While he’s in Washington, D.C., for the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) policy conference next week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will get together with President Obama for what will undoubtedly be a critically important discussion.

The topic on everyone’s mind as the two world leaders approach this meeting is Iran. With some officials suggesting the country is within a year of attaining nuclear capabilities — a truly horrific prospect, given Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s vicious threats and unrelenting provocations against Israel and the West — the stakes are high.

While some world leaders continue to downplay the Iranian threat, most have come to accept that it is very real. But there have been a variety of opinions on how best to confront it, with some proposing prolonged economic sanctions, and others leaning toward military action. The inability of the global community to unite against Iran could mean that it’s simply too late to stop Iran from achieving its goal.

For Israel, of course, Iran poses an existential threat. Iran’s geographic proximity to Israel, coupled with its stated goal of wiping Israel off the map, means that Israel must take Iran seriously — she simply can’t afford not to.

Even at this momentous time, Prime Minister Netanyahu makes time to reach out to Israel’s friends. At my meeting with him last week, the Prime Minister graciously agreed to respond on video to questions submitted by Fellowship supporters. I know the Prime Minister recognizes and appreciates deeply the pivotal role that Christian friends of Israel, and The Fellowship’s supporters in particular, play in strengthening Israel and the Jewish people. His willingness to answer questions posed by supporters is just another sign of the enduring nature of the U.S.-Israel alliance, and the strong bonds between the Jewish and Christian communities.

Submit your question to the Prime Minister today [link here] — we’ll forward him three of the best questions to answer when he returns to Israel next week. And please keep him and U.S. President Obama in your prayers today and in the days to come. There is a lot at stake in the decisions they must make. But, we know that, in the words of the psalmist, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Let this be our watchword in the days and weeks to come.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein