Dear ,
The CUFI Action Fund had a strong finish to 2019, and we’ve hit the ground running in the New Year.
In 2020 we’re changing up the way we communicate with our cadre of core activists and policy community professionals. Starting today, the Action Fund will be delivering to your inbox our weekly Action Update covering key issues, legislation and policies important to our mission.
This week, we’ll be discussing the state of our 2019 legislative priorities, and providing a snapshot of our 2020 agenda. In the coming weeks, we’ll delve deeper on these issues and more, as we seek to ensure that CUFI’s 8 million members have their voices heard in Washington each day.
In 2019, we saw significant movement on our top three policy priorities: combating anti-Semitism, confronting Turkey’s malevolence, and curbing Hezbollah’s influence in the US-backed Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).
1. Combatting Anti-Semitism: The Action Fund’s top 2019 priority was advancing the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act. This bill would have directed the Department of Education to use the State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism when investigating allegations of unlawful harassment against Jewish students on American campuses, but Congressional paralysis impeded the legislation’s progress. As a result, the CUFI Action Fund and our allies sought to find other avenues for advancing this policy. These efforts culminated with President Trump signing an executive order mirroring and expanding upon this important
legislation.
2. Confronting Turkey’s Malevolence: For well over a year, the CUFI Action Fund has
been focused on Turkey’s support for terror and destructive influence in the Middle East. That is why we supported the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act. This legislation creates a U.S.-Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center to facilitate energy cooperation between the U.S., Israel, Greece, and Cyprus, and improves defense cooperation with the regional states. With passage of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, this bill became law.
3. Curbing Hezbollah’s Influence: The CUFI Action Fund continues to support the
Countering Hezbollah in Lebanon’s Military Act. This legislation withholds 20% of U.S. military assistance to the LAF unless the President can certify that the Lebanese military is taking the necessary steps to end Hezbollah’s and Iran’s influence over the Lebanese military. While this bill did not pass in 2019, progress was made on this issue as the NDAA includes a provision requiring the Defense Department to report to Congress on the LAF’s progress in diminishing Hezbollah’s influence.
4. Confronting Turkey’s Malevolence: For well over a year, the CUFI Action Fund has been focused on Turkey’s support for terror and destructive influence in the Middle East. That is why we supported the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act. This legislation creates a U.S.-Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center to facilitate
energy cooperation between the U.S., Israel, Greece, and Cyprus, and improves defense cooperation with the regional states. With passage of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, this bill became law.
5.Curbing Hezbollah’s Influence: The CUFI Action Fund continues to support the Countering Hezbollah in Lebanon’s Military Act. This legislation withholds 20% of U.S. military assistance to the LAF unless the President can certify that the Lebanese military is taking the necessary steps to end Hezbollah’s and Iran’s influence over the Lebanese military. While this bill did not pass in 2019, progress was made on this issue as the NDAA includes a provision requiring the Defense Department to report to Congress on the LAF’s progress in diminishing Hezbollah’s influence.
Moving forward, in addition to the legislation conditioning aid to the LAF, the CUFI Action Fund is focused on advancing these three pieces of legislation:
1. United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act, which authorizes $3.3 billion in security aid to Israel to ensure that the Jewish state maintains its qualitative military edge in the region,
2. Never Again Education Act, which authorizes the Department of Education’s Holocaust Education Assistance Program,
3. Promoting American National Security and Preventing the Resurgence of ISIS Act, which would sanction senior Turkish officials, create restrictions on arm sales aimed at countering Turkey’s belligerent actions in Syria, and sanction Turkey for its significant investment into Russian weapon systems.
In addition, we remain focused on supporting President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran, and we support Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call to quadruple the funds provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency administered Nonprofit Security Grant Program. And, as we have for the last two years, we will continue to pursue anti-BDS legislation on a
federal, in addition to state-by-state, level.
We’ll be discussing each of these policies in greater detail in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, thank you for your support of Israel and the CUFI Action Fund.
Sincerely,
|
|
|
