US-Israeli Security Cooperation

By Steve Israel

Congressman Steve Israel represents New York's 3rd Congressional District and is the sixth ranking member of the House Democratic Leadership as Chair of House Democratic Policy & Communications Committee. He is the highest ranking Jewish Democrat in the House of Representatives, and a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

Regardless of the turbulence weathered over the past year, the U.S.-Israel relationship has never been stronger. Don’t be deceived by the political optics used to create a perceived wedge between the United States and Israel—the United States has made and continues to make the most robust critical investment in history for Israel’s security.

Just over a year ago, when Hamas rockets began flying toward Israel, I was one of the first Members of Congress to visit Israel. I experienced the terror Israelis go through on a daily basis not knowing when the next siren would go off.  I saw for myself the sophistication of tunnels being dug by Hamas from Gaza into Israel.  These are not your average tunnels – they are massive, deep and difficult to detect. And terrorists are using these tunnels to attempt to kidnap and kill innocent Israeli civilians and members of the Israeli military. In response, the United States Congress has committed $40 million this year to address the illicit use of these tunnels and stop their use as terrorist expressways into Israel and around the globe.

“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62

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