Last Thursday, the candidates in a Republican presidential debate battled over who was Israel's biggest supporter. At the same time, a number of top Democratic senators were vigorously promoting a bill that would ban commercial boycotts of Israel. And The Wall Street Journal prominently featured an article on Saturday that painted Israel in a sympathetic light. Over the weekend, I spoke at an event organized by Mishelanu, a student group established by the Israeli American Council. Hundreds of young Jews came from all over the U.S. to learn more about Israel and identify with and express support for it. So presidential candidates of all stripes, the media, and young Jews are proving that America is still with us, despite the intense efforts of the anti-Israel boycott movement in recent years. It is trendy to say that the situation in Israel is bad and we are isolated, as if things are great in the rest of the world and only we live in the Stone Age. When everything is political, it is permissible to say anything. Let us remember that David Ben-Gurion, the Zionist visionary who served as Israel's first prime minister, well understood the region in which we live. That is why he forged alliances with Iran and Turkey. Since then, Iran underwent an Islamic revolution. And Turkey is now led by an opportunist who changes policies according to the needs of the hour. So Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has created new alliances of utmost strategic importance with Cyprus and Greece. It is no wonder that the Turks are anxious. Pay attention to the signals Turkey is now sending to Israel. In a Middle East that is changing for the worse, Turkey realizes that it is better to be in Israel's camp. And is Europe really against us? German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently acknowledged the current conditions were not ripe for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal based on the two-state solution. It is not that she does not want peace. Rather, it appears she sees things that others prefer to overlook for political reasons. Also, let us not forget about China and India, countries whose populations are far larger than those of all Western nations combined. Israel's ties with China and India are only becoming stronger. And even Russia, which is currently operating in Syria as part of the "Axis of Evil" there, understands it is best to coordinate its activities with Israel. Netanyahu's meetings with Russian President Vladmir Putin in the past half year were no secret and President Reuven Rivlin will soon visit Moscow. Turning to Africa, we see that the Kenyan president recently visited Israel and Netanyahu will go to Uganda this summer to mark the 40th anniversary of the Entebbe operation. Uganda, which was hostile to Israel during the Idi Amin era, no longer shuns us. But all these facts are pushed aside when British Prime Minister David Cameron expresses shock about Israeli construction in east Jerusalem. I was in London in 2011 when a wave of violence swept over the city, and I was also shocked. I visited a London suburb and I was stunned by the anger of the residents there. And during my time as an Israeli journalist in Paris, I saw the powder keg that was being formed by frustrated immigrants. So why are the United Kingdom and France not isolated by the world due to these situations- A failure to provide a complete picture is a type of lie. It is true that our situation is not ideal, as we now face individual terrorists instead of organized armies, making total victory nearly impossible to achieve. And while Israel has an interest in making peace with the Palestinians, this would be made easier if the Palestinians were to first make peace among themselves. A few months ago, Scott Kelly recently set a record for the longest time spent in space by an American astronaut. When he returns to Earth this week, Kelly will find that among the 193 U.N. member states, there is a proud one called Israel. But, of course, there are some among us who, for narrow political reasons, would like to have us sent out into space to replace Kelly.
