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President Gets to Israel; Pledges Renewed Friendship, Security

By on March 20, 2013

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — President Barack Obama is declaring common cause with Israel, highlighting the bonds between the United States and its Mideast ally. He says he has made Israel the first stop of the first trip of his second term to restate his commitment to Israel’s security.

 

Obama arrived in Tel Aviv today, joking to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he was “getting away from Congress.”

Israeli President Shimon Peres welcomed Obama, declaring that “A world without America’s leadership, without her moral voice, would be a darker world. A world without your friendship, would invite aggression against Israel.”

Obama called the U.S. Israel’s “strongest ally and your greatest friend.”

In a veiled reference to tensions and regime changes in the region, he added: “The winds of change bring both promise and peril.”