Robert Torricelli: “throughout all of my adult life, I have traveled frequently to Israel. I have had the honor of knowing almost all of…”

“throughout all of my adult life, I have traveled frequently to Israel. I have had the honor of knowing almost all of Israel's principal leaders. As many Americans though I am of the Christian faith, I have always felt a strong identity with the struggle of the Jewish people and the survival of the Jewish State. I believe the American relationship with Israel is complex: Our sense that Israel represents the edges of Western civilization; the identity of a struggling people simply desiring to survive; the sense of humanity's obligation to the Jewish people who have survived the Holocaust; and, of course, an inevitable American identity with a democracy, a pluralist state that shares our most basic value. Through this association, I have witnessed Israel in many struggles. Years ago, all Americans marveled at Israel's ability to overcome extraordinary military adversity in the 1967 war facing overwhelming conventional arms against them. In 1973, a similar array of armed forces having entered the very heart of Israel and being turned back was a demonstration of remarkable courage and sacrifice by the Israeli people. In the years that followed, there was the conventional conflict in which Israel's triumph was matched by her ability to stand down mounting strategic armaments from the Syrians, the launching of limited missiles from Lebanon. In each of these conflicts, courage, determination, guile, and skill allowed Israel to survive.”