An Update from CUFI Action Fund
In recent weeks, the Update has been largely focused on events in Washington and state capitals around the country. This week, we broaden our view a bit and go from Washington to Ramallah, and from Tehran to Beijing, as we bring you the latest information relevant to Israel’s supporters across the country.
Still Paying Terrorists
Last week, CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman Sandra Parker published an op-ed in the Washington Examiner that calls upon the Biden administration to enforce the Taylor Force Act. As a reminder, this bipartisan legislation was passed with CUFI’s
support several years ago, and it prevents the US from providing aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) until that entity ends its policy of paying salaries and pensions to terrorists and their families.
Parker’s piece comes on the heels of a report that last year the PA spent more than $150 million dollars in international aid money on its pay-to-slay program and responds to the claims that a lack of US aid to the PA is the cause of the plight of the Palestinian people.
“The problems Palestinians face do not stem from the suspension of U.S. aid. They stem from a deeply corrupt and terror-supporting Palestinian leadership running the West Bank and the murderous terrorist organization Hamas running Gaza. The absence of any change in the Palestinian leadership’s maximalist positions or its terror campaign against Israel is an argument against restoring aid, not for it,” Parker notes.
Still the World’s Leading Sponsor of Terror
Not to ever be outdone by the PA (or anyone else), Iran continues to hold the title as the world’s leading sponsor of terror. The most recent escalation in Iran’s war of attrition against the West, Sunni Arab states, and Israel, was a missile attack against an Israeli cargo ship traveling from
Tanzania to India.
Iran’s support for terrorism is well-known and well-documented. They’ve attacked and taken hostage ships in the past. And as the Biden administration is set to offer the Iranians yet another opportunity to come to the table to discuss Iran’s nuclear weapons program, this latest attack is yet another example of the importance of ensuring Tehran’s human rights violations and support for terror are addressed in any future agreement with the Islamic Republic.
Still Aiding and Abetting America’s Enemies
In related news, China and Iran have signed a 25-year “Strategic Cooperation Pact” which includes a promise from Beijing to
invest a whopping $400 billion dollars in Iran over the next two-and-a-half decades. This is not the first time Beijing’s patently amoral approach to foreign policy has aided and abetted Iran. In recent years, China undermined US sanctions against the Islamic Republic aimed at curbing that nation’s nuclear ambitions.
Beijing has no shared philosophical ideology with Tehran. In fact, for years the Chinese regime has been engaged in a horrific genocidal campaign against Uyghur Muslims living inside the People’s Republic. But the Chinese leadership does seek to expand its influence wherever they
can, and Iran has no qualms doing business with Beijing.
Around the world, evil regimes and those who would enable them present threats to US national security interests and to the security and safety of Israel. The CUFI Action Fund works every day to find ways to contend with these challenges and keep the US-Israel relationship strong and secure. Thank you for taking the time to learn about these issues and for your steadfast support of Israel.
Sincerely,
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