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For 15 years, dozens of American lawmakers have had the opportunity to see one of the country's most important — and increasingly debated — alliances firsthand.Since 2011, the U.S.-Israel Education Association (USIEA) has brought members of Congress to Israel, giving them an on-the-ground look at the security, technology and geopolitical issues that often come before them in Washington.USIEA Founder and President Heather Johnston reflected on the organization's 15th anniversary in a conversation with Fox News Digital.
She recalled meeting then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor and presenting him with a list of objectives to advance educational trips to Israel for U.S.lawmakers."He was flabbergasted because he had been looking for somebody for two years that could lead those tours," Johnston said.OPINION: THE US-ISRAEL STRATEGIC ALLIANCE – PARTNERSHIP, NOT CHARITYUS President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C.
(SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)The organization's first tour included five members of the House Armed Services Committee, and they were shown a brand-new piece of missile defense technology that Johnston said was "just barely off the ground" at the time.The system, known as the Iron Dome, was so new at the time that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to declassify it, so American lawmakers could see the state-of-the-art tech.Johnston said that the lawmakers were so impressed with Iron Dome's capabilities that they began the groundwork to increase funding for it.
Within a matter of weeks after returning to Washington, the five members of the House Armed Services Committee met with 54 members of Congress.The result came less than three months later when the lawmakers succeeded in tripling the budget for Iron Dome."Our commitment to the security of Israel is rock solid.
And as I've said to the Prime Minister in every single one of our ...