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Netanyahu thanks Johnson for speaking up for Israel

The congressman’s “clarity and conviction” strengthen the shared U.S.-Israel stand against terrorism, the prime minister said.

Netanyahu Johnson
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and House Majority Leader Mike Johnson (R-La.) before the former’s address to the U.S. Congress on July 24, 2024. Photo by Amos Ben Gershom/GPO.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson for standing up for the Jewish state in a podcast interview that the Louisiana Republican posted online Tuesday.

“Thank you, Speaker @MikeJohnson, for your strong and principled words about Israel. Your clarity and conviction strengthen our shared stand against terror,” the premier stated on his office’s X social media account, along with a link to Fox News’ coverage of the interview, which aired on “The Katie Miller Podcast.”

Speaking to Miller alongside his wife, Kelly Johnson, at the U.S. Capitol last week, Johnson defended the U.S.-Israel relationship as strategically vital and called for universal rejection of antisemitism, addressing growing rifts within the Republican Party over Israel policy.

Johnson emphasized Israel’s role as the only stable democracy in the Middle East and said the alliance serves American interests regardless of religious motivations.

“It’s really important to have that ally and partner in that corner of the world,” Johnson said.

He acknowledged that some Americans support Israel for biblical reasons but stressed that the relationship’s strategic importance transcends religious considerations.

“This political environment could discourage congressional committee staff and federal agency personnel from pursuing investigations or enforcement actions involving antisemitism,” Karen Paikin Barall of the Brandeis Center told JNS.
“They get social credit within their political bases in terms of talking about settler violence and and taking up the side of the Palestinians on issues between them and Israel,” Rafael Mangual of the Manhattan Institute told JNS.
The U.S. envoy also said antisemitism “didn’t exist” during his upbringing and warned of an unintended clash between Israel and Turkey.
“There is not, and there will not be, a Palestinian state,” the Israeli prime minister pledged. He also called for the corruption trial against him to be dropped.