From Brooklyn For A Safe Israel: Fwd: RJC E-Newsletter for September 7, 2017

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Date: Sep 7, 2017 5:48 PM
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The RJC Weekly Newsletter

September 7, 2017

Your weekly look at the latest news, analysis,
and RJC activities around the country.

Hurricane Irma threatens Florida this weekend and may impact more of the East Coast next week. If you are in Irma's path, please - prepare and stay safe. Our thoughts are with you.

— Featured —

Update on the Taylor Force Act

The Taylor Force Act (TFA) — which would stop American taxpayer money from funding terrorists in Israeli prisons — was passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on August 3, so the next step is passage by the full Senate. Important groundwork for that was laid today when the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a fiscal 2018 State Department funding bill.

During today's mark-up session, Sen. Lindsey Graham, the author of the Taylor Force Act and the chairman of the subcommittee responsible for State Department funding, added an amendment that applies the language of the Taylor Force Act during the 2018 fiscal year.

Thanks to Graham's amendment, the TFA language will almost certainly be part of the omnibus fiscal 2018 appropriations bill Congress is expected to pass before the end of the year. The RJC will continue to press for the full Senate to pass the permanent version of the Taylor Force Act that already passed in the Foreign Relations committee. But today's action greatly improves the likelihood that the TFA's provisions can become law this year.

An Israeli F-15 fighter jet takes off in the Negev desert in 2016.

Israel Hits Syrian Chemical Weapons Site

A strike last night against a Syrian chemical weapons facility in Masyaf is being attributed to Israel.

General (Res.) Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, says that the attack sends a message to world powers that the country intends to enforce its red lines when it comes to protecting itself. The Times of Israel reports:

...Yadlin tweeted that the facility in Masyaf hit overnight had also produced barrel bombs that were dropped on Syrian civilians, adding a moral justification to the airstrike that wasn't directly related to Israel's own security interests...

Opposition sources quoted by Israel Radio said the airstrike destroyed weapons stores including chemical-tipped missiles that were to be delivered to Hezbollah.

..."The attack sent three important messages," Yadlin continued. That "Israel won't allow for empowerment and production of strategic arms," that "Israel intends to enforce its red lines, despite the fact that the great powers are ignoring them," and that "the presence of Russian air defense does not prevent airstrikes attributed to Israel."

Nikki Haley's Remarks Signal Possible Trump Next Steps on Iran Deal

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley spoke at the American Enterprise Institute this week and outlined possible U.S. action with regard to Iran. (Video and transcript.)

Under the provisions of the Corker-Cardin law, the President must certify to Congress every 90 days whether Iran is compliant with the provisions of Pres. Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran (JCPOA).

Given Iran's continued testing of ballistic missiles, which violate UNSC Res. 2231 and other actions by Iran that violate international agreements, Pres. Trump would have grounds, Haley said, for decertifying Iranian compliance when the question comes up again in October.

Haley said:

This is critically important, and almost completely overlooked. If the President chooses not to certify Iranian compliance, that does not mean the United States is withdrawing from the JCPOA.

Withdrawal from the agreement is governed by the terms of the JCPOA. The Corker-Cardin law governs the relationship between the President and Congress.

If the President finds that he cannot certify Iranian compliance, it would signal one or more of the following three messages to Congress. Either the Administration believes Iran is in violation of the deal; or the lifting of sanctions against Iran is not appropriate and proportional to the regime's behavior; or the lifting of sanctions is not in the U.S. national security interest.

The Israel Project's senior advisor, Omri Ceren, explains that Corker-Cardin requires the President to certify not only Iran's compliance with the text of the JCPOA, but also with the related agreements, including UNSC Res. 2231. Ceren told Axios that, "The president would be openly lying to Congress if he certified that Iran met the Corker-Cardin requirements." Read more about his argument here.

If the President does not certify Iranian compliance in October, it opens the way for Congress to reimpose sanctions and perhaps reconsider the entire deal as being inconsistent with U.S. national security interests.

— Short Takes —

Brodsky: The relationship between Pyongyang, Tehran, and Damascus is more extensive and long-standing than we thought

The U.N. report highlights the extent to which North Korea has been a principal strategic partner to Iran and Syria for decades. Understood correctly, it should have major implications not only for how the U.S. handles the saber-rattling regime of Kim Jong-un but for how the Trump administration chooses to approach Iran today.

Bard: Are Democrats Abandoning Israel?

Moreover, the data tells us the notion that Democrats have historically been overwhelmingly sympathetic toward Israel is a myth. Similarly, it is a myth that Republicans were once less supportive of Israel than Democrats. The dramatic change, which has been widely noted, is that support among Republicans has skyrocketed. Instead of a difference of a few points, as in the 1970s, the partisan gap in 2017 was 35 points.

Marking the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre

45 years after the terrorist attack at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, a permanent memorial will be unveiled at the Olympic Park. It commemorates the 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer who were killed.

RJC ISO Interns

The RJC has openings for fall semester interns in our national headquarters in Washington, DC and in our regional offices around the country. College students who are passionate Jewish Republicans are encouraged to apply. Email grassroots@RJCHQ.org for details.

— Events —