More than 100 congressional staffers gathered on Capitol Hill for an exclusive briefing on U.S.-Israel energy cooperation with Gen. (Res.) Danny Rothschild, the director of the Institute for Policy and Strategy and the chair of the Herzliya Conference in Israel. The event was sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, the U.S.-Israel Business Initiative at the Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Commerce and honorary host Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA).

Gen. Rothschild spoke of the game-changing natural gas finds off the coast of Israel, highlighting the potential benefits they can bring to Israel’s economy and transportation sector as well as the accompanying geopolitical challenges Israel faces as a result. Territorial claims by Lebanon, the prospect of confrontation with Turkey and terror threats against energy infrastructure have already led Israel to invest heavily in new defense capabilities.

Gen. Rothschild also emphasized the continued threat of gasoline dependence to global security and discussed the prospects of expanding U.S.-Israel energy cooperation, both in the eastern Mediterranean and in the development of alternative fuels.