Dear John,
The year 2020 has certainly been a time that none of us will soon forget. Irrespective of your personal feelings regarding President Trump, we look back at the Abraham Accords and feel nothing but profound gratitude to the administration who in the span of a few short months was able to broker peace treaties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. And although many of us were quarantined throughout this pandemic, we, at EMET, managed to accomplish a tremendous amount.
One of the most important things we do, almost every single day, is develop or build upon meaningful relationships with members of Congress or their staffers. We are universally thanked for our time because we bring a level of understanding of the situation in the Middle East that they rarely hear.
We are blessed to have on our foreign policy team, Hussein Aboubakr Mansour who describes in our meetings the reality of the all–pervasive anti-Semitism in the Middle East, and how dissidents are routinely punished simply for trying to embark on friendships with Israelis.
We are also blessed to have Benjamin Weil on our foreign policy team, who brings with him years of experience as serving as the foreign policy advisor to Minister Yuval Steinitz of the Knesset, as well as having been a commander in the IDF on many fronts. So, when we speak about many issues, such as the presence of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Benjamin speaks from first-hand experience.
Meetings with Congressmen and Staffers
We have had 150+ meetings with staffers on both sides of the aisle on a wide variety of topics. While there is no perfect substitute for in-person face-to-face meetings, we have pivoted to have these meetings on Zoom and conference calls in order to continue EMET’s important work.
Some of the topics we discuss include, but are not limited to:
• The link between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Armed Forces
• Providing Israel with F-22s
• Iranian intercontinental ballistic missiles in Venezuela
• Qatar’s anti-American agenda
• Iranian violations of the JCPOA
• Justice for U.S. victims of terrorism
• Anti-Semitism on U.S. college campuses
• Turkish aggression and sponsor of terrorism
• Foreign funding of American students
• Palestinian incitement
EMET Events
This year so far, we have hosted a combined 51 in-person seminars and virtual webinars. We have had an average of 170 viewers on each of our webinars.
We have featured over 65 experts on our webinars including Natan Sharansky, Caroline Glick, Elan Carr, Ken Marcus, Colonel Richard Kemp, and other bright luminaries.
Some examples of our webinars include:
• “Examining the Mysterious Spate of Attacks in Iran,” featuring David Albright and Efraim Inbar.
Watch the webinar here.
• “The Effort to Combat Global Antisemitism,” featuring Elan Carr.
Watch the webinar here.
• “Systemic Anti-Semitism on College Campuses” featuring Sarah Stern, Asaf Romirowsky, and Alyza Lewin.
Watch the webinar here.
We have reached over 2,500 unique viewers throughout our webinar series.
View the full list of EMET webinars and seminars here.
EMET Articles and Op-Eds
EMET has published 45 op-eds this year across numerous platforms including, but not limited to:
• Newsweek
• The Washington Times
• The Jerusalem Post
• Jewish News Syndicate
• Israel HaYom
• The Times of Israel
• Commentary
• The New Republic
Some examples of our op-eds include:
• President and Founder of EMET, Sarah Stern, penned an op-ed in Newsweek about the tragic situation in Lebanon.
Read the Op-Ed: Macron Shows Us What Not to Do in Lebanon
• Director of the Project for Israel’s National Security, Benjamin Weil, also penned an op-ed in Newsweek about policy recommendations to prevent Iran from stationing ballistic missiles in Venezuela, thereby creating a Cuban Missile Crisis 2.0.
Read the Op-Ed: How the U.S. Can Prevent Iran from Stationing ICBMs in Venezuela
• Director of EMET’s Program for Emerging Democratic Voices from the Middle East, Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, penned an op-ed in Mosaic Magazine about transformations of Islam across the Middle East.
Read the Op-Ed: The Tremors of Muslim Reform
View the full list of EMET articles here.
EMET Congressional Letters
EMET has initiated and co-authored three Congressional letters to statesmen and diplomats, highlighting policy concerns and raising awareness on important issues.
These letters were:
• Addressed to Jordanian Ambassador, Dina Kawar, the Congressional letter demanded answers regarding the extradition request by the United States to Jordan of Ahlam Tamimi, the mastermind terrorist behind the Sbarro Pizzeria terrorist attack in Jerusalem in 2001.
• Addressed to Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, the Congressional letter highlights the increasingly cozy relationship between the Lebanese Armed Forces and Hezbollah, and requests to freeze U.S. funding to the Lebanese Armed Forces until an investigation can be launched to ensure that Hezbollah is not benefitting from U.S. tax dollars.
• Addressed to Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, with copies to Robert O’Brien, the National Security Advisor, and Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense, the Congressional letter urged the U.S. to take further actions against the transfer of Iranian long-range missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles to Venezuela, which would potentially create a missile crisis similar to the 1962 Cuban Missiles Crisis.
EMET's Website
We invite you to take a look at EMET’s website, which features new articles and webinars weekly, as well as much of the information highlighted in this briefing.
Please Support EMET
We believe that a strong and secure Israel is the greatest asset the United States can have, in the very volatile region of the world that is the Middle East. Although politicians come and go, EMET will always be there, to represent your voice on Capitol Hill.
We would not be able to do this important work were it not for the support of generous individuals who believe in a strong America and a strong Israel, such as yourself.
As the end of the year approaches, to enable us to continue our critical work, please consider supporting EMET through a tax-deductible donation: Invest in the Truth. Invest in EMET.
Sincerely,
Sarah Stern
President and Founder of EMET
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