Over the past week, a significant amount has transpired on several issues on which the CUFI Action Fund Team focuses. We saw additional support and momentum building behind the Never Again Education Act in the Senate, progress in efforts to further isolate the regime in Iran, and our team members met with senior Washington officials concerning the current situation in Lebanon. Never Again Education Act As regular readers of the Action Update know, we feel strongly that the fight against anti-Semitism requires a two-pronged attack. We must ensure the protection of our Jewish brothers and sisters and ensure the next generation is inoculated against this hatred by delivering proper historical education.
The Never Again Education Act addresses the latter by providing schools with funding to teach students about the Holocaust. It’s that simple, and we strongly support the bill’s passage. That is why we were very grateful to have seen a host of new cosponsors sign onto the bill since the beginning of the month. New cosponsors thus far this month are Senators Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Roger Wicker, Joe Manchin, Bernie Sanders, Gary Peters, Sheldon Whitehouse, Dan Sullivan, and Dick Durbin. Despite Washington’s polarization, this legislation passed with 393 votes in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, it enjoys the support of conservatives like Senators Kevin Cramer and Marco Rubio, and liberals like Senators Jacky Rosen and Richard Blumenthal - all of whom are original cosponsors of the bill. As CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee noted in an op-ed earlier this year, “We can debate other issues on other days, but at this moment, if we fail to educate the next generation about the horrors of the Holocaust and protect the Jewish community against anti-Semitism sweeping across this country, we fail to uphold the most basic values upon which this country was
founded.” Iran This week, the CUFI Action Fund’s Director of Public Policy and Strategy, Boris Zilberman, published an op-ed in the Washington Examiner calling on the Trump administration to stay the course in their maximum pressure campaign against the Iran, and condemning those few but vocal members of Congress seeking to undermine relevant US foreign policy. Further demonstrating that sanctions against Iran are working, Reuters released a story this week highlighting the success of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic and noting, “At least a quarter of Iran’s oil rigs are out of action as U.S. sanctions strangle the Islamic Republic’s vital oil industry…” We must continue to maximize the maximum pressure campaign against Tehran. If we do
so, eventually Iran will be forced to abandon their nuclear ambitions and support for terrorism. Anything short of this and we will repeat the failures of Pres. Obama’s disastrous Iran nuclear accord. Lebanon This past week, members of our team met with senior officials in Washington to express our support for conditioning US aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) on Beirut divorcing itself from Hezbollah. Our staff reminded those with whom they met, that rather than curtailing Hezbollah’s power by disarming the terrorist organization and removing it from Israel’s border, the US-backed LAF has at best proven ineffective and at worst collaborates with a terrorist organization. This week, we also saw further storm clouds
surrounding Lebanon’s economy, with the government electing not to make its March Eurobond payment and economists highlighting that Lebanon’s dollar reserves are “critically low.” While the entire world economy is suffering due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Lebanon’s financial difficulties are exacerbated – not created by – the outbreak. The true culprit of Lebanon’s ills is Hezbollah. And the answer is clear. As CUFI’s Senior Director of Policy and Communications noted in an op-ed late last year, “There are members of the LAF who want to take their country back from Hezbollah. There are civilians who reject the LAF’s fealty to an Iranian proxy force. Congress can help them by passing the Countering Hezbollah in Lebanon’s Military Act, which would empower elements in the LAF loyal to their country – not to a terrorist group – to put U.S. strategy on sound
footing.” Since launching the Action Update at the beginning of this year, we’ve seen a significant increase in readership, and we are very grateful to those who’ve expressed support for our efforts. Please keep reading the Update to receive analysis on the issues most relevant to those who stand with Israel and the Jewish people.
Sincerely,
CUFI Action Fund Team
|
|
|
