In this week’s edition of the Action Update, we’ll discuss the Israeli elections that just took place, the first signs of the Biden administration acknowledging the reality on Iran, and the current state of affairs in the effort to see the Chicago-based financial services company cease using Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) corporate ratings as a method for advancing the antisemitic BDS movement.
Israelis Go to The Polls Again
As anyone even vaguely familiar with CUFI and the Action Fund knows, we take no position on Israeli politics. We respect the decisions of the people of Israel and their sovereign right to elect leaders as they see fit.
Israel has a parliamentary system, so following the elections on Tuesday, the party with the most support in the newly elected parliament will receive an opportunity to form a coalition government with other parties. There’s no way to predict the outcome of these discussions, and Israel has had five elections in the past four years.
On the face of it, that may seem a bit odd, but a key takeaway is that despite disagreements that exist in all democracies, Israelis keep showing up to the polls. In fact, this week’s election is on track to see exceptionally high voter turnout. Every Israeli citizen living in Israel has the opportunity to vote. Minorities are represented in the parliament, and the rights of all Israelis are protected by the government.
We’ve often said that the U.S.-Israel relationship is based on shared values, and this week’s election shows that at its core, Israel is a true, free and democratic ally of the United States.
The Biden Administration Sees the Light?
Robert Malley is the Biden administration’s special envoy for Iran. Perhaps more than anyone else in the Biden administration, Malley has been wrong on everything related to his current post. But at a recent event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Malley finally admitted what all of us have known to be true: the Iran negotiations are effectively in a coma.
Speaking about negotiations with the Islamic Republic, Malley said, “It’s really not our focus now. We are not going to focus on something that is inert when other things are happening.”
Malley then went on to discuss the protests taking place in Iran and Tehran’s decision to provide Russia with weapons to kill innocent Ukrainians. On their own, these comments could be met with a sigh of relief. But Malley also made the point that Team Biden “makes no apology” for “trying to do everything we can to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.” And he did not go so far as to say that there would be no negotiations in the future.
Malley may hope for future negotiations. We hope the people of Iran take their country back from the tyrants that have tormented them for 40 years.
Morningstar Makes Some Promises
On Monday, Morningstar, which has been aiding and abetting BDS in American investments through biased ESG ratings of Israeli companies, released a statement making certain promises to fix their BDS problem. These assurances go beyond the third-party report Morningstar has been hiding behind for months, but Morningstar now needs to live up to its public statements and private commitments.
Actions speak louder than words, and we’re not alone in this view. In fact, within hours of the Morningstar statement, the office of Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee released a statement making clear that her office’s investigation into Morningstar would continue. We are grateful to her for her strong support of Israel and leadership on this issue. There are numerous other investigations into Morningstar in state capitals across the country and we’ve no expectation they will conclude until Morningstar’s promotion of BDS ends.
As always, we want to express our deepest gratitude to our readers for standing with Israel and staying up to date on the vital issues facing the Jewish state. Without you, we could not do our part to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship and hold the Jewish state’s adversaries’ feet to the fire. Please click here if you feel called to make a gift to the Action Fund so we can continue this work and ensure your voice is heard in Washington and state capitals across the country.
Sincerely,
