Over the past week, the CUFI Action Fund has been monitoring and responding to events both heartening and troubling. From developments regarding President Trump’s Middle East peace proposal, to revelations that a sitting US Senator met secretly with Iran’s foreign minister, the week’s news reminds us of the importance of ensuring CUFI’s voice is heard each-and-every day in Washington.
Peace Proposal Implementation Begins
This past weekend, the American and Israeli governments announced who will sit on the bilateral committee that is tasked under President Trump’s peace proposal with laying out the specific areas in Judea and Samaria that are to be annexed to Israel. This is a key step forward in taking President Trump’s vision for peace in the region and making it a reality.
The CUFI Action Fund enjoys warm relationships with several individuals on the committee, and some of them regularly speak at CUFI events. The committee members are as follows:
American Team:
• US Ambassador to Israel David Freidman
• Senior Advisor at the US Embassy in Israel Aryeh Lightstone
• National Security Council Director of Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Scott Leith
Israeli Team:
• Tourism Minister Yariv Levin
• Israel’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer
• Director General of the Office of the Prime Minister (acting) Ronen Peretz
As we’ve said from the beginning, no longer can Israel be held hostage to Palestinian rejectionism. This committee’s formulation shows clearly that implementation of the peace proposal is moving forward in spite of Palestinian intransigence.
Senator Meets with Top Iranian Official
Senator Chris Murphy’s (D-CT) office has confirmed reports that the Senator participated in a secret meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif during last week’s Munich Security Conference. This is a highly disturbing and unhelpful event, particularly in light of the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions against Zarif issued last July. Murphy’s decision to break bread with Iran’s top propagandist empowers the Islamic Republic’s brutal regime and undermines efforts to diplomatically isolate the world’s leading sponsor of terror.
Contrary to Murphy’s misguided approach to foreign affairs, the CUFI Action Fund supports speaking to the regime in the only language they understand: strength. At this time, the Action Fund is reiterating our calls for sanctions against Tehran to snapback into place and for the Trump administration to end civilian nuclear waivers for Iran.
We have long held that - regardless of party affiliation - rogue foreign policy maneuvers by Members of Congress only serve to undermine efforts to bring Iran to heel. The American people support the effort to maximize pressure on Iran. No Senator or Representative should be holding secret, unauthorized meetings with officials from a regime that leads chants of “death to American” and “death to Israel.”
Washington Summit
Regular readers of The Action Update will know that last week CUFI held its largest ever Leadership Summit. This event brought together hundreds of top CUFI supporters, pastors of major congregations and highly engaged activists to hear from experts and officials on a range of issues such as Ambassador Ron Dermer and Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, Elam Carr. With developments like those discussed above, our Leadership Summit could not have come at a more important time.
Likewise, our annual Washington Summit, which will be held on June 28-30, will be pivotal, and we need voices like yours in our nation’s capital to hear from American and Israeli leaders and take our message to our elected officials.
In previous years, Summit attendees have heard from Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This year will be our largest Washington Summit to date. Keep reading The Update to stay on top of the issues that matter most to the US-Israel relationship and to hear about Summit developments as announcements are made.
Sincerely,
CUFI Action Fund Team