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We are excited to be joined, IN PERSON, by EVERY major Presidential candidate in the GOP primary field. The fact that these candidates take time out of their busy campaign schedules and fly out to Las Vegas to join us for the weekend highlights how they view the RJC and our members, and the impact we make individually and collectively.

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Please note that the RJC’s Annual Summit in Las Vegas is exclusively for current members of the RJC National Leadership. Leadership opportunities start at $1,000. More membership details are available here.

This week saw the release of a bombshell report from former Wall Street Journal reporter Jay Solomon on an Iranian influence campaign that reached high into the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations.

Originally published at Semafor (paywall) and reprinted in full at The Free Press (free), Solomon’s article describes the Iranian connections of three associates of Rob Malley, the State Department’s Iran envoy who is currently under investigation over his handling of classified documents.

Solomon writes:

In the spring of 2014, senior Iranian Foreign Ministry officials initiated a quiet effort to bolster Tehran’s image and positions on global security issues—particularly its nuclear program—by building ties with a network of influential overseas academics and researchers. They called it the Iran Experts Initiative.

This influence campaign came into operation as Tehran was conducting negotiations with world powers over the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Rob Malley (bio) was the lead US negotiator on the JCPOA.

The Jewish Insider summarizes points from Solomon’s article:

The efforts to infiltrate Western thought circles extended to the International Crisis Group’s Ali Vaez, whom Solomon describes as a "protégé" of Malley’s. In June 2014, Vaez sent an op-ed to IPIS, Iran’s state-run think tank, for editing; the piece would appear two weeks later in The National Interest...

Ariane Tabatabai, now a senior policy advisor at the Department of Defense, vetted her participation in conferences and events with Iran’s Foreign Ministry on two occasions, according to Semafor’s reporting. In one communique to IPIS head Mostafa Zahrani, Tabatabai broached the topic of an upcoming conference being held at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University on the topic of nuclear proliferation. "I am not interested in going, but then I thought maybe it would be better that I go and talk, rather than an Israeli like Emily Landau who goes and disseminates disinformation," Tabatabai wrote. "I would like to ask your opinion too and see if you think I should accept the invitation and go." The conference in Israel, Zahrani replied the same day, "is better to be avoided."

Dina Esfandiary, who worked with Malley when he headed the International Crisis Group, was a third individual named in the documents. Those monitoring the Iran Experts Initiative from Tehran kept meticulous track of the media appearances and published articles by each of the individuals selected for the IEI project.

Senator Ted Cruz released a statement alleging that the report points to Iranian influence on Biden administration policy:

Americans have rightly been asking why the Biden administration is so friendly with the Iranian regime, and why Biden administration officials have so single-mindedly enabled Iranian nuclear progress and terrorism. These reports and emails suggest a vast Iranian influence operation that goes to the very top of the administration.

The Biden administration should immediately cease its secret diplomacy with Iran and its dismantling of sanctions, and any officials linked to these emails should immediately have their security clearances pulled until these allegations are fully resolved and accountability is imposed.

Adam Kredo at the Washington Free Beacon reports:

The Pentagon is standing by a senior official [Ariane Tabatabai] identified in a Tuesday morning news report as a member of a vast Iranian influence network, telling the Washington Free Beacon the individual was "properly vetted" before being awarded a security clearance.

The RJC PAC is proud to offer RJC members a secure, direct, and impactful way to support the GOP's outstanding incumbents and terrific challengers for the House and Senate in 2024: the RJC PAC Portal. And now, you can donate to Republican Presidential candidates there too!

The RJC PAC Portal is the best way for RJC members to contribute to Presidential, Senate and House candidates.

Bookmark the RJC PAC Portal and be sure to use that link whenever you’re making a political donation in this crucial election cycle!

The Jewish Insider has a report on a hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia subcommittee this week to discuss efforts to stop the Palestinian Authority’s "pay for slay" payments to terrorists in Israeli jails and the families of terrorists who died in attacks on Israelis.The report notes:

Lawmakers and some members of the panel accused the administration of looking for ways to circumvent the Taylor Force Act, including in ongoing talks with Saudi Arabia. The administration has reportedly pushed Saudi Arabia to resume payments to the PA as part of those talks.

"They’ve actually been encouraging other countries to raise payments to the PA. It’s absurd," Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said. "This is just another example of the Biden administration neglecting the Taylor Force Act, and instead choosing to bolster the credibility of the antisemitic, anti-Israel and pro-terror PA."

…[Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior vice president, Jonathan] Schanzer, also said the State Department’s Palestinian affairs office and coordinator appear to be "day to day… looking for creative workarounds to the Taylor Force Act and its enforcement," and said that the office should potentially be terminated.

[Elliott] Abrams, responding to new reporting that the administration had provided funding to a group linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, argued that the government needs stricter procedures for vetting aid recipients, claiming that they are not subjected to basic internet searches.

The Hill reports:

The Biden administration is admitting Israel into a select group of countries whose citizens are allowed to travel to the United States without getting a visa in advance… Under the waiver program, as of Nov. 30, Israelis will be able to travel to the US for business or leisure purposes for up to 90 days without a visa simply by registering with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization.

The program currently allows citizens of 40 mostly European and Asian countries to travel to the US for three months without visas.

In an article on the antisemitic "Palestine Writes" literary event at the University of Pennsylvania, Bradley Martin quotes the RJC:

Sam Markstein, national political director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, condemned the festival.

"As antisemitism rises across the country, it is shocking and appalling that UPenn and its president, Elizabeth Magill, would permit and enable such noxious Jew-hatred, particularly during the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur," he told JNS. "Jewish students deserve to feel safe on college campuses, not subjected to harassment and vandalism."

How Anthony D’Esposito went from cop to GOP congressman in a Biden district

Roll Call has an interview with RJCPAC endorsee Congressman Anthony D’Esposito (NY-04) that touches on his background as a policeman, his priorities in the House, and the needs of his district. You can support Rep. D’Esposito through the RJC PAC conduit program.

Mayor Eric Johnson: America’s cities need Republicans, and I’m becoming one

The mayor of Dallas explains why he has now changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. Mayor Eric Johnson writes: "The future of America’s great urban centers depends on the willingness of the nation’s mayors to champion law and order and practice fiscal conservatism. Our cities desperately need the genuine commitment to these principles (as opposed to the inconsistent, poll-driven commitment of many Democrats) that has long been a defining characteristic of the GOP."

'The biggest issue that few presidential candidates want to talk about

Jim Geraghty devoted considerable space in his Daily Jolt column for National Review Online yesterday to the federal debt, a growing burden and threat that has not been adequately grasped by voters or discussed by candidates.

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