update deskU.S.-Israel Relations

Rubio visits Israel to meet with top officials, including Netanyahu and Gallant

The Florida senator declared his strong support for Israel and noted the threat from radical groups in the United States.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) meets with Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister, on April 26, 2024. Credit: Courtesy of Sen. Marco Rubio's office.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) meets with Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister, on April 26, 2024. Credit: Courtesy of Sen. Marco Rubio's office.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday in Israel, and on Friday with Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The senator declared his strong support for Israel and noted the threat from radical groups in the United States.

Gallant told the senator about the security situation in Israel, to which Rubio responded with a robust defense of Israel’s self-defense rights.

Writing on social media, Gallant called the meeting an “important discussion” and that they explored “our shared goals in fighting Iranian-sponsored terrorism, whether it’s Hamas, Hezbollah or proxies across the region.”

Gallant thanked Rubio for his “solidarity and friendship.”

Earlier in the week, Rubio dismissed as “a stupid comparison” by The Washington Post the suggestion that the anti-Israel protests escalating on American college campuses today resembled anti-war demonstrations in the 1960s.

“Vietnam War protests didn’t have violent antisemitic mobs threatening the safety of Jewish students,” he wrote.

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