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Call on President Biden to build upon the solid partnership that currently exists between the United States and Israel
Dear Friend of EMET,
As President Biden fills the seats of his new administration, and forms his foreign policy, EMET continues to track and echo concerns regarding the Middle East and Israel. Most recently, the Biden administration indicated the intention of opening up the Palestinian mission in Washington, resuming aid to UNRWA, which only perpetuates the sense of victimhood among the Palestinians and keeps the 1948 conflict alive, and resuming aid to the Palestinian Authority. Given the fact that the Palestinian Authority has a "pay-for-slay" policy, compensating Palestinian terrorists based on the number of Jews they have killed, this move by the administration is concerning. The Taylor Force Act which prevents the Palestinians from giving aid to the families of their so-called “martyrs” or “prisoners” is an act of American Law, that apparently the Biden administration wants to overlook and ignore.
Additionally, two recent appointments have raised grave concerns to our allies in the Middle East; Mr. Robert Malley, US Envoy to Iran, and Mr. Maher Bitar, Director for Intelligence on the National Security Council.
Mr. Robert Malley is known to have frequently met with Hamas members and maintains close relationships with Hamas officials, a designated foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Furthermore, following the singing of Abraham Accord peace deals, Mr. Malley has called to “walk back parts of the normalization deals.” Lastly, in 2019, Mr. Malley has met with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, a possible violation of the Logan Act. Mr. Malley’s appointment was even celebrated by NIAC, an organization which Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, refers to as “Iran’s lobby in Washington.”
An individual who maintains close relationships with illegal terrorist organizations, who possibly violated the Logan Act, and is associated with organizations representing the Iranian government should not represent us in any negotiation with Iran.
Needless to say, if our allies, who have already expressed heavy doubts as to the sincerity of Mr. Malley in any negotiation with Iran, cannot trust our negotiations with Iran, it would not be preposterous on their part to take a unilateral military action against Iran. This appointment surely does not provide any further stability to the region and risks escalation in the Middle East.
Mr. Maher Bitar has a track record of promoting and supporting BDS, illegal in a number of U.S. states. Interestingly, when graduating with a Master’s degree from Oxford, Mr. Bitar wrote his thesis about the “Nakba,” the Arabic word for disaster – referring to the creation of the State of Israel. Both President Biden and Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, have expressed their opposition to BDS. These views do not square with their expressed views.
Israel is our closest ally and the only democracy and island of stability in the tumultuous Middle East. We worry that with an anti-Israel bias, the President’s gatekeeper to intelligence will heavily influence, and possibly damage, our close alliance with Israel.
EMET has worked with Representative Doug Lamborn (R-CO-5) to draft a letter to President Biden, addressing these concerns. We strongly urge you to call or write to your Representatives and ask them to sign on to this letter. You can always reach them through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 225-3121. View a PDF of the letter here.
Please stress, when talking to your member of Congress or staffer, that we are not opposed to these individuals because of their religion, ethnicity or place of national origin, but because of their words and their actions.
The deadline to sign this letter is COB Wednesday, February 17th. You can find your Representative’s contact information here. If you would like to write an email, please contact us and we will provide you the email address of the appropriate staff member in your representative’s office. Please remember to attach a copy of the letter to your email.
Sincerely,
Sarah Stern
Founder and President of EMET
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