Welcome back to Washington. We hope you enjoyed your time with your families, and we’re grateful to those of you who returned a little earlier than expected to ensure the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act became law. With the 117th Congress now sworn in, feel free to forward The Update to your new colleagues so they too can hear from the Washington arm of the nation’s largest pro-Israel organization.
Georgia on Everyone’s Mind
In case you’ve been on a much needed vacation to a place devoid of cell towers, the 2020 election isn’t quite over yet. There are of course two Senate runoffs in Georgia as none of the candidates there were able to secure more than 50% of the vote in November.
We don’t run many ads, in fact, we’ve only launched a handful since our
inception, but when politicians take a stand against Israel, we take a stand against them. As such, in the race between Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Rev. Raphael Warnock, we had to speak out. Rev. Warnock’s radical anti-Israel attitude does not reflect the sentiments of Georgia voters. And despite his campaign induced change of heart, the CUFI Action Fund has made a six-figure, multi-platform, digital ad-buy in the state. You can view the ad, which has been seen by hundreds of thousands of Georgia voters, here.
Georgia voters head to the polls tomorrow with millions having already cast their votes early. If you live in the Peach State, make sure your voice is heard!
10 Million Members
Just before Christmas, while The Update was on hiatus, Christians United for Israel (CUFI) announced that the group had crossed the 10 million member mark.
In the announcement, our very own CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman was quoted as saying, “From the Taylor Force Act to the Never Again Education Act, and a host of measures in between, we have seen our policy priorities heard and advanced in Washington. The key to this success is building strong relationships on both sides of the aisle and ensuring policy always trumps politics.”
What’s Next?
The incoming administration of President-elect Biden will have a lot of foreign policy challenges with which to contend. On Turkey, the Action Fund and the Biden administration seem to largely see eye-to-eye, and we look forward to helping achieve the goal of a peaceful, democratic, de-radicalized, Ankara.
On Iran, it’s clear that we want to achieve the same results, but not clear that we agree on the best path to get there. Just today, Iran’s Foreign Minister tweeted that Iran is now enriching uranium up to 20%. This is unacceptable, but indicates that
Iran is on the ropes. They always lash out when they’ve few cards left to play.
In the coming months, we hope to convince the Biden administration not to repeat the mistakes of the past, and to fully utilize the leverage they now have as a result of the maximum pressure campaign waged against the Islamic Republic in recent years. To learn more about our full approach, see this op-ed from our Senior Director of Policy and Communications.
On Lebanon, our position has not changed. Unfortunately, neither has the obstinacy of those entrenched forces in Washington who seem to view unconditional aid to Lebanon as an end unto itself, not a means to some sort of real change in the country.
Some may have forgotten about the Beirut blast; we haven’t. Some are paying less attention to the increased quality and quantity of Hezbollah’s rockets; we are not. The Biden administration should reconsider unconditional aid to Lebanon, and we hope to help the incoming national security
team see the importance of ensuring American dollars do not end up aiding and abetting terrorist organizations.
At the CUFI Action Fund we ensure the collective voice of the millions of Christian Zionists across the country is heard in Washington. We want to strengthen the US-Israel relationship because doing so is a biblical, moral, and national security imperative. We don’t care what party an elected official belongs to, only that they are open to hearing a sober and reasoned perspective on the Middle East. So, to the new Members of Congress and their staffs, we say, welcome to Washington. If you’re open to hearing a
perspective on the Middle East shared by millions of Americans and no doubt many of your own constituents, we’re here to help.
Sincerely,
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