Date: Thursday, October 24, 2019
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer, Director

Threats On All Fronts

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, warns that Israel is facing threats from all sides. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Lt. Gen. Kochavi said, "On both the northern and southern fronts, the situation is tense and fragile, and could deteriorate into a confrontation."

As you know, Israel has faced regular protests and frequent clashes along its border with Gaza for more than a year now. The Jerusalem Post reports that nearly 2,000 rockets were fired at Israeli communities in the past year. Imagine our response if thousands of rockets were being fired at San Diego from Mexico.

The main threat, however, is to Israel's north. Referring to growing threats from Syria and Hezbollah's development of precision rockets, Kochavi added:

"[The] central strategic challenge of the State of Israel lies in the northern arena. . . In both cases, this is an Iranian-led effort, using the territory of countries with very limited governments."

Kochavi is correct. As we have repeatedly noted, Iran has used the chaos of the Syrian civil war to establish a new front against Israel. The ayatollah initially dispatched fighters and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps troops to shore up the Assad regime.

Having achieved that goal, the IRGC forces still remain in Syria, and they have no intention of leaving. Their focus is no longer Damascus. It's Jerusalem.

Rising Anti-Semitism

In yesterday's report, I told you about the concerns of American Jews confronted by growing anti-Semitism in the United States. But anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe as well.

A new survey by the World Jewish Congress finds that more than a quarter of Germans hold some anti-Semitic beliefs. For example:

41% of Germans agreed that "Jews talk too much about the Holocaust."
41% also believed that "Jews are more loyal to Israel than to Germany."
26% said that "Jews had too much power in international financial markets."
24% said that Jews have too much power in global affairs."
16% feel that "Jews have too much control over the German government."

Incredibly, 44% of Germans rejected the notion that "Germany has a special responsibility to look out for the welfare of Israel" because of the Holocaust. And when asked if Israel has a right to exist, only 66% said "Yes." Twenty-three percent said they weren't sure and 11% said that Israel does not have a right to exist.

Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, recalled the lessons of Germany's Nazi past, saying, "We saw what happened when ordinary people looked away or kept silent. It is time for the whole of German society to take a stand and fight antisemitism head-on."

All of us, wherever we are, must stand against anti-Semitism whenever it rears its ugly head. As Washington Director of CUFI Action Fund, I promise to speak out in defense of Israel and against anti-Semitism so long as God grants me breath.

And I also promise to use my influence as a presidential appointee on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to draw attention to this scourge and to fight anti-Semitism here and around the world.