Joe Biden
“If you talk to any legitimate historian, they’ll say there was a real genocide. If there was a real genocide, it should be recognized as such,” said ZOA national president Mort Klein.
The U.S. president congratulated the prime minister on Israel’s successful COVID vaccination campaign, exchanging ideas on how best to quell the pandemic.
“Israel is a country where we have an important strategic security relationship, and our team is fully engaged—not at the head-of-state level yet but very soon,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Seth Rogen called the message, which former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon conveyed to the U.S. president, “the most Jewish tweet ever.”
“Replacing a maximum pressure campaign with a maximum concession campaign will only embolden Iran,” wrote Republican lawmakers.
“It was a constructive conversation and further communications were agreed upon,” tweeted Hussein al-Sheikh.
Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin also sent a message congratulating Joe Biden, emphasizing that the ties between Israel and America go beyond political parties and are based on shared values.
After Congress affirmation, RJC congratulates Biden on winning presidency
The Republican Jewish Coalition offered to work with the incoming administration “on issues such as the U.S.-Israel relationship and preventing a nuclear Iran.”
“My advice on negotiating with Iran is to recognize that the United States has the upper hand. Recognize that the regime in Tehran is facing serious pressures,” the U.S. Special Representative for Iran tells JNS, in large part due to the “maximum pressure” campaign the Trump administration has applied for the last few years.
Michael Makovsky of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America said “given the foreign-policy rhetoric during the Democratic primary, [Tony] Blinken and [Jake] Sullivan are from the more moderate wing of the party, and that is reassuring. They’re thoughtful and experienced experts.”
While Middle East analysts say Biden is building a team of people in whom he trusts, can rely on and can work together as a team, a good deal of concern centers on whether U.S. foreign policy will look too much like it did during the Obama administration.
“I think Gulf states are hoping that Joe Biden will govern as a centrist with an experienced team and will address the weaknesses of the JCPOA,” said Ali Shihabi, an author and commentator on the Middle East with a focus on Saudi Arabia.
