Dempsey warmly praises US-Israel defense ties on his final visit

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, thanked the IDF for the badge of honor he was awarded Tuesday by Israel’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gaxy Eisenkott and said he was accepting it on behalf of the entire US armed forces. "This medal I accepted in the name of hundreds of thousands of American servicemen and women, who feel the partnership, the friendship and the commitment which exists between the United States and Israel," he said. On his fifth and last visit to Israel before he retires in October, Dempsey said:  “I could not imagine a world in which we did not have a relationship like this” and voiced his certainty that his successor would “even strengthen them further.”

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon praised Dempsey's record and hailed the enduring ties between their two respective countries as crucial."We are all facing the challenge of jihadism in the region," adding that in Syria alone there are 30 terrorist organizations that will have to be dealt with when the time comes.