(The Hill) Steve Israel - What is missing from the argument about what really motivates most of my former House colleagues to support Israel is: What is good for the United States? Their responsibility is to protect American interests first and foremost. The vast majority of the Democrats and Republicans in Congress support Israel because it is a valuable ally that shares fundamental ideals in a volatile region of the world. Israel is not Turkey, which has veered from American interests, or Russia or China. So our lawmakers support measures like funding anti-missile systems or the $40 billion security package that will help protect aligned American and Israeli interests in the Middle East. Congress supports Israel not because of a lobbyist, but because stopping the influence of Hamas and Hizbullah is essential for the U.S. In a region where democracy is stifled and religious freedom prohibited, our lawmakers support Israel because it remains a democracy. The writer represented New York in Congress for 16 years and is now the director of the Institute of Politics and Global Affairs at Cornell University.
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