On September 11, 2001, the country that stands for democracy, freedom, and liberty, came under attack. Not since World War II’s Pearl Harbor attack by Japan had the United States faced true warfare on their soil. The result was more than significant, a seven year war on foreign ground and a stricter travel policy. Though, for the people of New York and all across the US, a sense of patriotic unity had risen like a phoenix in the face of this tragedy. In the world, there is only one other country that commemorates September 11 with a memorial, that remembers the day side by side with the United States; of course I am referring to the State of Israel.
Israel has known terrorism. Israel has known hardship and loss. While America is the essence of Western culture, Israel is a true mix of East meets West. The US-Israel relationship is not just based off national security, business alliances, or the common goal of ending radical Islamic terrorism. The two countries may sometimes have differing interests, though, their common values and experiences is what makes the alliance so strong.
Most allied countries are not as empathetic to the feelings of the average American, especially when an American is attacked oversees, even though the countries receive millions in humanitarian aid from the US. As many of us know, most countries even celebrate when tragedies occur in the United States, whether the issue was caused by an outside source or not. On September 11, 2001, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as well as in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) cheered in favor of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda (video). Praising their actions to kill innocent Americans, following their tradition of giving out candy in the streets when a tragedy occurs to their enemies. Without hesitation or embarrassment, the Israeli people feel the pain of the American people as well as the joy of the American people.
The Israeli feeling of empathy, feeling the pain of our strongest ally, is more than prevalent especially on this day of solitude. Even in a time of natural disaster, like we had just seen from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, we saw IsraAID (an Israeli NGO committed to providing life-saving disaster relief and long term support) quickly prepare to serve the American people whom were most greatly affected. Not only did we see IsrAID, but we saw an Israel Rescue Coalition come to answer the needs of the people of Houston. The Coalition was mostly made up of Israel’s core humanitarian groups: ZAKA and Hatzalah. The Coalition provided more help in the need for search and rescue as well as mental health treatment for the hurricane’s victims. Israel and the United States are bounded together through thick and thin.
The US-Israel relationship is stronger than ever. The strength does not come from the friendship between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. The alliance is bonded together by the people and the values we share. Through memorial and a strong feeling of remembrance, the legacy of September 11 lives on right here in the Jewish State. Israel has no better ally than America, and America will find that they have no better ally than Israel.
George Deek is an Arab-Israeli diplomat. In 2018, Deek was appointed Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan. He is the first Israeli Arab Christian to become an ambassador. Deek grew up in an Eastern Orthodox Christian family in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa, in a building where the other tenants included Muslims, Catholics, Jews and a Catholic priest of Jewish ancestry.[2][3] His father, who worked as a tax advisor,[3] was one of the leaders of the Christian community in Jaffa who served as chairman of the Orthodox Association, and was considered a well-known and popular figure in the city until in 2015 a square was inaugurated in his memory in Jaffa in the presence of Mayor Ron Huldai.[4] According to Deek, his grandparents fled to Lebanon for safety when the 1947–1949 Palestine war, having been told that the Jews would slaughter them if they remained in their homes, but expecting to return home once Arab armies defeated the Jews.[3] According to Deek, when the war ended, his grandparents felt that they had been “deceived”, and decided to return illegally to their home in Jaffa rather than remaining in Lebanon as refugees. Since reentering the country was illegal, Deek’s grandfather, an electrician, was arrested and jailed.
