House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told the crowd at AIPAC Monday that it was time to “turn the page” on the Obama administration’s policies toward Israel and focus instead on the Republicans’ steadfast support for the Jewish state.
“These past eight years, they were tough,” Ryan said. “Our friendship was tested.” He said that while the alliance between the United States and Israel was unbreakable, it was based on trust and “actions of this past administration damaged this trust.”
“We have a new president,” he continued. “Let me assure you right and right now President Trump’s commitment to Israel is sacrosanct.” He assured the audience that the same was true of the Republican Congress.
Ryan slammed President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, calling it an “unmitigated disaster,” and denounced the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement as “nothing short incarnation of antisemitism.”
The speaker said the Iran deal must be enforced rigorously but offered inadequate protections against the Iranians acquiring a nuclear weapon if the Tehran complied.
“When it comes to preventing a nuclear Iran, all options can and must be the on the table,” he said. At each turn, Ryan argued the Trump administration and congressional Republicans would offer more robust protections to Israel and the world.
Ryan also decried the recent antisemitic attacks on Jewish centers in the United States, saying they were “rooted in pure hate.”
After a major setback on repealing and replacing Obamacare last week, Ryan was exuberant as he came out to speak to AIPAC.
“The U.S.-Israel relationship is not a one-way street,” he said. “It is a strategic partnership rooted in shared values and interests.”
Earlier Monda, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley told AIPAC conference attendees there was a “new sheriff in town,” a reference to the Obama administration declining to support Israel on a United Nations Security Council vote late last year, amplifying the message that Republicans would repair any damage that was done to U.S.-Israeli relations.
