Over the past week, the world’s antisemites have provided something for everyone. In this week’s edition of the Action Update, we discuss Hezbollah inviting the press to watch their terrorists practice killing Jews, Iran enhancing their nuclear program (aimed at killing Jews), and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivering a message to the UN that sought to kill a core element of Jewish history.

Hezbollah Puts on a Show

Last week, Hezbollah terrorists invited members of the media to witness “military exercises.” During the terrorists’ version of a circus act, dirt-bike riding militants jumped over hills, while others jumped through flaming hoops, and yet others attacked simulated Israeli military positions.

While most militaries don’t generally feel the need to literally jump through hoops to impress the press, the absurdity of Hezbollah’s practice attack on Israel should not detract from our understanding of the threat the terrorist-army poses to Israel.

In response to Hezbollah’s pseudo show of force, the head of Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate said that the terrorist group is “close to making a mistake that could plunge the region into a big war.”

Moreover, it’s worth noting that for decades Israel has been preparing for a Hezbollah assault on the Jewish state. They may not have planned for terrorists on dirt bikes jumping through flaming hoops, but significant missile and rocket fire as well as infiltration through tunnels, on land and even in the air, are all scenarios for which Israel has prepared.

Where was the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) through all this? Maybe they had the weekend off or were tending to important clean-up duty in their barracks. All jokes aside, we continue to push at minimum for conditioning U.S. funding of the LAF on their rooting out Hezbollah – and if that is not in the cards – the funding should be cut entirely. U.S. taxpayers need not foot the bill for what seems to be Hezbollah’s auxiliary force.

Iran’s New Nuclear Facility

On the heels of reports that Iran is producing near weapons-grade uranium, as well as news that Tehran has been increasingly aiding Russia in its assault on Ukraine, new reports from the Islamic Republic indicate that Iran is building yet another nuclear facility.

It is believed this new subterranean facility is intended to exist beyond the reach of U.S.-made bunker buster bombs. Obviously, Iran is seeking to expand its nuclear material production capabilities. And experts and leaders opposed to Iran’s nuclear program are rightly concerned about this latest development. But it’s worth recalling that in recent years, high-tech efforts, including computer viruses and the like, have proven to be reasonably effective at undermining – at least for a time – Iran’s nuclear program.

While the Israelis do not believe Iran has decided to take the final step in nuclear weapons development, Tehran is keeping that option open. And given that Iran has not yet mastered the necessary technology to put a nuclear bomb in the warhead of a missile, we can’t know what they’ve decided to do or not do.

At the end of the day, the race is on between the brave Iranian protesters seeking to end the regime’s tyranny, and Tehran’s radicals seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon. Whichever of those events comes first will have one of the most dramatic impacts on the Middle East, and the world at large, we’ve seen in decades.

Abbas’s Recycled Jew-Hatred

Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the PA, is old. When he leaves this earth, he will leave behind a legacy of pain and suffering for both the Israeli and Palestinian people. And in continuing with this tradition, Abbas recently went before the UN to once again deny the Jewish connection to Jerusalem.  Specifically, he said that there is no Jewish connection to the Temple Mount and that the land in question belongs to the Palestinian Authority.

Such comments would be laughable if they weren’t met with silence at best and applause at worst by various members of the so-called “international community.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Abbas’s absurd comments with a brief history lesson, “The deep ties between the Jewish People and Jerusalem is one that has no parallel among the nations. Jerusalem was our capital around 1,100 years before London became the capital of England, approximately 1,800 years before Paris became the capital of France and around 2,800 years before Washington DC became the capital of the US. For over 100 generations, Jews expressed their special yearning for Jerusalem in prayers that are repeated three times a day and under the wedding canopy.”

From Hezbollah’s terrorist dog and pony show (no offense to canines or equines) and Iran’s nuclear development to Abbas’s latest display of rank antisemitism, there’s a great deal going on in the region with which Israel and the U.S. must contend. Our job is to ensure Jerusalem and Washington have the tools needed to confront those challenges. We do that by advancing policy and having a year-round presence on Capitol Hill, but never are we more impactful than when you are in our nation’s capital for CUFI’s annual Washington Summit (July 17-18). We hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund Team