This week will be a busy one for Israel and her allies, with the Prime Minister scheduled to visit Washington beginning this coming weekend and an initial vote tomorrow in the Senate on legislation that would sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) for their absurd pursuit of Israeli leaders.

Messrs. Trump and Netanyahu

On the heels of a host of pro-Israel actions President Trump has taken in just his first week in office, including releasing much needed ammunition to Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be in Washington early next week to meet with the President – the President’s first official meeting with a foreign leader.

President Trump had this to say in a social media post addressing the Biden administration’s select weapons embargo on Jerusalem, "A lot of things ordered and paid for by Israel, but have not been sent by Biden, are now on their way."

These two actions, releasing the weapons that Israel needs to fight terrorists and welcoming Israel’s Prime Minister to the White House during the President’s second week in office, send a clear important message both to Israelis and the world writ large – America is standing with her ally Israel.

We look forward to seeing this foreign policy approach continue, with hardline isolationists, Hamas supporters, and all other rabid antisemites kicked comprehensively to the curb.

The Lebanese Armed Forces 

Regular readers of the Action Update will note this section’s title is quite bland. Our apologies for that, but we’ve spent the past half-decade explaining to Washington that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have always been little more than a Hezbollah auxiliary, and during the course of doing so, we used up all the creative headlines.

For example, in October 2021, one of your Action Fund staff authored an op-ed with the headline “Good Money After Bad: America's Failed Policy in Lebanon.” Another staffer published a piece a year later with the headline “The US is aiding Lebanon’s self-destruction.”

In fairness, we were not alone in our warning. Kasim Hafeez the Deputy Communications Director of CUFI posted one of his weekly episodes last year noting simply, “By Funding the Lebanese Armed Forces, America Funds Terror…” And it wasn’t even just CUFI. The Arab Weekly, for example, ran an op-ed several years ago with the headline, “Lebanon’s Army doesn’t deserve aid unless it is reformed.”

But no one listened. The U.S. has continued and continues to fund the LAF, and now, the actual end of the current Israel-Hezbollah war relies in part on the LAF. Setting aside how ineffectual the alleged national army of Lebanon actually is, on Monday we also learned – though let’s be honest, no one should be surprised – that since the cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel began, the LAF has been leaking sensitive information to the terrorist group.

So, let’s recap: For years, CUFI and numerous others have been warning Washington that much of the LAF is effectively an arm of Hezbollah. For years, the LAF failed to keep Hezbollah from Israel’s northern border and instead cooperated with the terrorist group. For months, we’ve learned, the LAF has been giving Hezbollah intelligence relevant to the IDF. And yet despite all this, the US-funded Lebanese Armed Forces will continue to be presented as the (paper) savior of the Lebanese people by the international community. Nonetheless, Israel will not return to the status quo in Gaza or Southern Lebanon and this war continues so long as the hostages are not released.  

A Time for Strength

Decades of inconsistent, often weak, American foreign policy have left malign actors around the globe feeling quite empowered. The only thing that has given these devil’s diplomats, handmaidens and terrorists any pause has been Israel’s utter evisceration of Hezbollah and Hamas. Our leaders across the political spectrum need to internalize this reality and act accordingly (Pro Tip: Facts don’t care about feelings, theories or the esoteric musings of self-appointed experts).

American values and American interests should drive American foreign policy – and having a strong ally in the Middle East is in line with both. Lukewarm support for Israel will not do. Isolationism – political shorthand for burying one’s head in the sand – likewise will not do.

Strength is what is needed. Strength such as that which we look forward to the Senate displaying tomorrow when they take an initial vote on legislation that will sanction the ICC for its attempt to arrest Israeli leaders (read: aid Palestinian terrorists). This legislation would also offer further protection to American service members if/when the International [Kangaroo] Court comes after our men and women in uniform. We look forward to this legislation being on the President’s desk in short order.

Things have needed to change for some time. We need a strong leader surrounded by wise individuals who can make our great nation once again take our seat at the head of the international table.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund Team