1.  Bills & Resolutions
 
(Authorizing Israeli attack on Iran) H. Res. 1553: Introduced 7/22/10 by Rep. Gohmert (R-TX) and 46 cosponsors, "Expressing support for the State of Israel's right to defend Israeli sovereignty, to protect the lives and safety of the Israeli people, and to use all means necessary to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the use of military force if no other peaceful solution can be found within reasonable time to protect against such an immediate and existential threat to the State of Israel."  Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.  [Note: This appears to be the resolution Gohmert  announced back in June that he would be introducing - for details see the 6/25/10 edition of the Round-Up.]  For more, see Section 3, below.
 
(Iran) HR 5833: Introduced 7/22/10 by Rep. Deutsch (D-FL) and 4 cosponsors, "to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers to make disclosures related to Iranian investments, and for other purposes" (short title is the "Iran Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010").  Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
 
(Al Qaeda in the Maghreb) H. Con. Res. 303: Introduced 7/22/10 by Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and 5 cosponsors, "Recognizing the growing threat that al Qaeda and its affiliates in Africa, particularly al Shabaab and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, pose to the United States and its allies and interests."  Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
 
(Egypt/Human Rights) S. Res. 586: Introduced 7/20/10 by Sen. Feingold (D-WI) and three cosponsors, "A resolution supporting democracy, human rights, and civil liberties in Egypt." Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
 
2.  Attacking the Palestinian Authority on the Hill, Part II
 
As noted in last week's Round-Up, it seems forces are gearing up on the Hill to attack and demonize the Palestinian Authority on the Hill.  In addition to the 7/21/10 Palestinian Media Watch event highlighted in last week's Round-Up, this week saw the following:
 
- On 7/23/10 Ranking Minority Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) issued a press release rebuking the Obama Administration for permitting a symbolic (and only symbolic) changes in the conditions governing the operations of the PLO office in Washington, DC (permitting the office to now fly the Palestinian flag - consistent with the practice of the Bush and the Obama Administrations of flying the flag when Palestinian officials are visiting; and permitting it to refer to itself as the "General Delegation of the PLO" as opposed to the "PLO Representative Office" - both terms that have no significance and imply no diplomatic status under the Vienna convention).  Ros-Lehtinen did not content herself with merely objecting to the changed conditions, but also capitalized on the opportunity to demonize President Abbas, call for the PLO to be kicked out of the United States "once and for all" and (in a non-sequitur) demand that the US embassy in Israel be immediately moved to Jerusalem.  Her statement reads:

"What's wrong with this picture?  Abu Mazen refuses to negotiate directly with Israel, instead praising the recently-deceased mastermind of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and sending condolences to his relatives.  But the U.S. rewards his corrupt, autocratic PLO with more symbols of legitimacy, treating it like a sovereign state.  On the other hand, Israel continues to be an indispensable democratic ally - but the U.S. still refuses to move our embassy to Israel's chosen capital.  Instead of giving more undeserved gifts to the PLO, it's time for us to kick the PLO out of the U.S. once and for all, and move our embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, where it belongs."


- On 7/22/10 Rep. Brady (D-PA) circulated a Dear Colleague seeking co-signers on a letter to President Obama condemning "concerning statements by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and leaders of the Fatah Movement honoring of the death of Muhammad Daoud Oudeh, the mastermind behind the murder of 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Olympics."  In the Dear Colleague, Brady indicates that his letter to Obama is based on materials provided by Palestinian Media Watch indicating that "these statements are part of a disturbing pattern of incitement against Israel that is unacceptable and should be condemned."  Brady says that his letter "asks the Administration to convey its strong disapproval of these statements glorifying a terrorist mastermind.  I hope you will consider joining me in this effort to condemn incitement that is poisonous to the Middle East peace process."  
 
3. Grandstanding on Iran
 
With the new UN sanctions passed, and the new Congressional sanctions signed into law, what is left for a Member of Congress to do if he/she wants to demonstrate to voters his/her toughness on Iran?  How about some grandstanding?
 
- As noted in Section I, on 7/22/10 Rep. Gohmert (R-TX) introduced his promised resolution getting tough with Iran, with the special added component that his resolution that takes the bizarre step of explicitly authorizing an Israeli military strike on Iran - bizarre not because it conflicts with US interests and the policy of the US Administration (which it does), but because Congress is not generally in the business of giving foreign countries the green light to attack other foreign countries.  The resolution is cosponsored, already, by nearly one-third of House Republicans.  For analysis of the resolution and its implications, see this article by NIAC's Jamal Abdi.  NIAC is leading opposition to this reckless resolution (people can take action here). 
 
- On 7/23/10 Reps. Garrett (R-NJ) and Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) circulated a Dear Colleague with the ominous subject line "The Clock is Ticking: Iran Continues Nuclear Enrichment."  Garrett and Ros-Lehtinen are seeking cosigners on a letter to President Obama "requesting an update on his progress in implementing sanctions" - sanctions that were signed into law less than a month ago.  Specifically, the letter to Obama requests "a comprehensive list of the actions you have taken to implement this legislation and other Iran sanctions laws on the books."  (The letter to Obama also expresses dismay at the President's recent statement that the US is still committed to a diplomatic solution, arguing that negotiations cannot be expected to achieve anything).  The Dear Colleague acknowledges that under the new sanctions law, the President has 90 days (less than a third of which have passed) to draft regulations to implement the new sanctions, but still argues that "as this deadline approaches, we must hold the President accountable for enforcing the law's provisions in a timely and comprehensive manner."  Apparently Garrett and Ros-Lehtinen prefer to badger the Administration for updates rather than let the Administration use the Congressionally-approved 90 days to actually draft the far-reaching regulations necessary to implement the new sanctions.  The Dear Colleague notes that the letter is supported by the Zionist Organization of America.
 
- On 7/29/10 (at 10am in Rayburn 2154) the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing entitled "Implementation of Iran Sanctions."  The Committee website states that the hearing will "examine the implementation of Iran sanctions, including efforts to discourage companies from doing business with Iran as long as Iran continues to work on developing nuclear weapons and supports terrorism."  While this could be a serious hearing, the fact that it is taking place less than a month after new sanctions were signed into law - and well before the end of the 90 days the Administration has been given, by law, to draft regulations to implement new sanctions - raises doubts.
 
- On 7/19/10 Rep. Candace Miller (R-MI) spoke on the House floor to urge the implementation of the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act [she apparently did not get the memo that the final bill was actually called the "Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2009," of which IRPSA was only one part].  She urged that the legislation be implemented "in an expedited as well as a rigorous fashion" and "without delay" - urging that seems to ignore the fact that it takes some time to write new regulations to implement far-reaching new sanctions - time that was in fact acknowledged by Congress when it granted the Administration 90 days to get the job done. 
 
- On 7/22/10 Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) entered into the Congressional Record the text of former Bush Administration official (and Iran super-hawk, not to mention Iraq war super-hawk) John Bolton's speech at a June 26th Iran rally in Paris.  Coffman states that he believes Bolton's speech, which was highly critical of the Obama Administration's Iran policy, "provides very important guidelines beyond partisan politics, for any American policymaker who is genuinely concerned about Tehran's nuclear threat and is looking for potential options as the solution to the Iranian problem."  Bolton ends his speech with a neocon argument that was heard throughout the Bush Administration:  "some people in the West, although they do not like to put it this explicitly, basically do not think Iran is ready for democracy. I think they are flatly wrong. Iran is more than ready for democracy. This is something that we feel very deeply about in the United States..."  Right.  Because if anyone disagrees with Bolton and his ilk on Iran policy (or policy regarding Iraq, or Syria, or Egypt, or the Palestinians) it could only be because they don't think these people are ready for democracy - not because they think the policies are reckless, misguided, and dangerous.
 
- On 7/20/10 Sen. Cardin (D-MD) spoke on the Senate floor to applaud sanctions the Iran sanctions that Congress passed and the President signed into law more than 3 weeks ago.  Cardin also took the opportunity to reject the Turkey-Brazil-Iran deal that the Administration rejected back in May, shortly after the parties agreed to the deal. 
 
- On 7/22/10, Senator Ensign (R-NV) took to the Senate floor to applaud President Obama for his cordial meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu earlier this month, but then to blast the Obama Administration for its handling of the May 2010 Nuclear Nonproliferation Review Conference.  Ensign apparently was so upset about what happened at the NPT review conference that he waited nearly 3 months to declare that the US "threw one of our closest allies under the bus"; to label the conference an "utter failure"; and to accuse the Obama Administration of sending the message to Israel that "We will not hesitate to throw you overboard in exchange for a political tic mark that gets us nothing." 
 

 

4.  Berman Lays Out Obama Support for Israel

 

On 7/22/10 the office of Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, circulated a fact sheet entitled "Dems & Obama."  As noted in the email intro note, the fact sheet "outlines President Obama and the House Democratic Caucus' unprecedented support for the State of Israel" and makes the case that "House Democrats and the President are as good if not better than any Congress or Administration that has come before."  The full text of the fact sheet is as follows:

 

 

The Democratic-Led Congress and President Obama

Provide Unprecedented Support for Israel

 

President Obama

 

• More than any of his predecessors, this President has repeatedly talked about the importance of the Palestinians' recognizing the - quote -- "Jewish" state of Israel.
• President Obama is leading the global push to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.  The President has stated that it is "unacceptable" for Iran to obtain a nuclear weapons capability.  Recently, thanks to the Obama Administration's hard work, the United Nations Security Council passed a fourth round of sanctions (UNSCR 1929), the strongest yet --  a remarkable diplomatic achievement.  UNSCR 1929 brought Russia and China on board for UN sanctions on Iranian arms purchases; Iran's banking, finance, shipping, and energy sectors; and designations of the IRGC and other proliferation-related entities.
• President Obama has spent more time trying to block Iran's nuclear ambitions than any other foreign policy issue and it's something he raises as his top priority in virtually every conversation with world leaders.
• President Obama and Democrats in Congress have provided Israel with every single penny of foreign assistance appropriations that Israel has asked for.  In 2007, the United States and Israel signed a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that calls for the U.S. to provide $30 billion in security assistance over the following 10 years. President Barack Obama has strongly supported the 2007 agreement. As part of his fiscal year 2010 budget, the President requested $2.775 billion in aid to Israel, which completely fulfills the second year of the MOU.  This year the President asked for $3 billion in aid to Israel, and the Congress will make certain the President's request is fulfilled.
• Under President Obama, Israel's Qualitative Military Edge, or QME, is being reestablished, after having been neglected for too many years, and the U.S. and Israel have achieved new levels of close security cooperation. Later this year, the Pentagon is likely to sell Israel an initial batch of 25 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, the most advanced aircraft in the U.S. arsenal, and other sensitive technology.
• Prime Minister Netanyahu noted on July 7, 2010, that: "The alliance between Israel and the US is stable and strong.  It has the support of the American administration and people.  My visit to the US last week gave tangible expression to strength and durability of this unbreakable bond.  In my meeting with the US President, we had a comprehensive and excellent discussion in which we covered a broad range of issues."
• The Obama Administration has demonstrated its hard-nosed support of Israel at international forums and its uncompromising and effective opposition to efforts to de-legitimize Israel. For example, the Administration has led a global effort to prevent the Goldstone Report from gaining traction or credibility within the international community. That ill-conceived, biased report still has life in the UN system, and the Administration is fighting it tooth-and-nail.
• The Obama Administration is opposing attempts to launch a politically-tainted international investigation into Israel's self-defensive measures in stopping the Turkish-led flotilla to Gaza.  The Administration has stood behind its ally Israel in supporting Israel's own investigation. 
• The Obama Administration refused to participate in the Durban-Two conference on racism last year strictly because of its intention to single out Israel unfairly.  That must have been a very difficult decision for a newly-inaugurated African-American President, but President Obama stood impressively firm.
• The Obama Administration played a critical role in achieving a unanimous, 31-0, vote at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, to ensure  Israel's accession to one of the world's most exclusive economic associations .  Thanks to the Administration's help in bringing Israel into the OECD, Israel will be able to advance its economy to unprecedented levels.
• President Obama's famous Cairo speech marked an Arab world first: an unprecedentedly strong affirmation of the - quote - "unshakeable" bond between the U.S. and Israel and an unprecedentedly frank discussion of the Holocaust, in the heart of a region rife with Holocaust denial.  As Ambassador Michael Oren said of the Cairo speech: "This is a President who has gone to Cairo, has made a speech in which, for the first time in history, an American leader introduced the idea of Israel's legitimacy to the heart of the Arab World." 
• In the first eighteen months of the Obama Administration, there have been numerous separate high-level visits of US officials to Israel.  The visitors include Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, National Security Advisor James Jones, CIA Director Leon Panetta, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen. This type of high-level attention is reserved for only the closest allies. 
• The United States and Israel recently completed their largest-ever joint military exercise.  The three-week Juniper Cobra 10 air defense exercise involved deployment of a thousand U.S. troops, from all four branches of service, alongside an equal number of Israel Defense Forces personnel, taking part in simulated war games intended to ensure the two countries can jointly respond to a crisis.  The Juniper Cobra exercises involved the use of the long-range X-band radar, the most advanced system in the world for warning of missile-launches. 
• The Obama Administration has integrated U.S. missile defense technology into Israel's expanding anti-missile shield.  This is something that no other American President has done, and it is a move of immense strategic importance that has largely been overlooked by the Jewish community and by the foreign-affairs community at-large.  The Administration also will continue to fund development of the Arrow-3, the most advanced variant of Israel's long-range, high-altitude system for countering Iranian ballistic missiles.
• President Obama asked Congress for $205 million to support Israel's deployment of the Iron Dome rocket defense system, which will reduce the threat from Hamas' and Hezbollah's short-range rockets.  The $205 million requested  by the Administration, and quickly authorized by the House of Representatives (H.R. 5327 "United States-Israel Rocket and Missile Defense Cooperation and Support Act" - introduced by Rep Nye (D-VA)), is in addition to the $3 billion budgetary request the Administration had  already made for security assistance for Israel.
• In October 2009 the Turkish government withdrew landing rights from Israel in Turkey and refused to allow Israel to participate in a NATO exercise.  In protest, the Obama Administration withdrew US forces from the exercise.
•  The Obama Administration has reaffirmed sanctions against Syria and strongly condemned Syria's transfer of Scud missiles and other arms to Hezbollah.  Israeli Defense Minister Barak is regularly in Washington, DC, to meet with President Obama and Defense Secretary Gates to discuss the close US-Israel coordination on military and intelligence issues concerning Syria, Iran, and other threats.

 

House Democrats

  

• In June 2010, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2194, The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, a bill introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA). Signed into law by President Obama July 1, the new measure introduces an array of tough new economic sanctions and penalties aimed at persuading Iran to end its nuclear weapons program.  Targets of the Act range from business entities involved in refined petroleum sales to Iran or support for Iran's domestic refining efforts to international banking institutions involved with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran's illicit nuclear program or its support for terrorism.  The bill augments the sanctions regime envisioned in the earlier versions of the Act passed by the House and the Senate in December 2009 by supplementing the energy sanctions in those versions with an additional, powerful set of banking prohibitions. It also plugs an important gap in our sanctions regime by sanctioning companies that sell Iran goods or services that help it develop its energy sector.
• In January 2009, the House of Representatives passed H.Res.34 which recognizes Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirms the United States' strong support for Israel, and supports the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.  H.Res.34 was introduced by the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
• In June 2009, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2410, the "Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal years 2010 and 2011".  This bill, introduced by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), authorizes appropriations to Israel; amends the Arms-Export Control Act to authorize the President to export spare and replacement parts or components of defense items to Israel; amends the Arms Export Control Act to require  the Administration to certify  that an arms sale to another Middle Eastern country does not  threaten  Israel's qualitative military edge (QME);  authorizes appropriations for co-development of  missile  defense projects with Israel, including the Arrow, David's Sling, and Iron Dome systems; and expresses the sense of Congress that Israel has the inalienable right to defend itself in the face of an imminent nuclear or military threat from Iran as well as from terrorist organizations and the countries that harbor them.
• In October 2009, the House of Representatives passed H.R.1327, the "Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009".  This bill, introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), authorizes state and local governments to divest their portfolios of companies that invest in Iran.  It is now a part of the new Iran sanctions law (H.R. 2194). 
•  In October 2009, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2647, the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.  This bill, introduced by Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO), expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Israel is one of the strongest allies of the United States; (2) the United States remains vigorously committed to supporting Israel's welfare, security, and survival; (3) Israel and the United States face common enemies; and (4) the United States should continue to provide Israel the critical security assistance it needs to address existential threats.

 

5.  Spotlight on Turkey

 

On 7/28/10 (at 10am in Rayburn 2172) the House Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing entitled "Turkey's New Foreign Policy Direction: Implications for U.S.-Turkish Relations."  Witnesses at the hearing (so far) are:  Soner Cagaptay (Director, Turkish Research Program, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy) and Ross Wilson (Director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, The Atlantic Council, and former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan).

 

This week Turkey was the focus of Hill attention, centered in the anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus.  Rep. Berkley (D-NV), used the occasion to accuse Turkey of hypocrisy regarding Gaza and Israel.  In an extension of remarks submitted for the record on 7/20/10, Berkley stated:  "This anniversary is particularly troubling, given Turkey's role in recent events in the Mediterranean. In May, the Turkish government supported a flotilla of boats attempting to run Israel's blockade of Gaza. Those so-called 'peace activists' attacked the Israeli soldiers with bats, clubs and bricks, demonstrating their real intent: to harm Israel, rather than to help the people of Gaza.  In the aftermath of these events, Turkey had the audacity to criticize Israel's behavior toward Gaza, as though they themselves had 'clean hands.'..."

 

6.  CUFI on the Hill

This week Christians United for Israel was in Washington for their annual conference.  Estimates of conference-goers ranged from 4000-5000, and it was reported that they lobbied 85 percent of Congressional offices.

Following unflattering coverage of the conference in past (where journalists were permitted to roam freely and interview conference-goes, who said the darndest things), coverage of the conference is now highly circumscribed.  The Christian Broadcasting Network (which took part in the conference) carried a video report that includes footage of Rep. Pence (R-IN) telling the crowd that the Obama Administration is "the most anti-Israel administration in American history" and of Rep. Berkley (D-NV) bragging about condemning the Administration over its demand for a settlement freeze).  CBN's also filed a written report.  The only other news report that could be found (as of this writing) was from RT, which can be viewed here and includes footage of Cantor (R-VA) and Pence (R-IN).  A Haaretz reporter also posted some (very edited and choppy) footage here.

 

The event featured speakers from the Hill, from Jewish/Israel-related organizations, from Israel, from think tanks, etc.  The full schedule of events and speakers can be viewed here.  Some of the people on the schedule were:

 

Members of Congress

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV)
Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE)
Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN)

Jewish/Israeli Organizational Representatives or Individuals

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (via satellite)

Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren (Arutz Sheva, the settlers' media outlet, covered the story here)
Malcolm Hoenlein (Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations)
Mortimer Zuckerman (Past Chairman of the Conference of Presidents)

Robert Satloff (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

Matthew Levitt (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

Jonathan Kessler (AIPAC)
Jeff Mendelsohn (AIPAC)

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi (The Israel Project)

Jonathan Medved (leading Israeli venture capitalist)

Partisan organization representatives

Matthew Brooks (Executive Director, the Republican Jewish Coalition)

 

Former Bush Administration Officials

Elliott Abrams
Dan Senor

 

Right-Wing Think tankers

Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) (Ethics and Public Policy Center)

Mark Dubowitz (Foundation for Defense of Democracies & Iran Energy Project)
Cliff May (Foundation for Defense of Democracies)
Gary Bauer (President of American Values)
Dr. Kenneth Stein (Center for Israel Education)

Frank Gaffney (Center for Security Policy)

Others

Pastor John Hagee (Christians United for Israel)
David Brog (Christians United for Israel & former staffer for Senator Arlen Specter, D-PA, back when he was R-PA)
Bishop Keith A Butler (Founder and Pastor of Word of Faith International Christian Center)
Pastor Happy Caldwell (Founder and Pastor of Agape Church and Founder and President of Victory Television Network)
Rev. Jonathan P. Falwell (Senior Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church)
Pastor Mac Hammond (Senior Pastor, Living Word Christian Center)
Michael Little (President and Chief Operating Officer, The Christian Broadcasting Network)
Pastor George Morrison (Senior Pastor, Faith Bible Chapel)

Erick Stakelbeck (Correspondent/Terrorism Analyst on The Christian Broadcasting Network)

George Gilder (Editor-in-Chief, Gilder Technology Report and Chairman of Gilder Publishing LLC)
Dennis Prager (Nationally syndicated radio host)
Charlie Daniels (Country singer)

 

========================================

Don't forget to check the APN blog for breaking news and analysis about issues related to Israel, the Middle East, and the Hill.

========================================

Americans for Peace Now promotes Israeli security through the peace process and supports the Israeli Peace Now movement.   For more information, visit the APN web site at www.peacenow.org or contact Lara Friedman, APN Director of Policy and Government Relations, at 202/728-1893, or at lfriedman@peacenow.org.