As you read this, more than 1,000 top CUFI leaders are gathering on Capitol Hill in order to lobby our elected officials in support of three key pieces of pro-Israel legislation. Without further ado, here is what we’re supporting:
The DEFEND Act
The DEFEND (Deterring Enemy Forces and Enabling National Defenses) Act is bipartisan and bicameral legislation focused on strengthening regional partnerships in the Middle East to counter threats like Iran. This legislation is the next logical step in the Abraham Accords.
Regarding this important legislation, CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee noted, “The Abraham Accords are the beginning, not the end, of efforts to see peace and
prosperity spread across the Middle East. But we will not be successful in this endeavor so long as Iran continues to spread violence and death throughout the region. The DEFEND act is a vital next step to bringing America’s allies in the region together in a tangible way to confront the Iranian menace.”
Annual Military Aid to Israel
In 2016, then President Barack Obama and then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) focused on the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship. A central component of this MOU was $3.3 billion in annual American military aid to Israel, which enables the Jewish state to maintain its ability to beat back the forces of evil that surround her.
In recent years, anti-Israel activists and Members of Congress have sought to undermine this aid, with some going so far as to temporarily block additional American support to
replenish Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system in the wake of the 2021 Gaza war.
As such, we are in Washington making the case that enabling Israel to defend herself against our two countries’ shared enemies is not just the right thing to do but in the vital national security interests of the United States.
The COI Elimination Act
It’ll come as little surprise to regular readers of the Action Update that the UN is, yet again, trying to harm Israel. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is waging yet another attack on the Jewish state, this time through its so-called Commission of Inquiry, which has a perpetual mandate to demonize and criticize the Jewish state. As such, CUFI activists will be lobbying in support of the COI Elimination Act, which restricts and withholds certain U.S. funding until such
time as the UNHRC abandons its latest antisemitism offensive.
Commenting on this legislation, Pastor Hagee said, “The Biden administration recognizes that the UNHRC’s Commission of Inquiry is just another antisemitic attempt to demonize the Jewish state, but they must act on this knowledge. Strongly worded statements are not enough. We must take real action and restrict American taxpayer dollars from subsidizing the UN’s latest anti-Israel witch hunt.”
Last week, President Biden traveled to the Middle East and met with Israeli and Arab leaders. There are a plethora of stories covering the President’s trip as 100 journalists traveled with him to the region. We won’t regurgitate those headlines here, but during next week’s Action Update, we’ll delve into the good, the bad, and the irrelevant of the President’s trip to let you know what matters, what doesn’t, and what we’re going to do to continue to try to improve American foreign policy in the Middle East.
