When the U.S. House of Representatives voted last week 420-9-2 to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, it ended debate about America’s short-term support for the program and simultaneously sparked a conversation about the future of bipartisan support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. Mark Mellman, President and CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel, joins us to address that topic and more, including whether Democratic support for Israel is shifting and trends in attitudes towards Israel on both sides of the aisle. Julie Rayman, AJC’s Managing Director, Policy and Political Affairs, guest hosts this week’s episode.
Everything You Need to Know About Israel
American Jewish Committee (AJC) works to set the record straight on Israel, calling out fact from fiction and standing up to those seeking to tear down and discriminate against the region’s only democratic nation and world’s only Jewish state.
AJC works every day, in the United States and around the world, to advocate for Israel through global diplomacy, political advocacy, coalition building, and strategic communications.
The resources below include facts and key insights into Israel-related topics, including the U.S.-Israel relationship, the Abraham Accords, Israel-diaspora relations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a two state solution, Israeli democracy, the UN’s anti-Israel bias, Israeli Arabs, the connection between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, Hamas, Hezbollah, Gaza, the West Bank, Palestinians, and more.
To find answers to your questions about Israel use the search bar below and check boxes on the left to view articles, videos, podcasts, columns, eBooks, and more. Don’t see an answer to your question about Israel? Click here to let us know.
People of the Pod: Iron Dome Debate: What to Make of “the Squad’s” Anti-Israel Efforts
The Middle East Has A Terrorist Club
Hamas was one of the first to congratulate the Taliban. “The demise of the American occupation and its allies proves that the resistance of the peoples, foremost of which is our struggling Palestinian people, will achieve victory,” Hamas stated the day Kabul fell to the Afghani terrorist organization. Sixteen years ago, Israel’s transfer of Gaza to the PA set the stage for establishing, through negotiations, a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Now, it’s tragically clearer than ever that peace, a possible two-state deal, will remain elusive as long as Hamas rules.
7 Things You Need to Know About Israel’s Iron Dome Defense System
Israel’s Iron Dome is a short-range missile defense system that intercepts rockets and drones aimed at civilians, with a success rate of nearly 90% during attacks like Hamas’s October 2023 assault. In September 2025, Israel added the Iron Beam laser system, which uses high-energy lasers to shoot down rockets, mortars, and drones at low cost per shot, complementing Iron Dome and other defenses. Both systems protect Israeli civilians, reduce the need for large-scale military operations, and highlight strong U.S.–Israel defense cooperation, including funding, component production, and integration with American bases.
AJC Praises Introduction of Senate Resolution Urging EU to Fully Designate Hezbollah as a Terrorist Organization
American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomes the introduction today of a resolution in the U.S. Senate urging the European Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terror organization. The bipartisan resolution was introduced by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
Exclusive AJC eBook – Israel and the Arab-Israel Conflict: A Brief Guide for the Perplexed
Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, written by former AJC CEO David Harris, provides a clear and concise picture of Israel’s ongoing struggle for peace and security in a tumultuous region that all too often has denied the very legitimacy of a Jewish state.
The Deep Roots Of The Abraham Accords
The announcement on Aug. 13, 2020 that the United Arab Emirates and Israel had agreed to move toward full diplomatic relations surprised much of the world. What culminated last summer had deep roots. My American Jewish Committee colleagues and I, traveling regularly to Gulf capitals since 1994, observed signs of fresh thinking in the region early on—and did our part to encourage it.
One Year Later: The Abraham Accords and the Future of Emirati-Israeli-American Relations - AJC Advocacy Anywhere
As we reflect on the first anniversary of the Abraham Accords, American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy are honored to announce a new partnership to promote deeper American, Israeli, and Emirati understanding.
Hundreds of Lawmakers Urge European Countries to Back Israel at the UN
In an unprecedented transatlantic initiative, 313 cross-party lawmakers from Europe, North America, and Israel urged EU countries and democracies worldwide to help end the discrimination against Israel at the United Nations. Spearheaded by AJC’s Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI), the interparliamentary statement comes ahead of tomorrow’s opening of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.
Can The UN Finally Cease Its Relentless Anti-Israel Bias?
In an unprecedented initiative, spearheaded by the Transatlantic Friends of Israel, 312 cross-party lawmakers from the European Parliament and national legislatures from EU member states, the U.K., Switzerland, Norway, the U.S., Canada and Israel have urged EU member states and fellow democracies to end the systematic discrimination against Israel at the UN. A Europe that wants to stand for democracy, human rights and the rules-based international order can no longer be complicit in this cynical game, which treats Israel by separate rules and in so doing undermines the UN's very own integrity and efficacy.
People of the Pod: How the Abraham Accords Has Changed Hearts and Minds: A Sit-Down with Israel’s Top Official in the UAE
This week marks the one-year anniversary of normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. This historic agreement, known as the Abraham Accords, would soon grow to include Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. In one fell swoop, the number of Arab countries Israel had formal relations with tripled from two (Egypt and Jordan) to six. With us to discuss this pivotal moment and the future of Israeli-Arab engagement is Ambassador Eitan Na’eh, head of mission at the Israeli Embassy in Abu Dhabi - formally dedicated just six weeks ago.
People of the Pod: Israel’s Diaspora Minister on Surfside Visit and the Israel-Diaspora Relationship
Joining us for a second time on People of Pod is Nachman Shai, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs, to discuss his new role and his critical work supporting Jews around the world, including a recent visit to Surfside, Florida, following the tragic collapse of Champlain Towers South.
Hezbollah’s Defiance And The United Nations’ Duty
The UN Security Council will convene in August, as it does every year, to renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Unless the Council takes the necessary measures to ensure that its resolutions regarding Lebanon are upheld, UNIFIL’s mandate will remain unfulfilled.
AJC Praises Introduction of House Resolution Urging EU to Fully Designate Hezbollah as a Terrorist Organization
American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomes the introduction today of a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives urging the European Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terror organization. “We encourage swift passage of this important bipartisan resolution pressing the EU to do the right thing and correct the fiction of a bifurcated Hezbollah it endorsed nearly a decade ago,” said AJC CEO David. “Mistakenly believing it can tame Hezbollah’s behavior, a proposition unsupported by evidence, the EU has created ‘military’ and ‘political’ wings within Hezbollah, when, in reality, it is a single, unified terrorist entity."
The Israel-Diaspora Divide: We Don’t Know Enough About Each Other - AJC Advocacy Anywhere
In June 2021, AJC released its annual survey of American Jewish opinion along with a companion survey capturing the views of Israeli Jews. The two surveys shed light on the perspectives of American and Israeli Jews on a range of important topics, including the relationship between the Jewish state and the Diaspora. Join Dr. Laura Shaw Frank, AJC's Director of Contemporary Jewish Life, Alon Friedman, Founding CEO of Enter: The Jewish Peoplehood Alliance, and Dr. Noam Weissman, Senior Vice President at OpenDor Media to unpack the findings of the AJC surveys and to answer critical questions and more.
Education Essential To Israeli-Diaspora Relations
Improving the reach and content of Israel education in America and Diaspora education in Israel must be an urgent priority. American Jewish Commitee (AJC) surveys of American and Israeli Jews give a holistic picture as to where improvement is needed to raise understanding about the richly complex Jewish communities in each center and to nurture opportunities for American and Israeli Jews to be lifelong learners about one another.
People of the Pod: What You Need to Know About Israel’s Diverse New Government; The Mainstreaming of Antisemitism
For the first time since 2009, Israel has a new prime minister, Naftali Bennett. The Jerusalem Post Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Lahav Harkov joins us this week to shed some light on the new prime minister and help us understand what we can expect from Israel’s new government. Then, we bring you one of the most-discussed sessions from AJC Virtual Global Forum 2021. Bret Stephens, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, Bari Weiss, journalist and author of How to Fight Antisemitism, and Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, Director of AJC Europe, discuss rising Jew-hatred in a session titled “The Mainstreaming of Antisemitism: How Should We Respond?”
Top 5 Things American and Israeli Jews Should Know About Each Other
American Jewish Committee’s 2021 Surveys of American and Israeli Jewish Opinion released Monday reveal gaps in knowledge about Israel among American Jews and a lack of education and curiosity about American Jews among Israelis.
AJC Welcomes Knesset Approval of New Israeli Government
American Jewish Committee (AJC) congratulates incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid on successfully forming a new government in Israel. “The new Israeli government reflects the country’s diversity and is determined to pursue peace, security, and prosperity,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “AJC looks forward to working with the new coalition, as we have consistently done with every Israeli government since 1948, and we wish the leadership every success.”
People of the Pod: How Interfaith Relations Helped Drive the Abraham Accords; A View From Campus
This week, we bring you highlights from AJC Virtual Global Forum 2021. First, in a conversation moderated by Manya Brachear Pashman, we hear from H.E. Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Hedayah, and Rabbi David Rosen, AJC Director of International Interreligious Affairs, in The Siegler Family Annual Muslim-Jewish Symposium on How Interfaith Relations Helped Drive the Abraham Accords.
Then, two college student activists, Julia Jassey, University of Chicago ‘23, and Talia Rosenberg, University of Pennsylvania ‘21, help us understand today’s challenges and opportunities on campus for pro-Israel students during the AJC Virtual Global Forum’s session, The View from Campus, moderated by Meggie Wyschogrod Fredman, AJC Deputy Director of Young Leadership.
Then, two college student activists, Julia Jassey, University of Chicago ‘23, and Talia Rosenberg, University of Pennsylvania ‘21, help us understand today’s challenges and opportunities on campus for pro-Israel students during the AJC Virtual Global Forum’s session, The View from Campus, moderated by Meggie Wyschogrod Fredman, AJC Deputy Director of Young Leadership.
The Nations That Stood with Israel
In May 2021, Israeli towns and cities were bombarded with over 4,600 rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza. 30 nations spoke up in support of Israel's right to defend itself from these terrorist attacks. This video, shown during AJC Virtual Global Forum 2021, highlights and thanks those nations.
Featured Content:
- President Trump’s 20-Point Peace Plan: AJC Expert Analysis from Around the World
- Who Are the Hostages Held By Hamas?
- What Every American Should Know About U.S. Aid to Israel
- Meet the American Hostages Who Were Held Captive By Hamas After October 7
- Timeline: Key Events In The Israel-Arab And Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
- The Abraham Accords, Explained
- 5 Things You Need to Know About Israel’s Iron Dome Defense System
- 8 Ways Some Anti-Israel Protests Have Spread Antisemitism
- Tough Questions About Gaza Answered
