Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress, but he comes to the United States at an exceptionally perilous moment for Israel, our own country, and the world at large.

At this moment, we have an often-dysfunctional Congress, a diminished President no longer running for reelection, and our nation just endured an attempted assassination of a former President and current major party nominee. Our enemies see what is taking place in this country and they are emboldened.

Netanyahu to Address Congress

Well, this headline is a bit misleading. When the Prime Minister speaks before a joint session of Congress today, he will address most of Congress, but not all, as some fringe Israel-haters have indicated they are protesting the Israeli leader’s presence.

We feel this is a mistake, especially for those who are so confident in their understanding of the Middle East, they presume to lecture Israel on how to fight Hamas in the wake of the 10/7 Massacre.  These elected officials should come to the speech and learn.

For example, they may want to learn about Iran’s hegemonic ambitions, as well as the horrific and terrifying means by which Iran progresses along its effort to export its Islamic Revolution.

Certainly, all of Congress should come to understand, though certainly most do already, that this war was enabled by President Obama’s clearly disastrous Iran deal, and the subsequent weakness displayed by Presidents Obama and Biden in the face of Iranian aggression.

Likewise, it may interest allegedly pro-Palestinian members to know that no entity is more responsible for Palestinian suffering than the entity Israel is seeking to destroy: Hamas.

Finally, those who lack the humility to question their own hardline stance (which finds itself in agreement with those who would see Israel destroyed) may consider hearing what the Prime Minister has to say about the Houthis and Hezbollah who threaten not only Israel but have killed Americans and others around the world.

No doubt, in a far more diplomatic manner than we have the motivation to muster, Prime Minister Netanyahu will come to Washington and explain all of the above.

Israel is in a war for her survival; those who are too arrogant to hear from its leader and denigrate Jerusalem’s justified acts of self-defense have made clear on which side of that divide they ultimately stand. 

Vice President Harris to Lead Democrat’s Ticket

Vice President Harris has a checkered attitude towards Israel. All indications are she is not as friendly to Israel as Democrats have been in the past and leans to the left of President Biden on Middle East issues. For example, according to one highly respected Jewish-oriented news outlet, “In recent months, Harris has been a tougher critic of Israel than President Joe Biden.”

In addition, Vice President Harris is the only senior (relevant) Biden administration official who has not visited Israel since the 10/7 Massacre.

Likewise, her attitude towards anti-Israel protests leaves a lot to be desired, “[The protestors] are showing exactly what the human emotion should be, as a response to Gaza. There are things some of the protesters are saying that I absolutely reject, so I don’t mean to wholesale endorse their points. But we have to navigate it. I understand the emotion behind it.”

We do not understand the emotion behind pro-Hamas protests. We do not understand a leader who would seek to empathize with those who want the destruction of the world’s one and only Jewish state. There were not good people on both sides in Charlottsville, and there are not good people on both sides of the Hamas-Israel divide (even at Harvard).

Most nonpartisan entities, such as your CUFI Action Fund, would shy away from making pronouncements about the sitting Vice President and a major party’s presumptive nominee, but we will not. We’ve stood up to Republicans and Democrats who’ve taken anti-Israel positions and we’ll do the same with Vice President Harris.

Allow us to be direct: The Vice President starts off her campaign without the trust of wide swaths of the American pro-Israel community. Maybe she doesn’t care; but if she does, she’ll need to convince President Biden to right the ship on Middle East policy, yesterday.

And she should care, because the consequences of the Obama-Biden-Harris(?) foreign policy doctrine of appeasement have resulted in death, destruction, and misery.

The Houthis Strike Tel Aviv

Case in point: Over the weekend, an explosives-laden Houthi drone, launched by the terrorist group from Yemen, killed one person and wounded several others in Tel Aviv. The Houthis have American blood on their hands and are yet another Iranian terrorist proxy, so what has been the Biden administration’s policy? Weakness.

The Biden administration revoked the formal designation of the Houthis as a terrorist group back in 2021 – an injury which is compounded by the Biden administration’s attempts to appease Tehran. This weakness has enabled and emboldened the Iranians who have been further enriching the Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah with the very weapons being used to kill Israelis (and, in case anyone has forgotten, the same weapons the Russians are using to kill innocent Ukrainians).

The world is at a tipping point. But like anything in life, the dangers ebb and flow. Right now, peril flows, and only strength in the face of adversity and evil will stem the tide, and that is what we plan to display during the CUFI Washington Summit next week.  

As such, next week, we will not be issuing an Action Update. We hope to see you in Washington, but either way, we are grateful to you for standing with Israel during this perilous moment in time.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund Team