Much has transpired since our last Action Update, both in Israel and here at home. We’ve witnessed moments of triumph and tragedy. But through it all, and until every hostage comes home and Hamas is vanquished, we
will remain focused on ensuring Israel has what she needs to win this war.
Temporary Cease-Fire
On Friday a four-day temporary cease-fire was agreed to between Israel and Hamas, via Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries. Broadly speaking, the terms of the deal were as follows:
Both sides cease attacking one another during the allotted time period.
Israel will release 150 Palestinians arrested for terrorism related charges, though no convicted killers.
Hamas will release 50 innocent Israeli women and children.
Certain items such as humanitarian aid and fuel will be permitted in limited quantities to enter southern Gaza.
Despite near daily efforts by Hamas to change the deal after the deal was agreed upon, by Monday, praise God, all 50 Israeli hostages, as well as a number of other foreign nationals, had been released by Hamas. In addition, Hamas and Israel agreed to a two-day extension to the cease-fire which would, assuming Hamas does not renege, see another 20 Israeli hostages released. Israel has left open a further extension if more hostages are released. While Hamas has already violated the extended cease-fire by attacking IDF troops, as of this writing, the Israelis are seeking hold it together in the hopes of saving the innocents.
Elsewhere around Israel, to the north, despite Hezbollah agreeing to abide by the truce, there were sporadic attacks along the Lebanese-Israeli border. And in Judea and Samaria Israel’s counter terror operations continue and have likely saved numerous lives. Finally, the Houthis, who seem to be the Keystone Terrorists, continue to lob missiles at Israel and most recently at a U.S. destroyer that was intervening in defense of an Israeli ship being attacked by Somali pirates. The pirates attempted to run away but were captured. The Houthi missiles missed the American destroyer by at least 6 miles.
Dysfunction Junction
It’s been more than 50 days since the 10/7 Massacre, and yet we’ve not seen Congress complete work on the $14.5 billion emergency aid package to the Jewish state. As things stand now, the Senate is poised to advance a larger bill which combines aid to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and border security funds, all in one package. The devil will be in the details, but Christians United for Israel will support whichever legislative vehicle does not violate our redlines and is best positioned to ensure Israel has the means to defend herself and win this war.
Once the Senate passes its package, the House can advance it as is, separate it into smaller pieces (with House Republicans seeking a separate vote on Israel and Ukraine), and/or make changes to the language the Senate sends which would likely only slow the process further.
We urge the leaders of both parties in both houses of Congress to abandon any maximalist positions and find a workable compromise that ensures our ally Israel defeats the terrorists who murdered 1,200 innocent men, women and children, including Americans.
We are not alone in holding this position. On Monday, CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee, joined several national Christian leaders on a letter to Congressional Leadership that spelled out the American Christian community’s policy priorities. The first priority is the aforementioned aid to Israel. And the second is the Countering Hate Against Israel (CHAI) by Federal Contractors Act (H.R. 4564).
These two pieces of legislation – supplemental aid to Israel and the CHAI Act – should advance to the President’s desk, in that order and without delay. And with your support, that’s exactly what your CUFI Action Fund intends to do.
Sincerely,
The CUFI Action Fund Team
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