Post-9/11, America and Israel 'Fighting the Same Evil Idea'

The United States and Israel are fighting the same evil even if they have different tactics sometimes, Israeli Deputy Minister for Diplomacy Michael Oren said.

Oren made the comments following a ceremony in Jerusalem on Sunday to remember the victims of Sept. 11, 2001.

"This ceremony is supremely important because it reminds us that the United States and Israel are fighting the same evil idea," Oren told CBN News.

Oren said the "same evil idea" behind the 9/11 attacks is the same evil that drives terrorists to blow up Israeli civilian buses, decapitate American citizens and journalists, launch thousands of rockets at Israeli towns, and continue to seek Israel's destruction.

"So we're facing the same enemy and we're defending our ideas, which are values  -- democracy, liberty and freedom, which is precisely why they want to kill us because they hate those ideas and it's why we stand together," Oren said. "We can have differences over tactics but ultimately we are in this together."

Fifty officers from the United States joined the memorial ceremony, which included Oren, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, World Jewish Congress President Ron Lauder, and Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) Chairman Mike Nitzan.

The KKL-JNF established the 9/11 Living Memorial seven years ago. Israeli artist Eliezer Weishoff and KKL-JNFs' landscape architect Yechiel Cohen designed the monument.

It's a 30-foot-high bronze sculpture depicting the American flag folded into the shape of a memorial flame. A metal shard from the ruins of the Twin Towers is incorporated into the base of the monument. It overlooks a magnificent vista of the Jerusalem hills.

"This memorial is really quite striking, especially considering it's not in the United States," Ambassador Shapiro told CBN News.  

"It has a piece of the World Trade Center in the base. It has the names of every victim of all the attacks of 9/11 carved into it. To me that is emblematic of the bond the United States and Israel share and that the Israeli people feel toward the American people, recognizing, identifying with our pain, our loss that we experienced because of the experiences they've had, the attacks they've endured," Shapiro said.

Shapiro said not only does it identify with the loss but also with "the recovery and the resolve." It takes inspiration from the heroes and helps to make the United States and its allies more secure and build a better future for the children.

"That's what Israelis believe in, that's what American's believe in. In a way 9/11 sort of brought us together around all of those values," he added.

This year, a delegation of 50 officers from the United States joined the ceremony, some of whom were among the rescuers during the events of Sept. 11. Ben Salerno and Sandy Schuten, both from New Jersey, both suffered personal losses that day.

"This is amazing to share with our brothers and sisters here, show the support and love we have for one another," Salerno told CBN News

"My best friend was lost. He was a port authority police officer and every year I've been going to Ground Zero to pay respect to him because that's where he lost his life," Salerno said.  

"This year I can't do that. I can't be there. But if I can't be there, I can't think of a better place to be than here with my extended family and memorializing everybody who lost their life in the city," he added.

"It's pretty overwhelming. My neighbor's name is actually on the wall," Schuten. "He was the co-pilot of the United (Airlines) flight that resisted the terrorists that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  So, it's very emotional."

"The thing that we've experienced the whole time we've been here is the unity with Israelis because you've dealt with terrorists since the founding of the country. So it was a very moving experience and it means so much that you were one of the few countries and actually the only country that has everyone's name on the wall," he said.

Dozens of young Americans, who would have been toddlers 15 years ago, also attended the memorial, like Solomon Levy from Miami, Florida, and Douglas Nabert, from Jacksonville, Florida.

"I was crying when they were putting the flowers down. It was pretty intense to me. I didn't have any family that got injured but I had family near. My mom was born in New York, so it hit her, too," Solomon told CBN News. "And it's amazing to see the U.S. and Israel together."

"I know today's a very sad day. My mom's from New York – my mom's from Queen's and my dad's from the lower east side and we had family and friends affected by all this and it's crazy. But it's amazing how these two countries, they're so inter-connected and nothing – regardless of the president – it doesn't matter. It will never change," Nabert said.