From Congressional gridlock to Iranian allies working for the U.S. government, there’s a lot to unpack this week, so we’re going to dive right in.

Congressional Chaos

Well, it’s that time again. Congress is once again mired in gridlock, unable to advance the necessary legislation to fund the government. CUFI takes no position on budget negotiations, but the outcome could impact issues on which we focus, so we wanted to provide a quick refresher on what all of this means.

First, if there is a government shutdown, all non-essential government employees are sent home without pay. Second, understandably, during a shutdown Congress focuses on nothing besides funding the government, and as such, all other bills take a back seat. Finally, there is discussion of a Continuing Resolution (CR) which would fund the government for some short period of time, so that negotiations can continue.

Here's where things get even trickier. On the House side of the Capitol, there are those who would only be open to supporting such a measure if it involves across-the-board budget cuts. One proposal, an 8% across-the-board cut, would result in a $264 million decrease in U.S. support for Israel. On the Senate side, there is bipartisan appetite for what’s called a “clean CR.” Basically, this bill would continue funding the government at the current levels until the next budget can be agreed upon.

Ultimately, we will not get involved in the budget chaos, but CUFI remains opposed to a decrease in American support for Israel in any form.  

Iranian Penetration of American Policy

On Tuesday morning, news broke detailing an exceptionally impactful Iranian influence operation that touches some of the highest levels of the U.S. government. In a nutshell, in 2014, Iran embarked on an effort, dubbed the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), to secure the support of 6-10 opinion shapers and academics for Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Iran’s plan worked. Several of those associated with the IEI operation were (and are) directly involved in U.S. policy towards Iran including, Ariane Tabatabai, the current chief of staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, and Robert Malley, the former Biden administration envoy for Iran (perhaps quite literally), who was integrally involved in the Iran nuclear negotiations during the Obama administration.

Earlier this year, Malley’s security clearance was revoked, and, according to reports, it was revealed that he is being investigated by the FBI for the way he handled classified information in the context of Iran negotiations. As of this writing, the Biden administration has not reacted to the startling revelations, but we expect more news to come as congressional leaders demand answers on who exactly is driving American policy on Iran. We will keep our readers apprised of this developing story.

Good News, Bad News

In other news, Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced this morning that  Israel has been admitted into the U.S. visa waiver program.

Israel has long sought to be a part of the waiver program but, to this point, the State Department would not certify that Israel met all the legal requirements to participate in the program. That changed in recent days with Blinken formally signing the letter that certifies Israel has met all the program’s requirements.

We’d love to end this week’s Action Update here with this bit of good news, but unfortunately, we cannot.

While we welcome the State Department’s actions concerning the visa waiver program, we are deeply disturbed by the State Department’s announcement that the U.S. is poised to send an additional $73 million to UNRWA – the UN agency ostensibly responsible for aiding the Palestinians, but which, in reality, prolongs the Palestinian Israeli conflict by enabling terrorism and teaching antisemitism.

During the Trump administration, your CUFI Action Fund successfully secured the termination of all U.S. support for UNRWA until that entity met certain basic conditions (like not allowing its facilities to be used as terror bases, and not teaching antisemitism in schools). UNRWA has not met these basic standards, and yet, the Biden administration persists in funding this blood-soaked entity.

Also today, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee that covers the Middle East and North Africa will hold a hearing on the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) pay-to-slay program. Ideally, the Biden administration will tune in and recall that as money is fungible, aid to UNRWA enables the Palestinian Authority to incentivize terrorism. Sadly, they might tune in, but they won’t likely acknowledge the simple reality that every dollar sent to the PA, UNRWA and the like, enables terrorism.

As always, we wish to express our deepest gratitude to you for standing with Israel and taking the time to stay informed on these vital issues.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund Team