Courtesy

In his first public event as Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog framed the conflict between Israel and its regional foes as a “struggle between light and darkness” and a fight against “radical forces who resist any progress,” reports Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod. Hosting the Israeli Embassy in Washington’s annual Hanukkah party on Monday evening, Herzog said, “When I light this candle, I dedicate it to our effort to spread hope as well as to our unbreakable bond with the United States, our best friend and ally, which is a force multiplier in this quest for light.”

Then and now: Herzog compared the Hanukkah story of the Maccabees to that of the modern State of Israel, reaffirming Israel’s duty and ability to protect itself. The new ambassador’s comments came against the backdrop of renewed nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna, and a statement earlier Monday from Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett opposing the negotiations. “If our core identity and the values that define us are ever in danger, we as a nation must fight to maintain them and be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices, as our ancestors did,” he said. “The lesson of Hanukkah is as alive today as it was over 2,000 years ago. Today, we have a state that is thriving and strong, capable of defending itself against aggressors and ill-wishers.”

The gentleman from New York: “It is such an honor to be here at your first official appearance as ambassador to the United States,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said to Herzog. “I know the relationship between the United States and Israel will grow even stronger with you here in Washington and with recently confirmed Ambassador [Tom] Nides in Yerushalayim. It’s a great team.” Schumer, who sat shiva on Sunday night for his father, who died last week, noted that the Mi Chamochaprayer he recited at the shiva relates to the name of the Maccabees. “The first four words of the prayer – Mi Chamocha – start with the letters Mem-Khaf-Bet-Yod, which spells Maccabee,” the majority leader explained.

‘Small but mighty’: “The Maccabees rescued Jerusalem, built the Second Temple. It shows that a small but mighty people can do wondrous things,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) said at the event. “That’s the State of Israel. That’s what the State of Israel has been able to do in a part of the world where it’s a small nation, but a mighty nation. And it’s guided by its values. And that’s why this special relationship between the United States and Israel has only grown stronger over time.”

Fun fact: The hanukkiah used at the event was one of three created for the Clinton White House by Maryland-based sculptor Zachary Oxman and lent to the embassy by Kira Epstein-Begal and William Begal.

Read the full event recap here.

Spotted: Shirin Herzog, IDF Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Israeli Agriculture Minister Oded Forer, Department of Homeland Security’s Rob Silvers, Maryland Secretary of State John Wobensmith, William Daroff, Nathan Diament, Liz Diament, Leonard Attman, Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Ken Weinstein, Ambassador Norm Eisen, Elliot Brandt, Aaron Keyak, Einat Wilf, Jeff Mendelsohn, Rob Satloff, Gal Levakov, Adam Lehman, Rabbi Hyim Shafner, Sara Winkelman, Dan Mariaschin, Halie Soifer, Sheila Katz, David Makovsky, Joel Rubin, Jason Isaacson, David Bernstein, Dan Arbell, Ellie Cohanim, Steve Rabinowitz, Benjamin Krasna, Roee Snir, Karen Barall, William Begal, Elad Strohmayer, Mark Dubowitz, Herbert Block, Mira Resnick, Daniel Benaim, David Schenker, Tammy Ben-Haim, Michael Lipin, Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Dana Gershon, Robert Greenway, Dan Pollak, Elliot Miller.

Enrique Mora 2nd R, deputy secretary-general of the European External Action Service, speaks to reporters after a meeting of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria, on Nov. 29, 2021.

Nuclear talks between the remaining parties to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action resumed in Vienna on Monday, the first time in more than five months that the officials have met — and the first time since the hardline government of President Ebrahim Raisi was sworn in.

Tough timing: The meetings began hours before the release of a report that Israeli officials had warned the Biden administration in recent weeks that Iran is preparing to enrich uranium to 90% — giving Tehran enough material for nuclear-grade weapons.

Sanctions stalemate: Iran has refused to restart talks unless the U.S. lifts the sanctions put in place during the Trump administration. Officials in the sanctions working group were set to resume discussions on Tuesday; the other two working groups — on the nuclear issue and on how each country will proceed in the event of a new agreement — will not meet.

Everything open? Ali Bagheri, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, said today that the previous talks were a draft. “Drafts are subject to negotiation. Therefore nothing is agreed on unless everything has been agreed on,” he said on Iranian state television. Enrique Mora, the European Union’s chief negotiator in the nuclear talks, said yesterday that the Iranians “have accepted that the work done over the six first rounds is a good basis to build our work ahead, so no point in going back.”

Not at the table: The U.S., which withdrew from the agreement in 2018, did not participate in direct talks, but met with officials from France, Britain, Germany, China, Russia and the European Union following the working groups’ meetings with Iranian negotiators. Iranian officials have refused to meet with the U.S. envoy for Iran, Rob Malley.

View from Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a video message as the talks began, urging allies around the world not to “give in to Iran’s nuclear blackmail.” “Despite Iran’s violations and undermining of the nuclear inspections, Iran will be arriving at the negotiation table in Vienna, and there are those who think they deserve to have their sanctions removed and hundreds of billions of dollars poured right into their rotten regime,” he said. “They’re wrong. Iran deserves no rewards, no bargain deals and no sanctions relief in return for their brutality.” Meanwhile in London, at an event with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said, “Our friendship will be reflected in the coming months in our shared determination to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, at all costs. Israel will always protect itself, but we know we are not alone. And our hand is outstretched for peace.”

Multiple B-2 Spirits land for aircraft recovery as storm clouds gather Aug. 24, 2016, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

The Pentagon released a review of its global military resources on Monday, which “aims to sharpen the link between [the] U.S.’s vast military capabilities and the Biden administration’s strategic priorities,” the Wall Street Journal’s Gordon Lubold reports.

Countering China: The assessment includes limited troop movement in Asia and the Middle East, an indication of the administration’s concerns over the geopolitical and economic influence of China and Russia. The American Enterprise Institute’s Mackenzie Eaglen suggested to the WSJ that the limited movement was a result of the administration’s heavily criticized pullout from Afghanistan. “That’s part of the reason you can’t significantly change force posture in the Middle East and Europe, because we lost our eyes in Afghanistan,” she said.

Pacific plans: The U.S. plans to make a number of infrastructure improvements to its bases in Australia and Guam. The army announced in October that it will temporarily send one of its two Iron Dome missile-defense batteries to the island territory for testing purposes. The improvements the military is making to those bases will, planners expect, ease efforts to move troops throughout the Pacific.

Read the full story here.