|
As 3,000 members of Christians United for Israel began gathering in our nation’s capital last weekend for the annual CUFI Summit, we were met with news of a horrific Hezbollah missile attack that killed 12 people, mostly children, none older than 20. It was upon this tragic backdrop, of yet another terrorist abomination, that the Summit commenced.
The 2024 CUFI Washington Summit
Our mandate was clear before our arrival, but the news of the Hezbollah attack, combined with the vitriolic hatred displayed by a few anti-Israel protestors brought into stark relief the perilous nature of this current moment in history.
During the Summit, attendees representing all 50 states heard from top elected officials, diplomats, security experts, academics, clergy, and jurists. Senators Joni Ernst and Lindsey Graham, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan, Lt. Col. (IDF ret) Jonathan Conricus, former U.S. Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, survivors of the Holocaust and the 10/7 Massacre, and more than two dozen others delivered a clear message: ‘never again’ is now.
On the final day of the Summit, thousands of CUFI members went to Capitol Hill and made clear to their leaders that America must stand unwaveringly against the scourge of antisemitism at home and abroad.
Specifically, this year’s CUFI Summit legislative agenda included the following three items: the Iran Sanctions Enforcement Act, the Countering Hate Against Israel by Federal Contractors Act, and the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
We have already seen several Members of Congress react to hearing their constituents’ positions on these bills and look forward to seeing all three signed into law.
A Multi-Front War
Since long before 10/7, Israel had been fighting a multi-front conflict for its survival. But since that horror of horrors, though the world is focused on Gaza, the war outside The Strip has intensified dramatically as well.
The capital of anti-Israel terrorism is not Gaza, Beirut, or even Ramallah; it is Tehran. The rulers of the Islamic Republic of Iran fund, train, host, and direct Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and numerous other bloodthirsty terrorists with American and Israeli blood on their hands.
As CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee noted during the Summit, “The Islamic Republic and its terrorist proxies are not simply planning; they’re attacking. Antisemitism isn’t around the corner; it’s here. Israel isn’t facing mere challenges; it’s in an existential fight for survival against evil.”
It should come then as little surprise that in the wake of Hezbollah’s murder of children playing soccer, Israel eliminated Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah’s military chief who has been responsible for numerous terror attacks, including the 1983 Beirut bombing which killed 241 U.S. service personnel, the largest loss of Marines since the Battle of Iwo Jima.
In addition, Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas was killed in his villa in Tehran. Israel has not commented on the attack, though it is widely believed that Israel’s foreign intelligence service was responsible for Haniyeh’s death.
Mohammed Deif, who led Hamas’s al-Qassam brigades and was a 10/7 mastermind, was confirmed to have been killed in a July 13th Israeli airstrike. Finally, earlier this week, Hamas’s economic minister – who had been a key player in Hamas’s engagement with other terror groups - was also eliminated in Gaza.
Now, of course, the question is what comes next. Israel, it appears is engaged in an effort to hit the leaders of the terror groups and their backers, so that those who remain alive might make different decisions. The primary mistake of so many in the West is to believe that all of Hamas or all of Iran’s rulers are true believers in their cause.
For sure, some, including Yahya Sinwar - the sole remaining 10/7 mastermind, seem committed to dying in dramatic fashion. But for more than a few of the top leaders in Iran, Beirut, and even Gaza, they live well and leave that which is horrifying and perilous to their recruits.
Case in point: Ismail Haniyeh was estimated to be worth $4 billion on the day of his demise. The Supreme Leader of Iran is known to be among the richest people on earth with U.S. estimates putting his net worth at $200 billion (as of 2019). For its part, Hezbollah is so pious that they have a practice of “temporary marriages.” We’re all adults, so we won’t bother describing that repugnance any further.
The long and the short of it is this: Israel has shown its enemy leaders that if Jerusalem must kill foot soldiers it will, but Israel can reach out and touch the faux-religious cowards who lead the movement to eradicate Israel, wherever they may be found, even in the capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Whether or not more terrorist leaders live or die is contingent exclusively upon their own behavior. Israel will likely accommodate either desire, but no matter the path the terrorists and tyrants take, the safety and security of the people of Israel remains nonnegotiable.
We can’t predict what comes next, but we know Israel will survive and thrive, and we’ll be right by her side as she does.
Sincerely,
The CUFI Action Fund |
