Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2019
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer, Director

Trump Tackles Anti-Semitism

As you know, fighting anti-Semitism is a top priority for Christians United for Israel and CUFI Action Fund. As a Trump-appointee to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, I have advocated for measures to more aggressively combat anti-Semitism, which is a growing threat here in the United States and around the world.

Christians United for Israel and CUFI Action Fund have been supporting legislation (the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act) requiring the Department of Education to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which is currently used by the State Department.

This clear standard would be used to evaluate whether colleges and universities are doing enough to combat anti-Semitism, which is festering on too many American campuses. Those institutions of higher learning that are falling short would run the risk of losing federal funding.

As the CUFI on Campus ministry knows well, there have been repeated instances of anti-Semitic vandalism, harassment of Jewish students and suppression of pro-Israel speakers on too many college campuses. Meanwhile, blatantly anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist groups like Students for Justice in Palestine and organizations promoting the BDS movement are given free rein.

Every elected official in Congress says they are against anti-Semitism. The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act has 16 co-sponsors in the Senate -- nine Republicans and seven Democrats. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the legislation has stalled on Capitol Hill.

So today, President Trump is taking action to break the logjam. He is signing an executive order directing the Departments of Education and Justice to adopt many of the policies outlined in the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act.

We are thrilled that CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee and CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman Sandy Parker will be at the White House for today's signing ceremony. As Pastor Hagee explained:

"One cannot defeat that which they are unwilling to define. As such, advancing the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act has been CUFI's top priority for the year. Through this executive order, President Trump will achieve what Congress could not bring themselves to do: take an important first step in combating the scourge of anti-Semitism that has spread across our nation."

CUFI Action Fund applauds President Trump for taking this strong action to combat hate and the sin of anti-Semitism.