Obama signs Israel security bill on eve of Romney visit
US President Barack Obama signed a bill on Friday to
strengthen US-Israeli military ties as he sought to reassure American Jewish
voters of his commitment to the two countries' close alliance on the eve of a
visit to Israel by his Republican rival, Mitt Romney.
Obama used a White House ceremony to announce the United
States would soon provide Israel with an additional $70 million in funding for
its short-range rocket shield known as "Iron Dome," a project
strongly backed by the powerful US pro-Israel lobby.
His focus on strengthening cooperation with Israel
appeared timed to upstage Romney, who has accused the president of undermining
Washington's relationship with its number one partner in the Middle East.
Romney, whose Olympics-week visit to London has been
plagued by diplomatic stumbles, will travel on Saturday to Israel, a stop his
aides hope will resonate with Jewish voters at home.
He is expected to hold talks on Sunday with Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has had a strained relationship with Obama.
As Obama signed the bill at his desk in the Oval Office,
he said it underscored his administration's "unshakeable commitment"
to Israel's security. Congress passed the legislation last week with broad
support from Republicans and Obama's Democrats.
"I have made it a top priority for my administration
to deepen cooperation with Israel across a whole spectrum of security
issues," Obama said in the Oval Office.
He was flanked by US Senator Barbara Boxer and
Congressman Howard Berman, the bill's sponsors, and several prominent Jewish
leaders, including Lee Rosenberg, chairman of AIPAC, the leading pro-Israel
lobby, and Richard Stone, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations.
Obama, criticized by some of Israel's US supporters for
being too tough on a close ally, wants to shore up his support among Jewish
voters, who could prove critical in battleground states like Florida and
Pennsylvania in the Nov. 6 election.
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