THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS

Report via The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) | (June 6, 2023 / JNS) 

Some two-dozen politicians and diplomats,  in addition to Jewish, business, media and other leaders, convened on  June 5 at the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill for the  inaugural U.S.-Israel Leaders Summit marking Israel’s 75th anniversary.

Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) told the audience  that the United States stands firmly with them, committed to ensuring  Israel’s survival and success.  

“Today, we are not just celebrating the  State of Israel but also the enduring values that bind us,” he said. “A  greater ally the United States could not have than Israel. … We are  nations focusing on the same God.”

The summit, which drew six members of  Congress on a Monday (typically a travel day for members), came  three-and-a-half weeks after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) hosted Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-Mich.) anti-Israel “Nakba Day” event, noted  Natasha Srdoc, co-organizer of the event and founder of the International Leaders Summit.

“It was timely and relevant to set the  record straight and to host the inaugural U.S.-Israel Leaders Summit,  commemorating Israel’s 75th anniversary on Capitol Hill and  strengthening America’s partnership with Israel,” Srdoc told JNS.

The event also included a screening—the Capitol Hill premiere—of the documentary “Upheaval: The Journey of Menachem Begin.”

Begin was a “courageous and pioneering  leader who forged peace in the region,” Srdoc said. “It reminds us all  about how his principled work helped pave the way for Arab leaders to  begin dialogue with Israel and led to the signing of the Abraham  Accords.”

Stuart Weinblatt, senior rabbi of the  “modern Conservative” synagogue B’nai Tzedek in Potomac, Md., was  another speaker at the event. He called the relationship between Jews  and Israel “the greatest love story.”

“It’s a story of a people who were  promised a parcel of land for eternity, and have believed in that  promise and remained faithful to it throughout the ages,” he said at the  summit. “While they lived there, they nurtured it, and it, in turn,  nurtured them.”

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) stressed the  importance—more than ever—that economics plays in the U.S.-Israel  relationship, which he said is critical not only to peace in the Middle  East but around the world. He cited the significance of the supply chain  and sharing technologies, including missile systems.

Brussels | Washington, DC  — July 3, 2023 | The International Leaders Summit led by co-founders Natasha Srdoc and   Joel Anand Samy in partnership with Chairman Manfred Weber and  Chairman  Mike Bost co-hosted the inaugural American-Eurppean Leaders  Summit at  the European Parliament on June 27, 2023. The bipartisan U.S.   Congressional delegation led by Congressman Mike Bost, chairman, U.S.   House Veterans Affairs’ Committee (HVAC) included five members of   Congress who traveled to the European continent. 

The  event's organizing body consisted of leadership board members of  International Leaders Summit including  Natasha Srdoc, Joel Anand Samy,  Dr. Paul Rübig, Tracy Bost and other distinguished members.

European Leadership

The   European leadership participating in the strategic summit meeting   included Manfred Weber, chairman, Group of the European People's Party   and president of the European People's Party; David McAllister,   chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs and member, Delegation for   relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, substitute, Committee  on  International Trade and Delegation for relations with the United   States; Radosław Sikorski , chair, Delegation for relations with the   United States, member, Committee on Foreign Affairs and member,   Subcommittee on Security and Defense and Rasa Juknevičiene, vice-chair,   subcommittee on Security and Defense and former Minister of Defense of   Lithuania (2008 to 2012).

American Leadership

The   US Congressional delegation included Marine Corps veteran Mike Bost,   chairman, Veterans' Affairs Committee and member of Transportation  &  Infrastructure Committee and Agriculture Committee; Mark Takano,   ranking member of HVAC and member, House Education and the Workforce   Committee; Scott Franklin, member, House Appropriations Committee,   member, HVAC and House Science, Space and Technology Committee;    Mariannettee Miller-Meeks, member the House Committee on Energy and   Commerce, member, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, where she  serves  as chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Health; Derrick Van Orden  and High  Chief Uifa'atali Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, vice chairman,  House  Veterans Affairs Committee, member, House Foreign Affairs  Committee and  co-chairman of the Indo-Pacific Task Force and Derrick  Van Orden,  member, the House Committee on Agriculture, Committee on  Transportation  and Infrastructure, and Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.