This week brings difficult news, but also the potential for hope on the horizon. As things often do, it’ll all boil down to the strength of character of a few individuals.

Biden’s Betrayal

On Monday, the United Nations Security Council advanced a resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan which would lead to a permanent cease-fire. The resolution mentioned the 130 hostages as an afterthought, disconnected from the ceasefire demands. Furthermore the authors did not bother condemning Hamas or even mentioning the 10/7 Massacre.

The United States could have vetoed this resolution, as did China and Russia last week, when the U.S. put forward its own, imperfect but not nearly as despicable, resolution. But that’s not what President Biden chose to do. He directed his UN ambassador to abstain from the vote, allowing it to pass, and placing geopolitical pressure on Israel while her sons and daughters are enduring atrocities and dying in Gaza.

Each time the United States capitulates to freedom’s adversaries, those evil entities - Hamas, Iran, and their allies in Moscow and Beijing – are emboldened and empowered. The predictable consequence of such a misguided policy is more bloodshed. It’s no wonder that Hamas itself issued a statement welcoming the resolution.

CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee put it best in a statement released yesterday on the heels of Biden’s (latest) betrayal, “Today’s abstention at the UN is an abomination—this is not how one treats an ally, and it is not reflective of the American people’s attitude toward Israel or this war. The Biden administration's acquiescence to international antisemitism will not prevent Israel from defeating Hamas or bringing her hostages home.”

A Diplomatic Rift

Speaking of predictable consequences, as a result of the precedent-setting decision to allow a resolution to move forward that bolsters Hamas, Israel recalled a high-level delegation set to meet with their counterparts in Washington, signaling a very significant diplomatic rift between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Even before the betrayal at the UN, Vice President Kamala Harris had already made headlines by declaring that if Israel enters Rafah – Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza, where they are keeping their leaders and Israel’s hostages – there will be “consequences.”

On the one hand, the Biden administration isn’t known for following through on its threats, at least when it comes to adversaries. On the other, Israel is an ally. And to this point, the Biden administration has not done the most damaging thing they could do to the Jewish state: cutoff the supply of ammunition.

Israel is caught in a most difficult position: They cannot allow their citizens to be once again in Hamas’s crosshairs. Likewise, they cannot allow Hezbollah to think that if one rapes and murders their way through part of Israel, those same barbarians will live to fight another day. Israel must destroy Hamas if the Jewish state is to survive.

At the same time, however, Israel, like every other country on earth, relies on allies for support. The U.S. is the world’s only superpower and Israel’s closest ally, and yet, the President of the United States has effectively demanded Israel not defeat Hamas and his Vice President has threatened “consequences” if Israel does what everyone knows they must.

For Such a Time as This 

All of the above - the calls for a cease-fire, the threats should Israel enter Rafah - amounts to the same end: Hamas survives, the hostages may not. That outcome is unacceptable for Israel and is unacceptable to the American people.

America’s Founders set up our government with separate and equal branches for when one of those branches goes rogue. In fact, executive overreach was perhaps the most concerning yet foreseeable challenge the Founders addressed.

Congress exists, above all else, for these moments. Our Constitution clearly vests the power of the purse with our elected officials in the House and Senate.  And for believers, many of us hold that those elected to positions of power – perhaps especially those elevated through unprecedented events – are indeed burdened with being the vessels for that which is righteous. But all must make a choice. And sadly, some have chosen a very dark path.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has submitted a motion to oust Johnson (just as was done to former Speaker McCarthy) should the emergency supplemental package be brought to the floor. And Greene is not alone. Other members of the House Freedom Caucus such as Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) have indicated they may join Greene’s effort. They are always careful to say “Ukraine” aid rather than Israel, but it’s all the same legislative package, and they know it.

Nonetheless, to his credit, Speaker Johnson seems to agree that he has been blessed and burdened with his position for such a time as this. Despite the sword of Damocles Greene and her ilk seek to hold over Johnson’s head, several members of Congress, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) recently assured journalists that the Speaker will bring a vote on aid to Israel to the floor in approximately two weeks when Congress returns from their Easter recess.

This is reason for cautious optimism, but the details matter. There are no secrets about what a politically popular, bipartisan, and impactful aid package must and cannot include. If Speaker Johnson is to hold a meaningful vote on meaningful legislation which can be signed into law, it will have to be within those known guardrails. And that is exactly the message we’ll be delivering to our leaders on your behalf in the coming days.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund Team