama was welcomed on the tarmac by Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, and U.S. Ambassador Daniel Shapiro. The president also met with senior Israeli officials, including Yair Lapid, Tzipi Livni, and Naftali Bennett. The three are respectively the leaders of the Yesh Atid, Hatnuah, and Jewish Home parties that – along with Netanyahu’s Likud-Beiteinu slate – make up Israel’s new coalition government.
President Peres described the trip as a “proud demonstration of the profound relationship between [the U.S. and Israel].” “A world without America’s leadership, without her moral voice, would be a darker world,” Peres said in a short opening statement. “From the depths of our hearts, toda raba – thank you … Welcome home, Mr. President.”
Obama – who has visited Israel twice: as a senator and a presidential candidate – used portions of his speech to emphasize the historical connection between Jews and Israel:
More than 3,000 years ago, the Jewish people lived here, tended the land here, prayed to God here. And after centuries of exile and persecution, unparalleled in the history of man, the founding of the Jewish State of Israel was a rebirth, a redemption unlike any in history. Today, the sons of Abraham and the daughters of Sarah are fulfilling the dream of the ages — to be “masters of their own fate” in “their own sovereign state.” And just as we have for these past 65 years, the United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend.
The Israel Project was at the airport to document the event: