It has been a very busy week, and the Republican Jewish Coalition has been on the go, getting our message out there and responding quickly and strongly to breaking news.
RJC National Chairman Senator Norm Coleman penned an op-ed for Newsweek magazine on the historic UAE-Israel peace agreement. He wrote:
The establishment of diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), brokered by President Donald Trump, is one more excellent step in the emergence of a Trump Doctrine. He withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Pact, the INF Treaty, Open Skies and the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) because the parties were cheating. He reduced American forces in Syria and Afghanistan because we had no place in their civil wars. He reconfigured American forces in NATO—fewer in Germany and more in Poland—for the better protection of both our allies and ourselves. In each case, America is at the center of American foreign policy.
The Washington Free Beacon noted the silence of Democratic Senate candidates on the UAE-Israel agreement and quoted the RJC on the contrast between President Donald Trump's winning foreign policy and the Democrats' failures in the region:
Neil Strauss, spokesman for the Republican Jewish Coalition, said that remaining silent is preferable to "exposing yourself as clueless."
"The Israel-UAE peace deal absolutely exposes the Democrats' foreign policy strategy of appeasement of Iran as a failure," Strauss said. "President Trump’s strategy of maximum pressure and standing shoulder to shoulder with our trusted ally Israel, and the Arab states willing to stand up to Iran, is an absolute success."
The RJC was proud to applaud President Trump for his decision to invoke the "snapback" provision of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, reimposing UN sanctions on Iran that were suspended under the resolution as part of the JCPOA.
Today’s decision by President Trump to invoke the "snapback" provision of 2231 is the right decision for the safety of the United States and the entire world. The UN has confirmed that Iran is violating every provision of the JCPOA. While the Obama-Biden deal with Iran was always a calamity that gave Iran everything it wanted, secured none of the protections we needed, and made the world less safe, this provision will help to fight back against Iran’s malign activities.
UNSC Res. 2231 is unambiguous as to the United States' right to invoke the "snapback" provision. The United States is listed by name as a country that can invoke the provision, and it does not stipulate that the US must still be a party to the agreement. To be clear, 2231 is not the Iran nuclear deal, it is a UN resolution. President Trump did not forfeit our right to the "snapback" provision in 2231; in fact, it was not possible to forfeit that right.
We should not have ever been in this position. At the time Biden and Obama entered into the disastrous deal, Iran was on a razor’s edge because international sanctions were working. The JCPOA with its sanctions relief was a lifeline to the Ayatollah and his regime - one they did not deserve. President Trump is doing everything he can to clean up the mistakes of Biden and Obama. The RJC thanks President Trump for his courage in standing up to the #1 state sponsor of terrorism, Iran.
Read more about the President's action here.
The RJC pushed back on the lies and liars on display at the Democratic National Convention.
• Our daily commentary at the Democrats' policy failures, increasingly radical positions, and abandonment of Israel can be found here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4.
• When antisemitic agitator Linda Sarsour showed up as a speaker at the Convention's official "Muslim Delegates Assembly" to say, "The Democratic Party… is absolutely our party in this moment," the RJC blasted out this response:
It is outrageous that the Democratic National Committee would allow Linda Sarsour to represent their party to American voters. Sarsour is a rabid antisemite, a friend of Louis Farrakhan, and a proponent of the BDS movement against Israel. She spreads anti-Israel lies and champions the cause of terrorists. Sarsour’s blatant antisemitism finally made her so treif that the radical Women’s March organization had to force her out of her leadership role, but she’s still kosher for the Democrat Party.
If Linda Sarsour is the face of the Democrat Party, then the Democrat Party has truly become the party of antisemitism and too toxic for American Jews.
• Fox News reported on our response to former Secretary of State John Kerry's convention speech "narrative" about the Obama-Biden Iran nuclear deal:
The Republican Jewish Coalition knocked Kerry over the deal on Tuesday.
“John Kerry is lying about the Iran deal. What’s amazing is that there is proof that Iran never abided by the deal. The UN confirms Iran violated every aspect of the deal. He gave Iran everything, got nothing, and made the world less safe,” the group tweeted.
• The Jerusalem Post quoted the RJC on the Democrats' presidential ticket and their "conditional" support for Israel:
Neil Strauss, the spokesperson for the Republican Jewish Coalition, pushed back against Biden’s and Harris’s record on Israel. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have both proven that their support of Israel is conditional,” he told the Post. “At the end of his term, Biden helped the Obama administration rally countries to vote for UN Resolution 2334. That was after the presidential election, and probably when he thought he was done with politics. That really kind of shows his true feelings and his true support for Israel.
“And look at Kamala Harris,” he continued. “When she was running in the primary when she thought it was advantageous to vote against anti-BDS legislation, she did so. She can [say] whatever she wants about her record on Israel. But she has shown that when it’s not politically convenient, she won’t be there for Israel.
“Support for Israel is really important [for voters]. Sometimes polling shows that it’s not a top issue for Jews,” Strauss added. “But part of the reason for that is because there’s been strong bipartisan support for Israel, and [now] there is a feeling that the Democratic Party is losing its traditional support for Israel.”
