Media Coverage of JINSA’s November 27 Statement on Gen. Jim Mattis
“The most important issue for those of us who care about a strong Israel and a secure Israel, and the more relevant issue as secretary of defense, [is that] he is known as very strong on the Iran issue, he was seen as almost too strong for the Obama administration,” said JINSA President and CEO Michael Makovsky.
Read full article in The Times of Israel
A Wise Choice for Defense Secretary
The conservative Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) reported that its “experiences with General Mattis have been very positive, including many private discussions in the last few years on the Middle East.” JINSA went on to note: “General Mattis has notably and indisputably distinguished himself in advocating for a more robust U.S. military posture to counter, contain and deter Iran, even at the peril of his military career… General Mattis’ outlook on these issues aligns perfectly with Israel’s, which considers an aggressive Iran its greatest strategic threat, and a nuclear Iran to be an existential threat.”
Read full article in Commentary
In a statement released on Monday, Michael Makovsky, president and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, said that his organization has had “very positive” experiences with Mattis in “many private discussions” over the course of the last several years.
Read full article in The Jerusalem Post
“We are pleased with the array of highly qualified candidates that President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering for Secretary of Defense… We feel compelled to convey that characterizations of one candidate, General James N. Mattis, USMC (ret.), as anti-Israel are ill-founded and unfair… Were General Mattis to become Secretary of Defense, and work more closely with Israel in that position, we believe he will become an even closer friend of the State of Israel.”
Read full article in The Jewish Insider
Emphasizing that it does not endorse candidates, JINSA said it understood objections to Mattis’ remarks at Aspen, but commended him for his posture on broader Middle East issues, particularly his vehement opposition to last year’s deal between major world powers and Iran trading sanctions relief for a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program.
Read full article in the Forward
“On the larger U.S. military and strategic issues related to the Middle East…General Mattis has notably and indisputably distinguished himself in advocating for a more robust U.S. military posture to counter, contain and deter Iran, even at the peril of his military career,” JINSA said in a statement, adding that “General Mattis’ outlook on these issues aligns perfectly with Israel’s, which considers an aggressive Iran its greatest strategic threat, and a nuclear Iran to be an existential threat.”
Pro-Israel Group Praises General James Mattis as ‘True Friend’ of the Jewish State, Says He’ll Be Terrific Defense Secretary
In a statement published last Sunday, the Jewish Institute for National Security of America said attempts to portray Mattis as anti-Israel were “ill-founded and unfair.”
“JINSA’s experiences with General Mattis have been very positive, including many private discussions in the last few years on the Middle East,” the statement said. “We recently consulted several notable Israelis and Americans in the civic and military spheres who also have interacted with him and they share our confidence in his support for a strong US-Israel relationship.”
Read full article in the Algemeiner
“We recently consulted several notable Israelis and Americans in the civic and military spheres who also have interacted with him and they share our confidence in his support for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship,” the group stated. It described Mattis’s commitment to a strong American presence in the Middle East and his outspoken views regarding the danger posed by Iran, as “heartening to the overwhelming majority of Americans who believe that a strong State of Israel is necessary for its own sake and important for a strong America.”
Read full article in JP Updates
“General Mattis’ outlook on these issues aligns perfectly with Israel’s, which considers an aggressive Iran its greatest strategic threat, and a nuclear Iran to be an existential threat. Israel also seeks a strong U.S. presence in the Middle East.