The truth is that I was very moved when President Barack Obama’s Air Force One set down on the tarmac of Ben Gurion Airport. Maybe it was because of the festive atmosphere: the IDF Band playing the national anthems of both countries; the honor guard standing at attention in fresh, crisp uniforms; and all the country’s political and military leaders standing beside the red carpet, waiting for a close-up view of the man who made history just by being elected president of the world’s greatest superpower. There he was: young, energetic, well-informed, and doing everything he could to prove that he is a true friend of Israel.
Still, his trip wasn’t all that successful until he gave his “Jerusalem Speech,” the day after his arrival [March 21]. In it, he kept giving us his solemn vow that he would guarantee the security of my country. What more did I need to get excited and to feel like I was “soaring on the wings of history,” as they say? When the presidential elections of 2008 were over, and Obama gave his victory speech in Chicago before thousands upon thousands of ecstatic Americans, even I shed a tear.