-israel relationship.see that impact, you can see that atmosphere of innovation and cooperation. >> we call israel the startup nation, and i see a lot of economic activity. businesses establishing, all of which add to better life for not only israelis and americans, but also for the entire world. >> israel is becoming a superpower. in terms of agriculture, technology, dealing with water, they have some very innovative technology. that partnership and that space is going to be more and more. >> we learned about the startup tech industry there and about how so many advances there are happening. we continue not to maintain that bond, but to grow it. >> israel, which was basically a desert, has gone from a shortage of water now to managing the world's best drip irrigation and crop management. >> they have advanced technologies that make it more cost-effective, using less energy and also making sure they are environmentally friendly. that is something i think the united states could learn from israel. >> it is

and israel policy. it's getting underway now, live coverage here on c-span2. >> the committee policy conference where a bipartisan group of congressmen and officials will gather to reaffirm their unwavering support for the state of israel. it's our hope that today's event provides context and insight into how the lobby functions and why it's influence is worth talking about. today's event is also held at a time when the national discussion is taking place about the role of special interest groups in the political process. in the aftermath of last month's shooting in parkland, florida, americans have engaged in a relatively open and healthy discussion about the role of the national rifle association and we believe that's the most powerful foreign lobby in the united states, the israel lobby's actions must also be openly debated and we hope that today's event will facilitate such a discussion. before we begin, just some information and ground rules for the day. we are expecting a pretty full room so we as

that surrounded israel is surrounded israel surrounded surrounded it's israel the sun the siege and under threat you described a very small land mass and you know you're dealing with hamas and hezbollah and iran and so on i would like that it's a tough neighborhood the imagery here is so powerful that it's almost impossible to have a rational discussion about the legitimate grievances of palestinians hamas is a terror group and it is committed to killing jews and wiping israel off the face of the earth that's not debatable that's a fact none of this is by accident this is the result that with the liberal effort to shape american perceptions of the conflict a propaganda effort that really begins to take shape with israel's invasion of lebanon in one thousand nine hundred two. israel unleashed another massive air attack on palestinian guerrilla targets in lebanon today from a sky full of israeli jets bombing bombing. and the summer of one thousand nine hundred two israel invaded neighboring lebanon in an attempt to drive the palestinian liberation organization out of its income on som

israel.credible conference and i'm so honored to be here, jews and non- jews, religious and secular democrats andnd republicans who all hold heartfelt views and all unite in their steadfast commitment for israel and the essential role of the united states in giving effect to the support. what an honor it is to address you this morning and share the podium with such distinguished friends of israel, senators bob menendez, marco rubio and chris can g. such an honor and of course the prime minister of the state of israel, benjamin netanyahu. [applause] this is my first opportunity to speak to you as the united states ambassador. it was a little less than a year ago i took the oath of office administered by vice president mike pence and i'm so proud of what the administration has accomplished with regardshi to israel. [applause] it was to put it mildly a year of firsts. we begin at the white house for the first time posted itsos celebration of israel independence day on the 69th anniversary of isr

but, when it comes to the basics, israel israel united. which themember in joke was -- sorry, i spoiled it. israelis share three views. today, three israelis hardly view and it will be not only preoccupation. view and it willoccupation is n israel. nobody talks about it, nobody discusses it. nobody is concerned about occupation. it is one of those things like the rain, the sun. some like it, some like it less, but nobody thinks anybody can be done about it. it does not bother us so much, that is the truth. it is only a half-hour away from our homes but who cares about it? are on a dailyimes basis. the media hardly covers them. them, it willer be according to the zionist narrative. a girl of 14 with scissors in her hands as an existential threat to the state of israel. soldierho is slapping a is someone who deserves life sentence, not less than this. a girl that one hour before, he r cousin was shot in his head 60 meters away from her home so now the israeli army claims this was fabricated. i mean, even the israeli propaganda lost its shame

knowledge israel but the middle east.plause] >> obviously nothing critical is support for missile defense and other things that the s supplies israel. give us a sense of what the state of support is right now in both the democrat and republican caucuses on those issues. >> i think that we sponsored a resolution some months ago that got essentially unanimous support. for israel and when you speak of missile defense, one of the things that we all made clear was that i ran under the un request should not be testing or developing missiles which can attack israel and or the entire middle east. and we need to make sure that we implement the sanctions that have been passed and if new sanctions are necessary, be prepared to enforce them. let me say that missile defense is one of the areas where i think israel and the united states can really be cooperating as well as space tunneling, bronze which we have seen such a dramatic consequence of just recently where israel acted absolutely properly. we had an iranian missile. [applause]

it has the three d's, demonizing israel, applying a double standard for israel, and delegitimizing israel. and so it says if you use symbols that associate with classic anti-semitism to characterize israel or israel, tend to agree with that. but then has other comparisons which are totally mi in my mind illegitimate such as drawing comparisons of contemporary israeli policy to that of the nazis. this happens of course all the time among jews. i have been called a capo. you hear israelis talking to one another accusing one another of acting like nazis in all sorts of ways. so what they're saying is jews can say things to jews but non-jews can't say those things to jews without somehow being anti-semitic and thus a violation of law. this is what the problem of exceptionalism comes in. such comparisons, you know, began even prior to the creation of the state official. there's this famous letter albert einstein and others signed when i think it was moshe dayan came to united states, he and others declared he's a a fascist and he should be allowed into the united states making a quick comparis

if you are not investing in israel -- anyone here not investing in israel? invest in israel! you should. david: you were the first israeli prime minister born in israel, but moved to the united states when you are eight years old. is that right? p.m. netanyahu: i came for a year. david: you came for a year, and you didn't like it and went back? p.m. netanyahu: i was eight years old. i was an independent kid, but not that independent. david: you came back to the united states as a teenager? p.m. netanyahu: yeah. david: you went to m.i.t. and majored in architecture. did you want to be an architect? p.m. netanyahu: at the time, i did. i went to undergraduate school and got an undergraduate degree in architecture. i basically did four years in two years, so after two years i got my undergraduate degree, and then i decided i would go to the sloan school and got my masters degree, an mba essentially. david: and then you went to bcg? p.m. netanyahu: yeah. david: alright, so you are in the business career. you are in a great firm, bcg. what propelled you to get out of that, possibly

i am a pro israel guy. i am a pro israel guy.istrict of america we see benefits as a consequence of the israel relationship that seems to foster an environment of innovation and cooperation. >> i see a lot of the economic activities businesses are establishing that they are coming to for wishon all adds to a better life but also for the entire world. and with that innovative technology with that tech industry and not just to maintain that strong-arm. >> israel which was basically a desert went from a shortage now to manage the best irrigation and crop management stomach they have technology to make it more cost-effective and also making sure that is what the united states can learn from israel. >> but for that how do they succeed and to make the world better. as long as we do it together. >> please welcome aipac president. [applause] ♪ >> our next guest is a deep and personal relationship with israel. i am proud to say he has a long relationship with aipac as well. for decades throughout his career in public service vice presiden

[inaudible] is an island in israel. it is not israel. haaretz is a island in a stormy, stormy ocean. they do everything possible to close haaretz down. the fact that i have such a wonderful home with such really, i don't think there's one publisher in the world when gets a protest of the subscriber was very angry and you know what he tells them? he says haaretz is not amusement for you. don't read it. a publisher who was really struggling on the existence of any we are really struggling on each reader and each subscriber and he said, it is not for you. it is not for you. there is very little hope but maybe it's good to include this after all with some hope and optimism and as long as haaretz is there, i will be there hopefully as long as this voice is still being raised maybe there is a hole. i don't know. inc. you so much for coming today. [applause] >> the next panel, will you please approach. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> we expect this daylong conference to continue in about two minutes or so. they will be lo

-israel relationship you really have to become in pro-israel giving in addition to pro-israel advocacy. when we asked our middle child what he wanted to do to celebrate his bar mitzvah. he said i wanted to recite in israel. celebrating with our friend ronnie and his family is something i'll never forget. it's very personal for me. their future is at stake. while it's a thriving, bright future, there are threats. there are real threats, serious threats. we have a chance to do something about it. here i am, i'm part of this greatest political experiment in the history of world, the united states of america. this great state of israel i have a voice in policies that matter to both of them. when i think about that, i think that there's nothing more important that i can be doing. [ applause ] please welcome aipac national member cindy montonaez. >> if you walk down many streets in the united states or in israel you're likely to hear a story just like mine. i'm american of mexican descent. my parents came to this country for the same reason many others have come to the united states of ameri

-israel relationship.d as ever to ensure the alliance between the united states and israel endures. today, tomorrow, and for many generations to come. [applaus [applause] >> so, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back to the aipac stage, the prime minister of the state of israel, benjamin netanyahu [cheers and applause] ♪ >> thank you. ♪ >> thank you. >> good morning, aipac. [applause] >> it's always great to be here, but as i told president trump yesterday, it's especially great to be in america's capital now that he's recognized jerusalem as israel's capital. [applaus [applause] >> thank you, president trump for that historic decision. [applaus [applause] >> thank you for announcing another decision, to move the american embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem this independence day. [applaus [applause] >> as the first ambassador to have the honor of working from that embassy in jerusalem is a great american ambassador, david friedman. [applause] >> you can watch the rest of benjamin netanyahu's speech, the

god bless israel.ess the united of america. ♪ announcer: is really prime minister benjamin netanyahu continues his visit to stay with an apparent set the aipac conference. also, senator mitch mcconnell. live coverage begins at a :00 a.m. eastern on c-span2. eight :00 a.m. eastern on c-span two. c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 19 to me nine, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies and today we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington, d.c., and around the country. c-span is brought to by your cable or satellite provider. next, a look at the legislative week ahead in congress and at the white house. from washington journal, this is one hour. >> monday morning on the washington journal a chance to discuss the weekend and washington. we are joined by political editor at the national journal and a political reporter from bloomberg. debated in the senate is the issue of new

-israel relationship. talk about why that issue is so important to you. >> a lot of it has to do with home. i know we have some great minnesota aipac people here. we're excited about that. this is the democracy, a beacon of democracy in what's really tough, if not a tough neighborhood. if they're not jewish they see the important of that relationship. the fact that four of the five members of the gold medal winning u.s. curling team were from our state. i would like to bring that up. their daughter was doing the homework at the kitchen table. if it wasn't for the alert system, she would have been dead. hearing their story reminded me of the work i did as prosecutor and when we would be in these high crime neighborhoods on how people would be terrified every single day of what was going to happen to them next. no country should have to live like that. [ applause ] we were meeting with the prime minister and he was noting to me that he had a lot of relatives in minnesota and he had been there and he said whe

but they are twenty percent of the state of israel so by saying that israel is the nation stead of the jewish people what about the others the none jews the original people of the the land the palestinians who have been there and that our systems for hundreds of years that the nothing in my opinion that is a violation of their right and a violation of their culture who have been living there for as i mentioned hundreds of years come up with what to what extent do you think that the white house this decision to move the us embassy to jerusalem is is playing into this does it. well what we have been seeing is that there is a systematic merger by both the right wing government in israel led by netanyahu and by the extremist in the u. us without the us president doing of from these so-called. jewish lobby led by aipac and zionist christians invent event jellicoe those inside the us who are very much interested in a nut been pushing for the recognize in jerusalem as the capital of the stilt of israel and me getting the right to the palestinians of their ends of their own state we haven't se

israel.dible conference and i'm so honored to be here among religious and secular, democrats and republicans who all hold lots of heartfelt albeit diverse views but who all unite in their steadfast commitment to support israel and the unique and essential role of the united states in giving that support. [applause] what an honor it is to address you this morning to share this podium with such distinguished friends of israel, house majority whip steve scalise and senators bob menendez mitch mcconnell marco rubio and chris coons. it's a great honor. [applause] and of course the prime minister of the state of israel benjamin netanyahu. [applause] this is my first opportunity to speak to you as the united states ambassador to israel. it was a little less than a year ago that i took the oath of my office administered by vice president penton i was so proud of what the trump administration has accomplished in this past year with regard to israel. [applause] it was to put it mildly a year of firsts.

relations with israel and the pro- israel lobby. and let's discuss the political influence of aipac, the american israel public affairs committee and college campus debates about israel. this part of the conference is two hours 40 minutes. come wan -- [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> morning. we will get started promptly at 9:00 a.m. thanks for being here. despite 40 mile-per-hour winds outside, we are glad you are here. i am the assistant editor of the washington report on middle eastern affairs and on behalf of the washington report and the institute for research, we would like to welcome you all to today's conference. once again the annual conference is convening on the eve of the annual american israel affairs committee policy conference for a bipartisan group of congressmen and other officials gathered to reaffirm their unwavering support for the state of israel. it is our hope that today's event provides some contac context and insight on how the lobby functions and why the influences were talking about.

every part of israel. in syria, iran is cementing military forces. and in the south they control gaza where they're digging more and more into israel. and it is affiliates from the sinai peninsula. >> israel relies on our help to meet near term threats. as well as longer term threats like a nuclear armed iran. to meet these threats, on tuesday, we will ask lawmakers to fully fund $3.3 billion in security assistance to israel. $500 million in cooperative missile defense funding. and to support the overall trend by the further, we will ask lawmakers to cosponsor the united states israel security assistance authorization act of 2018. bipartisan legislation just introduced by representative -- and senators marco rubio and -- [applause] they deserve a lot of credit. the bill supports agreed-upon funding levels and to dramatically strengthen us cooperation with israel in many areas. including enhancing and expanding israeli based american war reserves stockpiles for which the us can share with israel in an emerg

years even talking about threats iran poses to israel. he heard the anti- israel vitriol echoing out of to run and have seen its proxies pushing closer and closer to israel's borders and we know exactly why iran continues to expand in syria invest so much in president assad's dictatorship. iranian leaders transferring weapons has let them build a land bridge. ron views the syrian battlefield as a training iranian proxy forces devoted to a singular mission -- israel's instruction. russia has helped enable expansion in syria by prolonging the grip on power. hand-in-hand criminal and terrorist, vladimir putin and president assad has cleared a path to regime to expand its military footprint. make no mistake, iran is building an advanced military presence in syria and we risk willfully disregarding this reality if we cling to a failed policy of negotiating with russia. that is precisely what we are doing continue to seek out agreement to de-escalate areas in syria. these agreements with russia are dangerous and in fact they are paving the way

how can the us and israel work together to confront the threat in syria and ensure that israel gets theupport that it needs to deal with a threat? >> i think this is a real wake-up call for washington and that is that we must and tall and we must be firm on this. that iran has been building up their military presence in syria and lebanon. we're talking right in israel's northern border. and the first is what i've been talking about. the importance of aid and keeping our age strong for israel. i was in the second is being very firm on the sanctions against iran and enforcing them. and enforcing them, this is everything from the primary sections to the secondary sanctions about making sure that we go after companies that are doing business with hezbollah and other terrorist groups and making this a major priority in the foreign policy. or it will just get worse and worse. the last thing i would say is the importance of taking on anti-semitism across the world. because will have trouble getting allies against iran if we just let that fester and that means they senators, that join together

israel endures. today, tomorrow and for many generations to come ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back the prime minister of the state of israel. [applause] [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] >> good morning aipac it's always great to be here but as i told president trump yesterday, it's especially great to be in america's capital now that he has recognize jerusalem as israel's capital thank you president trump for that decision. [applause] thank you for announcing another decision to move the american embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem this independence day. in the first ambassador to have the honor working from that embassy is the great american ambassador david friedman. [applause] david, thank you for the traffic job you are doing and you know who else is doing a terrific job, the ambassador to washington, ron dermer. [applause] thank you for the terrific job you are doing. i want to thank mark friedman, leave lillian, lily, you don't have to remind them how far back we go together. apex nuc

policy towards israel. we'll hear about the israeli-palestinian conflict and the role of interest groups in influence how the use interacts with israel. [inaudible conversations] >> good morning, everyone. we will get started probably at 9:00. thanks for being here on time, despite the 40-mile an hour winds outside. we are glad you're okay. the winds have changed we hope. i'm dale sprusansky, on behalf of the washington report and institute for research middle eastern policy we would like to welcome you all to today's conference. once again this annual conference is convening on the eve of the annual american israel affairs committee policy conference where a a bipartisan group of congressman and other officials once again gather to reaffirm their unwavering support for the state of israel. it is our hope that today's event provides some context and insight into how the lobby functions and why its influence is worth talking about. today's event is also being held at a time when the national discussion is ta

is anti-israel, then what are you saying about the state of israel? and the other thing i think is when you say that it is anti-jewish, one of the biggest questions that come to mind is whether you're recognizing that the majority of jews do not live in israel. that's an offensive statement. and it's almost inherently ain't semitic because -- antisemitic because you're saying they all support one particular state. so that's a disturbing idea. [laughter] this is an anti-racist movement, and the intention is not to target any one group of people, but to target a state actor and its policies. >> was there legislation against bds when it came to south africa? >> admittedly, i do not know if there was. i think that there -- in uh-uh recall, i don't know if -- if i recall, there's a document called have you heard from johannesburg. it's brilliant. and i think when i was reading about it, there were efforts to legislate against the south african boycott many that film. >> what can consumers do when it comes to costco and staples carrying israeli products? >>

anyone here not investing in israel? invest in israel. you should.id: you were the first israeli prime minister born in israel, but moved to the united states when you are eight years old. pm netanyahu: i came for a year. david: you didn't like it and came back? pm netanyahu: i was eight years old. i was independent as a kid, but not that independent. [laughter] david: you came back to the united states as a teenager? pm netanyahu: yeah. david: you went to m.i.t. and majored in architecture. did you want to be an architect? pm netanyahu: i went to undergraduate school and got a degree in architecture. i did four years in two years, then i decided i would go to the sloan school and got my masters, an mba essentially. bcg?d: then you went to ?bc what propelled you out of that into something else? why did you abandon that and go back to israel? pm netanyahu: pm netanyahu: man's greatest calling. i was derailed. what changed my life was that a month after i got into bcg, my brother fell leading the rescue of intent. -- david: so you decided to go back an

frankly, keeping us support for israel, american engagement with israel, not just on security issueso on innovation and technology in our shared values it is absolutely essential because there are so few things that bring up together in congress these days. we need to show the world that we can sustain a bipartisan commitment to israel to security and to its thriving is the only democracy in the middle east and the most vital ally in the middle east. [applause] >> we were talking backstage about the delegation also travel to jordan which, of course, has a critical and evolving relationship with israel. what was your takeaways from that part of the trip? >> we had a remarkable dinner with the king and heard from him and security concerns, yes, but more economic concerns that i've heard before. there is 650,000 syrian refugees in jordan and the downward pressure on their economy is markable. the imf is pushing them to make it very difficult forms and i think we need to do more to invest in jordan's economic stability. king abdulla represents a version of islam that is moderate, they ar

-israel alliance. claire: i hope you've all been taking notes. senator rubio, thank you so much for your time. let's give him another round of applause. busy man also. really appreciate you. senator rubio: thank you. thank you very much. ♪ >> good morning, aipac. and thank you for that warm welcome. i'm honored to be here once again at the policy conference. [applause] senator menendez: let me say that sometimes god puts a goliath in your path to find the david within you. and i found that david within me. [applause] senator menendez: but we all know that even david had a slingshot and many of you here today were part of my slingshot so i am very grateful and thankful. [applause] senator menendez: it's no secret that i have taken a lot of heat over the years for standing up for what i believe in but when my children ask me if i knew what was going to happen would i have taken those same stands and my answer is a resolute yes, absolutely. [applause] enator menendez: standing here inspired g here i'm by all of you, the thousands of aipac members wh

/israel alliance.e from the great state of minnesota, senator amy klobuchar. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you, senator. >> well, thank you. it's great to be here for this intimate discussion with you and thousands of our friends. >> exactly. so many of our friends. you have been a consistent supporter of the u.s./israel relationship. talk about why that issue is so important to you. >> well, a lot of it, of course, has to do with home, and i know we have some great minnesota aipac people here, and we're excited about that. [applause] and it's also, has a lot to do with israel's position in the world. this is a democracy, a beacon of democracy in what is a really tough if not incomparably tough neighborhood. and when i talk to people at home, they see it in that way. if they're not jewish, they see the importance of that friendship. if they are jewish, they always remind me that we've had not one, not two, not three, but four jewish senators in the last few decades in minnesota -- [applause] and we have a re

thank you aipac, god bless israel, god bless america and god bless the israel america alliance.nk you all. thank you. [cheering and applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> week we have heard from officials from both parties on the importance of a strong israel relationship and today we are going t

-israel relationship. today we're going to have two back-to-back interviews with members of the senate foreign relations committee. one from each side of the aisle. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming our first guest from the state of delaware, senator christopher coons. [applause] thanks for coming today. senator coons: thanks for aipac for great conference and a chance to join you again. [applause] >> senator coons, you just render from a trip to israel. we were talking backstage. it sounds like it was fascinating. you got to visit with prime minister netanyahu, visit the syrian border. what is your candid sense of the security situation coming away from the trip? senator coons: it was a great trip. senator lindsey graham and i led this trip. we had a chance to visit jordan and israel and in israel we spent four days looking at its security situation. and i was truly struck in my eight years as a senator, i haven't seen an immediate security situation as threatening as today. think about it

they think israel has always been strong. they do not realize that if israel were weak, our enemies would immediately seek her destruction. i remember being in high school, james madison high school in brooklyn, new york, 1967. i carried a transistor radio to my ear. you young people will not know what that is. i would not let it go from my ear. because it was during the 1967 1967.une oof and i was worried israel would be pushed into the scene. -- pushed into the sea by the onslaught. we were praying, please save israel. the younger generation never experienced this. they have not lived through a time when israel's existence was balanced on the edge of a knife. fortunately, these days have passed. but israel faces challenges that no other nation must base. while putin enables assad's atrocities in syria, while a humanitarian crisis unfolds in yemen, while human rights abuses happen every day to so many in iran, somehow, israel receives the blame for a chaotic middle east. the world celebrates the most incremental progress by

and israel face. so first had general level.live in a dangerous chaotic world that always has been that, it always will that. it's great to have strong diplomacy to have international accords, to have treaty allies, but at bottom foreign policy geopolitics starts at end of a rifle, and unfortunately sometimes has to end there as well and no matter what else you have if you don't have a military that is capable of defending your people and a protecting its interest and allies around the world, then you're not prepared to cope with that world. [applause] one day -- one date lion melee down with the lam but on that daled rather be the lion than the lam. [laughter] but second more specific point is nature of the threats question face when i was in baghdad in 2006, we patrolled a couple of different neighborhoodses. one was almost exclues uively shiite but faced threat from both sides in those two neighborhoods that reare flected continue threat in the middle east that united states and israel face today so on the one hand in the pre

—— hamas. destruction of the state of israel -- hamas.england and germany, and in france, like evenin and germany, and in france, like even in the united states, whojust elected a very bizarre president, weak, palestinians, are free to elect exactly what they want palestinians want. israelis are going to listen to this and your belief that the palestinians can choose hamas if they and still believe that there is any possible reason why they should listen to you talking about unitary state? they can listen to me talking about two state solution. they are not listening. no for that. and what is netanyahu listening. no for that. and what is neta nyahu proposing listening. no for that. and what is netanyahu proposing for israel is an palestinians? more and more confrontation, more friction, more bloodshed. i am confrontation, more friction, more bloodshed. iam proposing peace, i am proposing peace, freedom for palestinians and peaceful israelis and palestinians. it is challenging. it is. if you wanted to build some temperatures and build some

and i think it's something that's very much appreciated in israel, but far beyond israel. we are very close on trade deals. we are very, very close on military and terrorism and all of the things that we have to work together on. so the relationship has never been better, and mr. prime minister, mrs. netanyahu, it's a great honor to have you. thank you. prime minister netanyahu: thank you. mr. president, donald, melania, we want to thank you for your extraordinary friendship. it's always a pleasure to see you both. this is the first time we meet in washington, america's capital, after you declared, mr. president, jerusalem as srael's capital and this was an historic proclamation. followed by your bold decision at our he embassy national independence day. i will say the jewish people -- we remember the proclamation of the great king, cyrus, persian king, he said the exiles in babylon can rebuild our temple in jerusalem. 100 years ago a lord issued the proclamation that recognized the rights of the jewish people in our ancestral homeland. we remember seven years ago -- 70 ye

with israel. step in the right direction is putting the embassy in jerusalem but don't forget, the syrians and the russians are in bed together. we are not backing him and that can't be okay because if the iranians and syrians are able to work with the russians, that is obviously a direct hit not just against israel but against us as well. you brought up in the beginning, this investigation, in many way ways, the administration's hands are tied when it comes to dealing with this important stuff. >> kennedy: there is a lot to sure with this meeting. obviously israel is very pleased about the u.s. moving the embassy to jerusalem. every administration has promised that. is that problematic for you at all, what stands out for you? >> jessica: it's not problematic for me at all. this is one of the things chuck schumer was pushing the president to do. going down decades it's been a consistent problem, we can't pin it on obama. i think this is a meeting that president trump is going to really enjoy, he's

if you are not investing in israel -- is anyone not investing in israel? invested in israel! should. david: you are the first israeli -- then you came to united states? >> i was an independent kid but not that independent. david: you came back to the united states as a teenager? you went to m.i.t. and wanted to be an architect? netanyahu: i got a degree in architecture, after two years i decided i would go to get an mba. david: then he went to bcg? prime minister netanyahu: yes. david: what compelled you to get out of that? why did you abandon that and go back to israel? prime minister nine yahoo!: man's greatest calling. netanyahu: yes. i was derailed. it changed my life about a month -- my brother was leading the rescue force. david: your brother, he was the only israeli soldier killed? 1976, right? so you decided to go back and honor him in some way? prime minister netanyahu: the short time that i spent in bcg is a place where i literally understood the fundamentals of competition. once you understand that, it's like a secret that was shared. i had the opportunity to see t

scanning the ground for israel and finding common ground where we can. that is what i think them for doing. keep up the good work and thank you. >> amy klobuchar, thank you for your time this morning.♪ ♪ [music] >> please welcome back to this stage, claire shipman. >> thank you. earlier we heard from senator amy klobuchar. i will give them a leader and then others of the aisle. our next guest over and 15 after -- he has since gone and reputation in the senate as an active voice on foreign policy issues and as an outspoken critic of iran's aggression about the middle east. he joined us today to discuss the critical issues. please welcome senator tom cotton. >> you very much for the very warm welcome! i feel like i have some to present. >> is a member of congress you have been a consistent and vocal supporter of the us israel relationship. i want to ask you what i asked senator amy klobuchar. why is this issue important to you? where does your passion for israel and the relationship come from? >> personally, where it comes from for me is everything i know

the three ds, demonizing israel, applying a double standard for israel and delegitimizing israel. so says if you use symbols so-ed with classic anti-semitism, i tend to agree with that. then has other comparisons which are totally in my mind illegitimate, such as drawing comparisons of contemporary israeli poll so i to that of the nazis. that's happen all the time among jews. i've been called a capo, you hear israelis talking to ewan would, accusing one another of act can like nazis in all sorts of ways. what they're saying is jews can say things to jews but nonjews can't say thosing toes to jew us without being anti-semitism and a violation of law and this is the problem of exceptionalism comes in. such comparisons began even prior to the creation of the state of israel. a famous letter that albert einstein and others signed when i think it was more should diane dime the united states and they declared he is a fascist and shouldn't be allowed into the united states, macing a clear comparison with the tragedy in europe. so jews have been doing this since the beginning of naziism.

i think of america's defense of freedom in the world and alliance with israel and support for israel.e deepest feelings about the united states of america for both reasons. mark: when you come to this country, do you notice the deepest feelings americans have for the state of israel? how does that make you feel? >> makes me feel great! i tell you, going from here to new york city,hey let me walk out a bit from my cage. i g out. i go with my wife to central park and americans come and they clap, and i did go to mount vernon here. mark: beautiful. >> yeah, i wanted to pay my respects to george washington, who was incredible. incredible figure, people don't know, don't appreciate washington for so many things. they appreciate it, but i learned a lot of things about him. i went there, there were people from all over the united states, and they applauded. but it's -- i think it's an identity that most americans feel about israel, that we're part of the same civilization and in many ways, you know, what the islam radicals say about us, they say you are you -- you are them and they are you.