What to read, watch and listen to on your AIPAC app this weekend
Political Update
Dear A.,
On Tuesday night, pro-Israel congressional candidate Mayor Robert Garcia (D-CA-42) won his primary and became the presumptive winner in the congressional race.
Garcia became the latest pro-Israel progressive Democrat we’ve helped to defeat anti-Israel challengers in this election cycle.
On Wednesday he tweeted to AIPAC, "Thank you all so much for the support!"
Together with wins against anti-Israel candidates in Ohio, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia and Kentucky, we are quickly demonstrating the political strength of AIPAC and the pro-Israel community.
So far in this election cycle:
98% of candidates backed by the AIPAC PAC have won their primary elections.
More than 4,000 pro-Israel Americans have supported candidates directly through the AIPAC Political Portal.
And United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-backed super PAC, has helped defeat five anti-Israel candidates.
We have proven the impact we can have, but this is a long-term political battle that we will fight together over many months and years.
Thank you for your leadership, and your commitment to our critical work together.
Cory Meyer
Digital Engagement Director
Key News
IAEA Censures Iran for Nuclear Behavior
This week, the international community issued a stinging rebuke of Iran’s failure to cooperate with international inspectors and its increasingly aggressive nuclear behavior.
The latest: On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors passed a resolution, by an overwhelming majority, censuring Iran for its continuous deceit and lies over undisclosed nuclear activity.
Rather than address these international concerns, Iran escalated its nuclear provocations by turning off 27 IAEA cameras and monitoring devices that allowed international inspectors to monitor Iran’s enrichment levels in real time.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi warned that the loss of access to this information would greatly impair the agency’s ability to verify Iran’s enrichment activity.
Our view: The Board of Governors' action is a welcome first step, but the matter must be referred to the U.N. Security Council for further action. Without full transparency on Iran’s past enrichment, any nuclear deal with Iran will be fundamentally flawed.
For more on Iran’s nuclear expansion and regional aggression, read this AIPAC memo.
U.N. Targets Israel in New Report
The United Nations once again attacked Israel and largely ignored Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups in a new one-sided report from the U.N. Human Rights Council’s "Commission of Inquiry" (COI) against Israel.
The State Department stated: "We firmly oppose the open-ended and vaguely defined nature of the [...] Commission of Inquiry," which "represents a one-sided, biased approach that does nothing to advance the prospects for peace," and is "a continuation of a longstanding pattern of unfairly singling out Israel."
Go deeper: The COI report rehashes more than 50 years of discriminatory and one-sided U.N. reports and resolutions that inaccurately blame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Israel – laying the groundwork for future boycotts against Israel and justifying terrorism against Israeli citizens.
Context: Established in May 2021, the UNHRC's unprecedented, open-ended COI is intended to permanently target the Jewish state.
The COI's broad mandate, biased leadership, and substantial budget assure unremitting attacks against Israel, beginning with this first report.
In Congress: Reps. Greg Steube, Vicente Gonzalez and Joe Wilson have introduced the bipartisan COI Elimination Act to withhold U.S. funding from this anti-Israel commission.
In March, a bipartisan Senate supermajority urged the Biden administration to end the COI, calling it, "the latest endeavor by UNHRC to demonize the only Jewish state."
The bottom line: The United States must reject this biased, U.N.-funded attack against the State of Israel, and continue to oppose efforts to isolate, attack and delegitimize Israel.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) joins AIPAC to discuss what compelled her to run for Congress, why she feels it's important to take a leadership role on issues impacting the U.S.-Israel relationship, and her trips to the Jewish state.
Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rob Portman (R-OH) sit down with AIPAC to discuss bipartisanship, the legal assault against Israel on the international stage, and the importance of the Abraham Accords.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon sat down with AIPAC to discuss his latest book, "In the Lion's Den: Israel and the World." The book chronicles Danon's political career and illustrates his vision for Israel's future on the regional and global stage.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett flew to Abu Dhabi Thursday morning to meet with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan.
"This is a relationship that over the course of the last two years has really blossomed and developed in a number of different directions," says Senior International Affairs Correspondent Owen Alterman.
U.S., Israel and 9 Arab states to form defense pact
VIDEO • june 9, 2022
"There are quiet discussions going on.. It would be very smart to run exercises as well to make it very clear that if the Iranians think the military option is not on the table, we can demonstrate through exercises, that we're rehearsing the kind of steps we would have to take," says Ambassador Dennis Ross, Middle East peace negotiator and former special assistant to President Obama.
Yaakov Katz and Lahav Harkov talk about whether Top Gun: Maverick has the solutions for Israel's Iran dilemmas, China's anger at JPost for publishing an interview with Taiwan's foreign minister and more.
Plus, Yaakov and Jerusalem Post Senior Analyst Herb Keinon about how racist incidents at the Jerusalem Day flag march reflect on Israel.
Catastrophe or Salvation? Israel’s Coalition Government
PODCAST • SHALOM HARTMAN INSTITUTE
Israel may have the most diverse government – not only in its history but anywhere in the democratic world. For its supporters, this government is a model of pluralism and dedication to the common good but that is not the feeling among a majority of the public.
Join Donniel Hartman, Yossi Klein Halevi and Elana Stein Hain as they discuss why this government is failing to win the hearts of Israelis.
The mission of AIPAC is to encourage and persuade the U.S. government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.
