 MEF director Gregg Roman testifies before the Knesset on July 8, 2024. Roman offered specific ways to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance against emerging threats. |
JERUSALEM, July 10, 2024 – In testimony before Israel's parliament (video), the Knesset, on July 8, Middle East Forum (MEF) director Gregg Roman offered specific ways to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance against emerging threats.
Acknowledging challenges to the 75-year partnership between the two countries, Roman critiqued efforts to undermine this relationship. His key points included:
- Thwarting foreign influence operations in the U.S. by helping attorneys and law enforcement launch cases against terror organizations, as for example the Anti-Defamation League is doing now.
- Developing effective strategies for countering anti-Israel activities on American college campuses, such as exposing the operations and ending the funding of individuals and organizations seeking to break U.S.-Israel relations.
- Advancing joint U.S.-Israel capabilities in cybersecurity and intelligence.
- Supporting opposition groups in adversarial states, including the Kurds in Iraq, the Druze and Maronite communities in Lebanon, and regime opponents in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
"We should, first," Roman said, "take the fight to our foes by going on the offensive against all efforts to undermine our relationship. History teaches us that a merely defensive stance against determined adversaries often leads to failure."
Roman cited historical collaborations such as: Operation Olympic Games, a years-long cyber-attack against Iranian nuclear facilities, as a successful joint initiative to emulate; and the presence of special operations advisors, including the former head of U.S. Central Command, coming to Israel to advise the IDF immediately after the Oct. 7 attacks.
One day after Roman's testimony, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warned of increased Iranian influence operations on U.S. college campuses regarding protests against Israel's actions in Gaza, thereby opening another important area of U.S.-Israel cooperation.
The Middle East Forum, a non-profit organization, promotes American interests in the Middle East and protects Western civilization from Islamism. It does so through a combination of original ideas and focused activism. For more information, visit www.meforum.org.
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Winfield Myers
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