The Message
If the theme of the Summit could be boiled down to one idea, it’s that we need to redouble our efforts both in Washington and in state capitals around the country. Antisemitism is on the rise both at home and abroad. Fringe elected officials are effectively having their moment, and Congress is as dysfunctional as ever. But none of this means we just throw our hands up and wait for sunnier days. Quite the opposite.
CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman Sandra Parker has often noted Noah didn’t wait for the flood to build the ark. And since its inception CUFI has never forgotten that it exists “for such a time as this.” Well, the storm is upon us, and the time is now.
Case in point: Congress is going to advance yet another continuing resolution to keep the lights on in the federal government through mid-March. That (hopefully) means that in the coming weeks, top House and Senate appropriators will be hammering out a long-term spending bill to fund the government. We have fought to ensure the Iron Dome support for Israel thwarted by the Hamas caucus in Congress is included in the final omnibus spending bill. But we haven’t won yet, and we can take nothing for granted. As we said, the time to redouble our efforts is now, and the most important fight of the next few weeks will be in
support of Iron Dome.
The Policy
Throughout the CUFI Leadership Summit, CUFI Action Fund staffers were on hand to deliver remarks and speak one-on-one with attendees to ensure CUFI’s top activists know what we’ve done and what’s on the horizon. We addressed the top federal priority above, but as many of you know we’ve been heavily active at the state level as well.
Last year we saw three anti-BDS bills advance, this year we’re working on three more. Last year we began our fight to ensure the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism was acknowledged at the state level; just since the beginning of this year – from Alabama to Wyoming – states across the country have done just that, and there’ll be more to come. Last year we began discussions with various states to enhance Holocaust education in schools; this year we’ll see the first few states make the necessary policy changes to ensure the rampant ignorance about the genocide by which all
others are measured is addressed.
Across the country we’re operating in states big and small to ensure we combat antisemitism in all its forms. And once again, in the wake of Colleyville and the unprecedented levels of antisemitism across the country, we must redouble our efforts.
The Lasers!
Some of you may recall that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Neptune) once accused Jewish space lasers of causing a wildfire in California. We don’t know what the next crazy thing to come out of her mouth might be (full disclosure: we’ve got an office pool on the subject), but recently the Israelis announced that over the next year they will employ a laser system to protect their citizens against incoming rocket and missile fire.
A few things before MTG starts tweeting: First, these are ground-based lasers. Second, they are for preventing missiles from raining down on Israeli civilians. Third, Israel’s innovation does not vindicate anyone’s antisemitism.
While such technological advancement is incredible, that the Israelis are announcing it now cannot be separated from the delay in Iron Dome support we referenced earlier. Two things are certain: First, this latest announcement shows exactly how the Jewish state has managed to survive in a very dangerous neighborhood – man’s ingenuity and God’s blessing. Second, inevitably the U.S. will benefit from this Israeli defensive weapon which once again should remind certain shortsighted charlatans (read Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie) that the greatest return on U.S. foreign investment is our investment in
Israel.
Next week, we’ll be focused on a number of issues both in Washington and internationally. Until then and as always, thank you for taking the time to learn about these vital issues and staying engaged in the fight to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship and combat antisemitism wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head.
Sincerely,
