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It's not often that one edition of a weekly newsletter provides a
perspective on ice cream, nuclear weapons, and Arab-Israeli relations,
but in this week's Action Update, we plan on doing exactly that. So
please, sit back, relax, crack open a pint of Haagen-Dazs or Blue Bell,
and read all about these items below.

Ben & Jerry's Rocky Road

No doubt by now you've seen the news that Ben & Jerry's, the hippy
ice cream company known for its oddly named overpriced pints, has
capitulated to the BDS movement.

Well, the story won't end there. Regular readers of the update know
that the pro-Israel community has advanced anti-BDS legislation in 33
states across the country. And a number of these bills include a
provision that does not allow the state to invest pension funds and the
like in entities that boycott the Jewish state. These provisions are
focused in states with the largest pension funds, like Texas, New York
and Florida.

While Ben & Jerry's doesn't figure into the investment equation,
their parent company, international conglomerate Unilever, does. Several
states have already announced that they have begun the process to see if
the laws compel them to divest funds from Unilever (spoiler alert: they
do). This is bad news for the company's shareholders, who've already
seen shares of Unilever fall since Ben & Jerry's half-baked saga
began. And given that, for example, Texas - which heard from the CUFI
Action Fund within twenty-four hours of the Ben & Jerry's announcement
and reacted to our outreach the next day - holds $100 million in
Unilever stock, things aren't going to get any better until the adults
in the room overrule their subsidiary, an action which financial
documents from the purchase of Ben & Jerry's indicate Unilever is
fully within its rights to do.

This is exactly why we've worked at the state level to advance these
anti-BDS provisions. And we are assured that this ends in one of two
ways: either Ben & Jerry's will go the way of AirBNB and back away
from their pro-BDS position, or Unilever will see hundreds of millions
of dollars currently invested in their company, invested elsewhere.
Either way, the American people won't subsidize anti-Israel board room
decisions, and we're witnessing that unfolding at this very moment.

Pres. Biden's Narrowing Corridor

Two opinion pieces on Iran's nuclear program caught our eye recently,
especially as they came on the heels of the King of Jordan visiting
Washington to, among other things, discuss Iran's nuclear program with
leaders on the Hill.

The first was a Wall Street Journal editorial that notes that Iran
continues to try to extract more concessions from the US via indirect
negotiations between Washington, world powers, and Tehran. The second
was an opinion column from perennial foreign policy fixture Amb. Dennis
Ross who argued that the US should provide the Massive Ordinance
Penetrator (a bomb meant to destroy WMD sites built deep inside
mountains) to Israel for the purpose of increasing western leverage over
the Islamic Republic.

Both pieces - especially when taken together - show that no one
seems to be under the illusion that the Biden administration has
displayed what it takes to show Iran that their choice is truly a
"longer and stronger" agreement or a return to the maximum pressure
track.

Now, we're not talking about bombing Iran's nuclear facilities.
Rather, with Iran continuously coming back and asking the US for more
concessions without offering any of their own, what we are talking about
is leaving Tehran no doubt that those who might act will have the
capabilities to do so. As Amb. Ross wrote, "The Iranians may doubt
whether the U.S. would follow through on its threats; they won't have
any trouble believing the Israelis will."

We agree with Amb. Ross that providing the mountain-buster bombs to
Israel is a good idea. We agree that the Administration's speak softly
and carry a small stick approach is not working out. And everyone agrees
that the original agreement - whether they say it explicitly or not
- was too short and too weak. It's not too late to rebuild the
perception of American power, because it can be backed up. But in order
to achieve real success Pres. Biden should heed the warning put to paper
by one of our colleagues before Pres. Biden took office, "Biden
mustn't want a deal more than he wants to see a specific,
comprehensive outcome. And his team must be willing to walk away from
the negotiating table."

A Clear Path to Peace

Returning to our effort to try to end on a good note, Israeli airlines
have begun flights to Morocco after that country followed several others
in normalizing diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.  We checked
around the office and none of us had been to Marakhesh. Some of us had
recently traveled to Abu Dhabi to meet the UAE's foreign Minister. We
look forward to one day soon hopping on a flight in Tel Aviv and landing
in Morocco to enjoy the hospitality and beauty that nation is known for.

The theme of this week's Action Update could have been peace through
strength. Strong state action is what will ultimately ensure US taxpayer
dollars do not end up supporting the antisemitic BDS movement. Strong
American leadership is what will deter Tehran from acquiring a nuclear
weapon. And strong American support is what enabled what we hope and
pray are just the first of many nations to normalize their relations
with Israel.

Some like to accuse bold leaders of being saber rattlers. On the
contrary, history has shown that peace is the end, strength is the
means, and weakness begets conflict. Bold leaders are the ones who
achieve peace. The rest just talk about it.

Sincerely,

CUFI Action Fund Team

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