In what can only be termed as a rebuke of recent Obama administration strong-arming towards Israel (see here and here) the House has sent a letter to the administration with 337 signatories including the House Minority Whip, Eric Cantor (R) and the House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer (D). The letter expresses the following:

“We are writing to reaffirm our commitment to the unbreakable bond that exists between our country and the State of Israel and to express to you our deep concern over recent tension,” the letter read. “A strong Israel is an asset to the national security of the United States and brings stability to the Middle East.

“We are concerned that the highly publicized tensions in the relationship will not advance the interests the US and Israel share. Above all, we must remain focused on the threat posed by the Iranian nuclear weapons program to Middle East peace and stability.”

That the House felt the need to make this public is an indication of just how disconcerting the deteriorating relationship between Israel and the U.S. has become to the Congress. Support for Israel certainly makes for strange bedfellows, as evangelical Christians (who primarily support Republicans) and secular Jews (who primarily support Democrats) are both groups that strongly support Israel. It will be interesting to see if the administration backs off of its hardline stance on the settlements in East Jeruslaem in the wake of this bipartisan expression of support for the state of Israel.