As Israel prepares its response to Iran’s unprecedented ballistic missile attack on the Jewish state earlier this month, Hezbollah attempted to kill Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days, and earlier this week it was discovered that more Al Jazeera journalists are in fact terrorists. But first, the big news out of Washington….

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Top secret U.S. intelligence documents discussing Jerusalem’s aerial combat exercises likely related to plans to strike back against Iran were released online by a pro-Iran/Iran-linked social media channel. Though it’s unclear at this time if malice or incompetence led to the information’s disclosure, the extent of Iran’s intelligence penetration in the U.S. and Israel has likely been underestimated.

Recently multiple Israeli citizens were arrested as part of an Iranian spy ring that had been active for two years. According to Israeli authorities, the group of seven immigrants to Israel (two of whom are minor teenagers), was motivated by large sums of money offered by Iranian agents.

Iran’s intelligence efforts in the United States are known to be significant as well. In recent years, multiple Iranian spy rings have been scooped up by American law enforcement, and just this week, an Iranian general was indicted by the U.S. for the Islamic Republic’s effort to kill an Iranian dissident living in New York. The general, who will never be arrested as he’s in Iran, is the highest-ranking official indicted in the case, but the “murder-for-hire” plot has already led to multiple arrests on American soil.  

Down but Not Out

Over the years, American authorities have also arrested numerous individuals associated with Iran’s preeminent proxy, Hezbollah. The two are linked at the hip, and our leaders in Washington (and our friends in Europe) need not forget that all the terrorists’ roads lead to Tehran.

Israel continues its intensive air and limited ground campaign to push Hezbollah back from the border, following the decimation of the large swaths of the organization’s leadership. Despite Israel’s military gains against the group, the ground war has been extremely challenging with news coming nearly each day of new casualties from the northern front.

Jerusalem has made clear she is resolutely committed to ensuring the 60,000 displaced Israelis can return to what remains of their homes, farms and forests, to rebuild their lives in Israel’s north.

Hezbollah has continued to strike Israel, and though estimates are that the organization has been greatly diminished (Israel recently eliminated yet another presumptive leader of the group), they were able to launch a drone that struck Prime Minister Netanyahu’s personal residence in Caesarea, Israel. The Prime Minister was unharmed. Strikes from Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in Iraq and Yemen continue on a daily basis.

Define Journalist…?

As the war rages in the north, Israel continues to engage terrorists in Gaza, where 101 hostages remain in Hamas’s dungeons. Unfortunately, no Palestinians have taken Israel up on her offer of amnesty for anyone who releases the hostages in their control. This is somewhat surprising as some of the individuals holding the hostages would claim to be civilians.

For example, over the summer one of the “civilians” holding Israeli hostages was a doctor, another journalist who had written for Al Jazeera. One would think that if these individuals really were civilians (and not the evil terrorists holding Jews as slaves we know them to be) they would jump at the opportunity offered by Israel. Sadly, that isn’t the case. So, it should come as no surprise that this week, Israel announced it has discovered an additional six Al Jazeera “journalists” are in fact Palestinian terrorist operatives.

In sum, someone/something in Washington is leaking highly sensitive information to Iran; a television channel owned by an American “ally,” Qatar, is employing a lot of terrorists; and as all of this is taking place, Iran’s ring of fire continues to pummel Israel with rockets – even hitting the Prime Minister’s home.

We understand that there is an election, but it is never acceptable to acquiesce to the mob’s most vicious agitators regardless of how much you might want every last vote. Now is the time for morally clear leadership (don’t worry, we’re not holding our breath). No matter who controls what in Washington, following the upcoming election, the American people expect our leaders to stand with Israel, and as we all know, the next election starts the day this one ends.

Sincerely, 

The CUFI Action Fund