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On Thursday morning, we woke to learn that tragically, Tzeela Gez (30) had succumbed to the wounds she suffered in a terror attack the day before in northern Samaria. Tzeela’s husband was driving her to the hospital as she was in labor, and a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on their vehicle. Tzeela’s husband is wounded but alive, and her baby is in critical condition, but also alive as of this writing.
Out of the Darkness
The news of Tzeela’s murder came just a few days after American-Israeli Hamas captive Edan Alexander was released by the terrorist group.
Edan, now 21 years old, was born in Israel, was raised up for a time in the U.S., and returned to his homeland to serve in the Israeli military, joining the elite Golani Brigade – one of Israel’s most storied and courageous units.
On October 7th, Edan was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. He was tortured, starved, beaten, psychologically terrorized, and narrowly escaped death on at least one occasion. But he is alive and in the arms of his mother and father after 584 days in Hamas’s hellscape.
We join in the tears of joy shed by all people of decency upon learning that Edan had finally been released. But we have not forgotten Eitan Horn, Ariel Cunio, Gali Berman, and all the rest of the 58 hostages who are still being held by Gaza’s savage terrorists.
Wheeling and Dealing
Edan’s release was billed as a no-strings-attached goodwill gesture to President Trump, as he is in the Middle East this week. If that’s the case, this would be the first time in the terrorist organization’s history that they’ve kept an agreement; as such, we fully expect another demand by/concession to the perpetrators of the 10/7 Massacre to be leaked to the press in the days and weeks to come.
Why are we so pessimistic? Yemen, Syria, and Iran.
The Trump administration, as above with Hamas, it seems, reached an independent agreement with the Iran-backed terrorist group, the Houthis. The terrorists claim the agreement only demands that they cease attacks against US ships in the Red Sea.
The US claims that, in addition, the Houthis agreed to engage in Saudi-led peace talks and cease attacks on Israel.
Here’s how we see it: First, actions speak louder than words, and the Houthis have continued to attack Israel. Second, there’s a lesson to be learned here that applies everywhere from Gaza and Iran to Tehran’s allies in Beijing and Moscow. Namely: Our enemies want to kill us; accepting their assurances that, despite their desire to do so, they will not kill us, betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the Middle East.
In this part of the world, a cease-fire is not a prelude to the cessation of hostilities (as it is seen in the West); rather, a cease-fire in the Arab and Islamic world is seen exclusively as an opportunity to regroup and rearm.
The Bazaar
We are blessed with a diverse team that comes from varying backgrounds. We’ve had team members advise world leaders, Fortune 500 companies, and even negotiate mutually satisfactory resolutions to legal disputes. And yet, despite these widely varying experiences, we all agree that negotiating in the Middle Eastern Bazaar is like none of the above. To call it negotiation is itself a bit of a misnomer; it’s more like a sit-down between Mafia bosses.
Case in point, the major announcements coming out of President Trump’s visit to the region are focused on economic deal-making, not grand foreign policy strategy.
To the extent President Trump addressed regional stability, Iran’s support for terrorism, and the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, the policy position and messaging coming out of the White House have been muddled by mid-level employees in the administration.
In fact, this week, more than 200 Republican Members of Congress, including nearly every Republican Senator, sent a letter to the President urging him to hold the line in his warning that Iran “must permanently give up any capacity for enrichment.”
“The scope and breadth of Iran’s nuclear buildout have made it impossible to verify any new deal that allows Iran to continue enriching uranium… We cannot afford another agreement that enables Iran to play for time, as the JCPOA did. The Iranian regime should know that the administration has Congressional backing to ensure their ability to enrich uranium is permanently eliminated,” the letter noted.
At CUFI, we support President Trump’s desire to open the Middle East in such a way as to get the entire region to move into the modern era, and we believe there is a potential benefit to applying a modern variation of the economic peace theory. But the President’s comments concerning “neo-cons” and the like harmed both America’s stature in the region and were likely viewed by President Trump’s hosts as a pressure point – a weakness – not an act of strength.
Likewise, meeting with the leader of the regime in Damascus, an Al-Qaeda terrorist until he put on a suit a few weeks ago, is indicative of an American administration with grand ambitions for the Middle East that focuses almost exclusively on economic factors, to the exclusion of larger issues that drive malign behavior in the Middle East.
Unfortunately, in this region, countries with economic strength do not necessarily contribute to regional stability, rather the leaders of wealthy Middle Eastern countries have exactly one goal: stay in power – and they will say and do whatever they need in order to retain their absolute control.
Lest anyone forget, from Doha to Damascus to Riyadh, the United States is dealing with regimes for whom the strategy and tactics of 17th century warlords and tyrants are the day-to-day norm both at home and abroad.
At the Action Fund, we are far less concerned about the symbolic; rather, we obsessively focus on the tangible. In the coming weeks and months, the neo-deep state isolationists and the traditional pro-Israel faith community will come to loggerheads – if we haven’t already. And in six weeks, because the Lord’s timing is always perfect, we will be holding the 20th annual CUFI Summit.
There are no prose or fancy words to describe the gravity of this moment and the importance of this Summit, so we’ll say it bluntly: We are engaged in a battle for the future of America’s posture towards Israel and the Middle East. If you believe the Word – if you believe in Genesis 12:3 – we ask that you prayerfully consider joining us to ensure America never turns her back on the Apple of God’s Eye.
Sincerely,
The CUFI Action Fund |
