As no doubt many of our readers and supporters are aware, CUFI returned
to the nation's capital last week for the first CUFI Washington Summit
since the Covid-19 pandemic prevented us from doing so. We covered our
legislative agenda in last week's Action Update, so this week we
thought we'd highlight some of the most notable moments from the
Summit along with developments on the Iranian and Palestinian fronts.

Notable and Quotable

The pro-Israel and political communities were abuzz last week after
former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley delivered a clear and
unambiguous quote about what she thinks of any Iran deal signed by
President Biden when she said from our stage, "No deal is better than
a bad deal. And if this president signs any sort of deal, I'll make you
a promise. The next president will shred it on her first day in
office."

Haley's assessment of Biden's approach to Iran was echoed by
Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), both of whom spoke
during the CUFI Summit. Cotton concisely summed up numerous elected
officials' attitude towards Biden's dealings with Iran when he said,
"Joe Biden is sitting down and negotiating with and trying to give
away the farm to the ayatollahs." We wish Cotton was wrong, but he
isn't.

One of the most memorable panels during the Summit came when Senators
Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK), joined CUFI Action
Chairwoman Sandra Parker on stage for a discussion about combating
antisemitism. The two Senators are the co-chairs of the Senate
Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, and they delivered a
powerful and united message on the importance of combating the world's
oldest hatred.

"Antisemitism is on the rise worldwide. Unfortunately, it's on the
rise here in the United States, including on college campuses... it's a
good time for us to be able to push back and to be able to say, we're
the United States of America. We receive all people, of all places, of
all faiths or of no faith," Lankford said.

The Forever Talks

As indicated above, a host of speakers at the CUFI Summit expressed
strong concerns about the current state of Iran's nuclear program and
the associated U.S. policy. These concerns were amplified last week when
the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency - not known for
always having the courage to speak bluntly - said that Iran's
nuclear program was "galloping ahead," and his agency really
doesn't know much about what Iran is doing.

Unfortunately, Victoria Nuland, the Biden administration's
undersecretary of state for political affairs, isn't listening. During
a recent interview with CNN, Nuland said, "The deal is sitting there
on the table for the taking, if the Iranians want it." Spoiler alert:
they don't want a deal. They want to drag out negotiations until
they've achieved their nuclear ambitions. And while the Biden
administration claims they won't wait on Iran forever, we've seen no
evidence that the administration intends to follow through on that
promise.

In her interview, Nuland also noted, "They haven't walked away when
they could have done that over these many months where the deal's been
ready and sitting there. So, you know, let's see what happens."

You know what? Let's not just see what happens. Let's not give Iran
free rein. Let's develop and implement a policy that will prevent Iran
from achieving their desired result. Just a thought...

PA's Own Policies Could Be Their End

It won't be the Israelis that end the Palestinian Authority's (PA)
rule over PA controlled areas of the West Bank, just like it wasn't
the Israelis that ended the PA's rule over Gaza. In Gaza it was Hamas,
and in Judea and Samaria, it will be the PA's own henchmen.

For years the PA has allowed their children to be taught rank
antisemitism in schools, have ensured their young people are
indoctrinated into the glorification of terrorism, and have been paying
the poorest Palestinians to murder Israelis. In short, the PA has not
just allowed but has actively supported instilling a culture of violence
and hatred into the Palestinian national narrative.

As a result, in Nablus, Jenin and even parts of Ramallah, gunmen
associated with PA President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party and the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad increasingly have control of the streets. They
aren't taking orders from the PA, and they aren't going to be
satisfied with anything less than total control over increasing parts of
those areas in the West Bank that are supposed to be administered by the
PA.

If Israel is forced to contend with these terrorist-gangs, extremely
violent confrontations will ensue - with some clashes already having
taken place. While we've no doubt the international media will seek to
blame Israel, the simple truth is that PA President Mahmoud Abbas's
rhetoric and policies have been igniting and pouring gas on these flames
for over a decade. The result will be bad for him, bad for the average
Palestinian, and bad for Israel.

With all this news it may seem like those who still hold out hope for
regional peace and stability are delusional. But just a few years ago,
peace between Israel and Arab nations in the region was likewise
unthinkable. So, with that in mind, until next week, we'll leave you
with this quote from Israel's first Prime Minister, David ben Gurion,
"In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles."

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund Team

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