The CUFI Action Fund is a single-issue organization. But some world events are so important that history itself pivots at those points and the ripples it sends impacts everything. Russia’s appalling, unwarranted, and inhumane invasion of Ukraine is such an event. We’ve seen the United States and Europe come
together in support of Ukraine in ways unthinkable just weeks ago. Decades of foreign policy for some European nations have been completely upended. The world has changed once more because of war in Europe.
We do recognize, as we pointed out two weeks ago, that American weakness begets conflict. Whether it be in dealings with Russia or Iran, efforts to accommodate leaders like Putin or the Ayatollah leaves one empty handed when push comes to shove.
We feel strongly that the Biden administration must cease begging others to do what is right and start acting like a superpower.
The Iran Angle
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has completely shifted the geopolitical landscape. Yet, it is worth reminding you that the United States is still using the Russians as the key conduit in our indirect talks with the Iranians. Even after the invasion of Ukraine moved forward, the State Department doubled down on this
diplomatic channel. The word we are hearing is that the push for reaching a "deal" is more fervent than ever.
This is insanity and it should be stopped along with the talks themselves, which are on the brink of disaster. Many rumors abound over the contents of an agreement which could be forthcoming later this month.
There are many aspects of these reports we find deeply
troubling. For one, it has been suggested that the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), otherwise known as the tip of the terrorist spear for Tehran, would no longer be sanctioned by the U.S. government under this agreement. This would be an abomination as Iran and the IRGC continue their terrorist behavior across the world unabated. Secondly, there are many reports over vast sums of money to which Iran would have access, all the while having to make the most minor of concessions on the nuclear front.
Perhaps with a war in Europe underway, the Biden administration believes they can slip through a deal far worse than anything agreed upon previously. Perhaps Iran,
seeing the Biden Administration’s too often timid approach to Russia, believes they can bully his negotiators. We cannot allow for Iran to take advantage of these dangerous times, nor should we allow Russia to be our emissary.
Russia on the Med
Israel is in a difficult position vis-à-vis Moscow. Jerusalem is sending vital humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, joining other nations at the UN in condemning the attack on Ukraine, and helping to evacuate both Jews and Arabs out of Ukraine.
But as Foreign Minister Lapid outlined, "Israel effectively has a security border with Russia. Russia is the most significant military power in Syria, and our cooperation mechanism with them assists in our determined battle against Iranian entrenchment on our northern border."
We know Israel is in a tough neighborhood, one in which the Iranians are actively trying to destroy. Russia has not been shy about threatening Israel’s aerial operations over Syria, nor its rightful claim to the Golan Heights. All this in efforts to keep Israel from further engaging in Ukraine.
Russia’s increased presence in the Middle East, in large part due to the Obama administration’s reluctance to back their words with deeds in
Syria, is a clear and present reality which Jerusalem is forced to deal with. And as the war in Ukraine shows, at the end of the day it is Israelis who will be fighting for their country should that day come.
Back in the USSR
Our Director of Public Policy and Strategy,
Boris Zilberman, feels the current conflict acutely. He left the Soviet Union as a refugee when he was a child. While born in Moscow, his family comes from small villages and towns in the Pale of Settlements stretching from Lithuania to Ukraine. This area has seen hard times before, particularly the local Jewish populations which saw horrific destruction as the Nazis advanced during World War II and the pogroms before then.
The West did not believe the evil leaders of that era when they made their intentions clear. Putin is a revisionist leader looking to create a greater Russia once more. As a result, today in Ukraine we are seeing nothing less than a modern era
pogrom aimed at the Ukrainian people – both Christians and Jews alike.
Zilberman adds that, "Putin has the audacity to claim he is engaged in ‘denazification’ when in fact he is indiscriminately attacking a western orientated democracy led by a Jewish President. It is about time we believe our enemies when they tell us who they are."
We will keep the people of
Ukraine in our prayers. We will also continue to stand watch as those who seek to destroy Israel or take advantage of this situation seek to advance their causes.
As Pastor Hagee likes to say, a threat to freedom anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere.
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