[link removed]

In this week's Action Update, we discuss a mass murderer being elected
to public office, renewed bipartisan efforts to combat the movement to
Boycott, Divest from and Sanction (BDS) Israel, and highlight op-eds
recently published by CUFI leadership and Action Fund staff.

Meet the New Tyrant

Iran's elections could never be described as free, fair or democratic.
Nonetheless, while ultimate power in the Islamic Republic lies with its
Supreme Leader, the President does have some power. As such, Iran's
election do have consequences. And perhaps most importantly, they signal
the direction the regime is headed.

Enter Ebrahim Raisi, Iran's new President-elect. He's held various
positions within Iran's government, including most recently as Chief
Justice of Iran's judicial system. But he really came into his own
back in 1988 when he was one of just four members of Iran's
appropriately nicknamed "death committee," which oversaw the murder
of thousands of Iranian political prisoners in a purge of sorts. It
should come as no surprise then that Raisi is accused of crimes against
humanity and is currently sanctioned by the US government.

In sum, Iran's highest elected official is a mass murderer.

Forgive us our simplistic worldview, but we think this may be a good
moment to reconsider the

**let's make a deal with Iran at any cost**approach to engaging with
the Islamic Republic that currently seems to be the prevailing school of
thought inside the Biden administration.

Few seem to have the courage to say it out loud, but we have this nasty
habit of speaking the truth: The only road that a responsible leader of
the free world can take with Iran is one the ultimately ends with a
fundamental change in the regime. And as challenging as that may seem,
we did win the Cold War without engaging in a World War. So its
possible. Smart strong diplomacy can succeed. And that's the only
option when the guy sitting across the table got his start in politics
by slaughtering a few thousand of his fellow citizens.

Bipartisanship Rides Again (Maybe)

This past week, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W Va.)
reintroduced the

**Combatting BDS Act**. This legislation "would increase protections
for state and local governments in America that divest from, prohibit
investment in, or otherwise restrict contracting with firms that
knowingly engage in commerce-related or investment-related BDS activity
attacking Israel..."

The CUFI Action Fund wholeheartedly welcomes this legislation as we have
continued to advance anti-BDS legislation across the country. As regular
readers will recall, CUFI-backed anti-BDS bills advanced this year in
West Virginia, Idaho and Utah. This brings the total number of such
bills to 33.

It doesn't take a professional political operative to recognize that
the

**Combatting BDS Act** has the votes in both the House and Senate to
pass. The only real question is will Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader
Schumer have the courage to ignore the anti-Israel voices in the
Democratic Caucus and allow the bill an up-or-down vote.

Thought Leadership

Over the past few days, CUFI and the Action Fund have seen a number of
op-ed' s published in various newspapers.

Perhaps the most widely read of the pieces was an op-ed

jointly authored by CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee and
former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley. The two discuss their recent
trip to Israel noting, "Our trip is a small sign of the steadfast
support that Israel can count on - support that is grounded in faith,
common sense and common ground. Israelis and Americans share the same
values and the same vision of peace and prosperity in the Middle East
and beyond. On that foundation, we will continue to build."

Over at Haaretz, the CUFI Action Fund's Boris Zilberman authored a
piece

highlighting not just the importance of the Abraham Accords in the
abstract, but showing how the recent conflict between Hamas and Israel
exemplifies the tangible importance of this agreement.

Finally, CUFI Board Member Pastor Scott Thomas authored a strong piece

for the Times of Israel highlighting the UN's anti-Israel bias in the
context of the aforementioned Hamas-Israel conflict and calling upon
world powers to take action against this internationally
institutionalized antisemitism.

From Iran doubling down on its evil foreign policy and Hamas continuing
to launch firebombs into the Jewish state to the Biden
administration's hit and miss strategy for contending with the Middle
East, there's a lot we're focused on both at home and abroad. But
needless to say, come what may, because of your support, we'll be
there on the frontlines of the policy and public relations battle to
ensure the voices of the millions of Christian Zionists across this
country are heard.

Sincerely,

CUFI Action Fund Team

SUPPORT CUFI ACTION FUND
_________________

Sent to [email protected]

Unsubscribe:
[link removed]

CUFI Action Fund, 300 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003, United States