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NEAR EAST REPORTT H E A M E R I C A N I S R A E L P U B L I C A F F A I R S C O M M I T T E E

MARCH 2017 • WWW.AIPAC.ORG/NER

E-ISSN 1947-4458 Published by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Funded in part by The American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), the charitable organization affi liated with AIPAC.

I.L. Kenen, Founder, 1905–1988

Interview—Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Discusses Israel .................2Editorial—Iran’s Repeat Transgressions Demand Bipartisan Response .............................3U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Nikki Haley Criticizes Anti-Israel Bias ......................................7The Sidelining of the Arab-Israeli Confl ict: A Review of Two Books ................................8Washington Brief: A Recap of News from the Hill and Beyond ...................................... 12

In This Edition

Canada has been a long-standing friend of both the United States and Israel. This year, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper is scheduled to deliver live remarks at Policy Conference. During nine years of distinguished service as prime minister, from 2006 to 2015, Prime Minister Harper’s deep personal connection to the Jewish state led him to courageously stand with Israel at the United Nations and to work closely with America to build international opposition to Iran’s nuclear program.

PHOTO: AP IMAGES

T H E A M E R I C A N I S R A E L P U B L I C A F F A I R S C O M M I T T E E

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INTERVIEW

Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Discusses Israel

Each year at AIPAC’s annual Policy Conference, thousands of pro-Israel activists come to Washington to hear

from a diverse range of speakers who provide insights into the U.S.-Israel relationship. While the majority of speakers are American or Israeli lawmakers, policymakers or academics, a number of notable international leaders are also inspired to join this important gathering of the U.S. pro-Israel community.

Canada has been a long-standing friend of both the United States and Israel. This year, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper is scheduled to deliver live remarks at Policy Conference. During nine years of distinguished service as prime minister, from 2006 to 2015, Prime Minister Harper’s deep personal connection to the Jewish state led him to courageously stand with Israel at the United Nations and to work closely with America to build international opposition to Iran’s nuclear program.

In anticipation of his appearance at Policy Conference, the former prime minister consented to a brief interview with Near East Report:

Q: You have been called the most pro-Israel prime minister in Canada’s history. How did you come to develop this strong connection with the State of Israel?

A: Israel is a fellow member of the global family of free and democratic nations, so it shares our values. It is also our only long-standing and enduring ally in that most dangerous part of the world, the Middle East, so it also shares our threats.

Thus the defense of Israel is in our own national interests as Canadians, as it is in the interests of all western nations.

Q: Canada and the United States worked closely together to build international opposition to Iran’s nuclear program. How can Ottawa and Washington continue to collaborate to counter malign Iranian behavior, including repeated ballistic missile tests, support for terrorist groups and human rights abuses?

A: There was a hope that the nuclear agreement would help moderate the Iranian regime’s behavior. It hasn’t. It has emboldened the Iranian regime. The nuclear agreement should be scrapped at the fi rst sign of Iranian non-compliance.

It is incumbent on both our countries to continue to denounce Iran’s terrorist activities and human rights abuses. We should also look for every opportunity to dialogue with Iranian society through both traditional means and social-media platforms.

Q: The rise of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has been particularly acute on American and Canadian campuses. Is this a cause of concern for the future of bilateral Canadian-Israeli relations?

A: Yes. I am deeply concerned with the BDS movement and the anti-Semitism that it tries



to mask and intellectualize. The reality of BDS on campuses is the targeting of Israeli academics, the harassment of Jewish students and intimidation against free speech.

On the positive side, I note that my party—the Conservative Party of Canada—was successful in passing a resolution through our Parliament that denounces this hateful movement.

Q: Moving forward, what areas off er Canada and Israel the greatest opportunity to deepen their relationship? In particular, what role can Canada play in helping Israel confront the range of challenges facing it today?

A: As I’ve already said, both security and the economy are key areas where the Canada-Israel relationship could be much more developed. Countering the isolation of Israel in multilateral fora remains the chief area where Canadian leadership continues to be needed. For example, Canada could have and should have denounced United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334.

Stephen Harper was fi rst elected to the House of Commons in 1993. He left in 1997 but returned in 2002 as leader of the offi cial opposition. In 2006, he led the Conservative Party to electoral victory and became

the 22nd prime minister of Canada, a position he held through three successive governments over a nine year period. He holds a BA and MA in Economics from the University of Calgary.

EDITORIAL

Iran’s Repeat Transgressions Demand Bipartisan Response

More than one year has elapsed since the Iran nuclear deal went into eff ect in January 2016. Since then, scarcely

a week has passed without new instances of malign Iranian behavior. Recent provocations are testing whether the Trump Administration will mount a decisive response to persuade Tehran to change course or face severe consequences.

IRAN STILL SEEKS TO DESTABILIZE THE REGION.

The Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has failed to engender Iranian moderation—something hoped for by many supporters of the agreement. Instead, hardline forces allied with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have solidifi ed their position over Iran’s political and economic life. The result has been a litany of aggressions in pursuit of Iran’s revolutionary aspirations to dominate the Middle East and eject American infl uence.

Underscoring the Iranian threat, U.S. Central Command commander Gen. Joseph Votel told lawmakers on March 9, the U.S. military and its allies are “dealing with a range of malign activities perpetrated by Iran and its proxies” in the Middle East. “It is my view that Iran poses



the greatest long-term threat to stability for this part of the world,” he said, adding that Iran seeks to be the “regional hegemon.” “No other nation operates the way they do in the Arabian Gulf. And they need to be held accountable for that, and they need to be exposed for those types of unprofessional, unsafe and abnormal activities.”

IRAN’S ESCALATING CAMPAIGN OF MALIGN ACTIVITIES FALL INTO SEVERAL BROAD CATEGORIES.

Iran’s aggressive behavior can be categorized in multiple ways, the fi rst of which are Iranian violations of the JCPOA. On two separate occasions, in February and November 2016, the IAEA found that Iran’s heavy water stockpile exceeded the JCPOA limits. In both instances, Iran came into compliance with its obligations by shipping the excess heavy water to Oman. However, Iran only shipped out the material after the P5+1 (the United Nations Security Council permanent members plus Germany) agreed to allow Iran to import signifi cant quantities of natural uranium.

Second, Iran has repeatedly violated the arms embargo contained in Annex B of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2231, both by exporting and importing banned arms. In its eff ort to destabilize neighboring countries like Yemen, Syria, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and Lebanon, Iran has shipped arms to its agents in all of these countries over the past year. In terms of imports, on Jan. 22, Ukrainian authorities announced the most recent violation when they seized a shipment of Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles bound for Iran.

Third, Iran has advanced its ballistic missiles program in defi ance of UNSCR 2231. Since the

JCPOA came into eff ect, Iran has conducted no fewer than seven ballistic missile tests—with a pay-load capacity capable of carrying nuclear weapons. On Feb. 3, the Treasury Department responded to a Jan. 29 test launch of a medium-range ballistic missile by announcing new sanctions against 13 individuals and 12 entities in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates. Those sanctioned were known to be providing key technology to Iran’s ballistic missile program and the IRGC’s foreign activities branch, the Quds Force. Iran responded to the imposition of the new sanctions with yet another test launch of a pair of shorter-range ballistic missiles earlier this month.

The latest ballistic missile test was reportedly successful in striking a fl oating barge 155 miles away from the launch site, sending a clear and menacing signal about Iran’s ability to strike at the U.S. naval presence in the Persian Gulf. That same week, IRGC fast-attack naval vessels harassed a U.S. ship, the USS Invincible. A Pentagon offi cial noted that Iran provoked 35 similar “unsafe and unprofessional” incidents in 2016, the fi rst year of the nuclear deal, more than a 50 percent increase from the 23 in 2015.

Fourth, Iran has stepped up its sponsorship of terrorism. According to the State Department, Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism—fi nancing, arming and training terrorist groups operating around the world, including Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, as well as the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. For more than three decades, Iran and its terrorist proxies have targeted American civilians and military personnel. From the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut to more than a decade of IED attacks against U.S. military personnel in Iraq, Iran’s terrorist proxies have killed more Americans worldwide than any



group except al-Qaida.

And since implementation of the Iran deal in January 2016, Iran has boosted its support for Hezbollah, providing the terrorist group with increased military, economic and diplomatic support. Hezbollah Leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah openly admitted in July 2016, “Hezbollah gets its money and arms from Iran, and as long as Iran has money, so does Hezbollah.” The IRGC also provides supply, training and direction to tens of thousands of Syrian forces, Hezbollah terrorists and Shia militiamen in Syria; some of these forces have operated directly on Israel’s northern border in the Syrian Golan Heights.

THE UNITED STATES MUST COUNTER THESE AGGRESSIONS.

Iran’s nefarious actions are part of Iran’s strategy to dominate the Middle East. America and our allies must thwart Iran’s malign ambitions:

• The United States should make clear to Iran that any further violations of the JCPOA will not be tolerated and will be met with severe and appropriate penalties.

• The United States should counter Iran’s violation of a U.N.-imposed arms embargo. The administration must insist that the U.N. strictly enforce its own edicts, and should work in concert with our allies to apply appropriate countermeasures when Iranian arms smuggling eff orts are detected.

• The United States should identify additional entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program and sanction both of those entities and those supporting them.

• The United States should formally designate the IRGC as a terrorist

organization. The IRGC, both directly and through its proxies, supports terrorist activities throughout the world. This designation would clear up an anomaly in current U.S. policy: Although there is no practical diff erence between the IRGC and the Quds Force, the U.S. government has only designated the latter as a terrorist group. The Quds Force is a vital component of the IRGC, and resources and personnel are often shared between the two. The leadership of the IRGC controls and directs the actions of the Quds Force. A designation would put pressure on Iran to minimize the IRGC role in Iran’s economy or risk further economic isolation, and would also serve as a stark reminder to the international business community of the dangers in operating in the Iranian economy.

A BIPARTISAN CONSENSUS ON CAPITOL HILL IS FORMING IN FAVOR OF NEW ACTION TO COUNTER IRAN.

Key congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle are organizing in support of new eff orts to counter Iran. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN) responded to Iran’s most recent ballistic missile test by noting: “These provocative tests are just the latest example of Iran’s dangerous actions that demand a coordinated, multifaceted response from the United States. The administration has already begun to push back in the way that we should, and I look forward to working with them as we prepare to introduce bipartisan legislation to deter Iran’s threatening behavior on all fronts.”

Said SFRC Ranking Member Ben Cardin (D-MD): “We want to make sure that it doesn’t



violate the Iran nuclear agreement and we’re trying to tailor it to Iran’s current nefarious actions. So we’re working on something.”

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) echoed Corker’s call for new sanctions legislation: “Iran needs to know that notwithstanding the nuclear agreement, that their violations of international order rules…have consequences.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “I think it is now time for Congress to take Iran on directly in terms of what they’ve done outside the nuclear program.”

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also backed tougher action: “Sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program were successful because of the extraordinary unity within the international community. We must approach the remaining challenges in a similar way if we are to be successful in changing Iran’s behavior.”

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said: “There’s going to be a conversation about what the proportional response is. But I don’t necessarily think there’s

going to be partisan division over whether or not we have the ability as Congress to speak on issues outside of the nuclear agreement.”

“Iran’s continuing intercontinental ballistic missile program—whose only purpose is to carry a nuclear warhead—must be front and center,” said Chairman of the House Foreign Aff airs Committee Ed Royce (R-CA). “This month’s designations are a good start. But more can be done to fi nd and target the banks and companies that are supplying this dangerous program aimed at us. It also means more extraditions, prosecutions, and indictments of sanctions violators.”

“We better make sure that Iran understands that there are severe consequences, if they continue their ways,” stated House Foreign Aff airs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY).

NEW SANCTIONS AND ACTIONS TO PUSH BACK AGAINST IRAN’S NON-NUCLEAR ACTIONS WOULD IN NO WAY VIOLATE THE LETTER OR SPIRIT OF THE JCPOA.

As the Obama Administration made clear, the JCPOA only covers nuclear issues and was not intended to limit U.S. freedom of action against Iran’s terrorist activities. In an August 2015 letter to Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), then-President Obama wrote, “Critically, I made sure that the United States reserved its right to maintain and enforce existing sanctions and even to deploy new sanctions to address those continuing concerns, which we fully intend to do when circumstances warrant.”

Iran has largely defl ected any eff ort to penalize its misdeeds by threatening to abrogate the JCPOA whenever the topic of non-nuclear sanctions arises. America must not capitulate to

Iran has to this point largely avoided penalty for its misdeeds by threatening to abrogate the nuclear deal. America must not capitulate to such tactics, which will only encourage further Iranian misbehavior.

Iran has to this point largely avoided penalty for its misdeeds by threatening to abrogate the nuclear deal. America must not capitulate to such tactics, which will only encourage further Iranian misbehavior.

PHOTO: AP IMAGES



such tactics, which will only encourage further Iranian misbehavior. The United States must respond vigorously to Tehran’s provocations and place the onus back on Iran to curb its aggression.

U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Nikki Haley Criticizes Anti-Israel BiasThe pro-Israel community’s many voices will soon converge in Washington at the annual AIPAC Policy Conference to engage policymakers on both sides of the aisle and advance the safety and security of the United States and Israel.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) Nikki Haley is scheduled to deliver live remarks at the conference. On Feb. 16, following the U.N. Security Council’s monthly consultations on the Middle East, she criticized the anti-Israel bias of the international organization. Below are her remarks as delivered:

“The fi rst thing I want to do is talk about what we just saw in there. The Security Council just fi nished its regular monthly meeting on Middle East issues. It’s the fi rst meeting like that that I’ve attended, and I have to say it was a bit strange. The Security Council is supposed to discuss how to maintain international peace and security. But at our meeting on the Middle East, the discussion was not about Hezbollah’s illegal

build-up of rockets in Lebanon. It was not about the money and weapons Iran provides to terrorists. It was not about how we defeat ISIS. It was not about how we hold Bashar al-Assad accountable for the slaughter of hundreds and thousands of civilians. No, instead, the meeting focused on criticizing Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East. I am new around here, but I understand that’s how the Council has operated, month after month, for decades.

“I’m here to say the United States will not turn a blind eye to this anymore. I am here to underscore the ironclad support of the United States for Israel. I’m here to emphasize the United States is determined to stand up to the U.N.’s anti-Israel bias. We will never repeat the terrible mistake of Resolution 2334 and allow one-sided Security Council resolutions to condemn Israel. Instead, we will push for action on the real threats we face in the Middle East.

“We stand for peace. We support a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict that is negotiated directly between the two parties, as President Trump reiterated in his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday. The outrageously biased resolutions from the Security Council and the General Assembly only make peace harder to attain by discouraging one of the parties from going to the negotiating table.

“Incredibly, the U.N. Department of Political Aff airs has an entire division devoted to Palestinian aff airs. Imagine that. There is no division devoted to illegal missile launches from North Korea. There is no division devoted to the world’s number one state-sponsor of terror, Iran. The prejudiced approach to Israeli-Palestinian issues does the peace process no favors. And it bears no relationship to the reality of the world around us.



“The double standards are breathtaking. Just a few days ago, the United States sought unsuccessfully to have the Security Council condemn a terrorist attack to Israel, where the terrorist opened fi re on people waiting for a bus and then stabbed others. The Security Council would not hesitate to condemn an attack like that in any other country. But not for Israel. The statement was blocked. And that’s downright shameful.

“Israel exists in a region where others call for its complete destruction and in a world where anti-Semitism is on the rise. These are threats that we should discuss at the United Nations as we continue working toward a comprehensive agreement that would end the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict.

“But outside of the U.N., there is some good news. Israel’s place in the world is changing. Israel is building up new diplomatic relationships. More and more countries recognize how much Israel contributes to the world. They are recognizing that Israel is a beacon of stability in a troubled region, and

that Israel is at the forefront of innovation, entrepreneurship, and technological discovery.

“It is the U.N.’s anti-Israel bias that is long overdue for change. The United States will not hesitate to speak out against these biases in defense of our friend and ally, Israel.

“I will say that I think we saw maybe a slightly diff erent tone in the meeting, but we will have to see how it goes.

“Thank you.”

The Sidelining of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Review of Two Books“Of all the policy myths that have kept us from making real progress in the Middle East, one stands out for its impact and longevity: the idea that if only the Palestinian confl ict were solved, all the other Middle East confl icts would melt away.”

--Dennis Ross and David Makovsky in Myths, Illusions, and Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East.

Until the onset of the “Arab Spring” in late 2010, most journalists, academics and think-tank experts on the Near

East shared one major assumption: The Arab-Israeli confl ict, and its Israeli-Palestinian subset, were central to the region’s woes. While few

“I am here to underscore the ironclad support of the United States for Israel. I’m here to emphasize the United States is determined to stand up to the U.N.’s anti-Israel bias.”

“I am here to underscore the ironclad support of the United States for Israel. I’m here to emphasize the United States is determined to stand up to the U.N.’s anti-Israel bias.”

PHOTO: AP IMAGES



maintained that Israel alone was responsible for the sorry state of the neighborhood, the reigning orthodoxy dictated that securing an Arab-Israeli peace was the most important key to solving the region’s problems.

No more. The six years since an obscure Tunisian vegetable vendor self-immolated have revolutionized views about the Middle East. The shift of the Arab-Israeli confl ict from the center to the margins of thinking about the region is evident in two recent books that spend little time on the Arab-Israeli dispute. Instead, they tackle what today are understood to be the Middle East’s two biggest challenges: galloping Islamic sectarianism (the Sunni-Shia divide) and the rise of radical Islamic jihadism, most notably the Islamic State (ISIS).

Geneive Abdo argues in The New Sectarianism: the Arab Uprisings and the Rebirth of the Shi’a–Sunni Divide (Oxford University Press: 2017) that “the recent uprisings [in the Middle East] have brought religious identity to a place of new importance in Arab societies” (page 6). Abdo sees hatred between the followers of Sunni and of Shia Islam growing, and the infl uence of moderate voices within both of these sects dissipating.

Among Sunnis, the strengthening of the extremes means that Islamists who compete in elections (Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, for example) are now overshadowed by Salafi sts, who reject all compromise with political modernity and aspire to establish an Islamic Caliphate—by force if necessary. ISIS and al-Qaida, and their many far-fl ung franchises, are the most violent and unbending examples of the Salafi st phenomenon, which is infecting even mainstream Sunni attitudes.

In the Shia community, Iranian Supreme

Leader Ali Khamenei, who supports theocratic dictatorship and exporting the Iranian revolution, has more infl uence than the more moderate, and in comparison, relatively apolitical followers of Iraqi Shia Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. Radical Iranians now call the shots in Iraq, and are actively planning to elect one of their own to replace the octogenarian Sistani as the top Shia cleric.

Furthermore, the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah previously styled itself as the vanguard of pan-Islamic and Arab “resistance” to Israel; without abandoning that claim, it now devotes far more attention to intra-Muslim confl ict. Hezbollah today is essentially acting as an Iranian-controlled militia that defends Tehran’s interests throughout the Arab world, most conspicuously in Syria and Iraq. Hezbollah’s 2006 war with Israel temporarily made the group the darling of the Muslim world, Sunni and Shia alike. No longer. An editor of a pro-Hezbollah newspaper recently admitted, “for the Lebanese Sunnis, the Shia have replaced Israel as the number one

Both Abdo and Wood illustrate just how unrelated the clash of Jewish and Palestinian nationalisms is to the major problems of today’s Near East. For regional peace, resolving the Arab-Israeli confl ict would be the proverbial key to an empty room.

Both Abdo and Wood illustrate just how unrelated the clash of Jewish and Palestinian nationalisms is to the major problems of today’s Near East. For regional peace, resolving the Arab-Israeli confl ict would be the proverbial key to an empty room.

PHOTO: AP IMAGES



enemy” (page 106).

When Abdo asked a member of Syrian President Assad’s Allawite sect (which self-identifi es as Shia) what the real cause of the region’s unrest was, he replied without hesitation that the Salafi sts—not the Jews or the Israelis—were at fault, as they “are instruments of the West and serve to eliminate the Shia” (page 97). Thus, just as Sunnis now identify the Shia with Hezbollah and Supreme Leader Khamenei, so too do the Shia tend to lump together the Sunnis as violent jihadist Salafi sts in the mold of ISIS.

Abdo—a Lebanese American journalist with no particular brief for Israel—concludes her book noting that the Arab-Israeli confl ict has

been sidelined; instead the divisions between Islam’s two main sects are driving regional confl ict: “One, albeit highly striking, marker of just how deep this realignment has been within Arab societies can be seen in the fact that the one-time rallying cry across the Muslim world—that of ’resistance’ to Israeli occupation of Palestine—has far less currency in Arab political life today than in the past. Instead it is the sectarian fault line between the Sunni and the Shia and the identity politics that grows out of that divide that are now the key mobilizing forces” (page 150).

Unlike Abdo, Graeme Wood’s The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State (Random House: 2017) does not unveil a new template for understanding the Near East. He limits himself to ISIS, seeking to answer two basic questions about the Sunni jihadist group: Does ISIS believe what it says? Is it Islamic? (His answer to both: “Yes”). The group’s special animadversion to the Shia is already on display in Wood’s “Note on Terminology” where he explains that for ISIS, “every Shia is an apostate and must be killed” (page xiii). Wood describes his discussions with a wide array of ISIS militants, none of whom have much to say about Israel or the Jews. This is not because they are philo-Semitic (one cheerfully told Wood “I hate all Jews and Christians, anyone who is not a Muslim”), but rather because their goal of reviving the Caliphate and defeating both the Shias and all non-Salafi st Sunnis leads them in other directions (page 17). Thus, “Yahya the American” spews venom primarily against “clerics of disbelief” (page 171) and an ISIS sheikh rants about overthrowing apostate Muslim rulers in Turkey and Jordan—not Israel (page 184).

Israel and the Jews play a minor role in ISIS’s



bloodthirsty apocalyptic theology. The group envisions the main end-time battles as against “Rum” (Rome), which ISIS identifi es as “the West”—and the armies of a shadowy Antichrist fi gure. Wood speculates that ISIS’s eschatology “may be one reason that the Islamic State spends less time complaining about Israel and the Jews than any other Jihadist organization” (page 263). He also recognizes that ISIS’s intense hatred for everyone and everything living in the here and now (not in its own extremist mold) contributes to the neglect of the Jewish state. Why concentrate on puny Israel when there are millions upon millions of apostate Sunni and Shia Muslims closer at hand to slaughter fi rst?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR ISRAEL?

Both Abdo and Wood illustrate just how unrelated the clash of Israeli and Palestinian nationalisms is to the major problems of today’s Middle East. If by some miracle Israel and its neighbors all made peace tomorrow, internecine violence in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen would proceed apace, as would Iran’s campaign of regional subversion and ISIS’s quest to murder as many Shia and Sunni “apostates,” and American and European “infi dels,” as possible. For regional peace, resolving the Arab-Israeli confl ict would be the proverbial key to an empty room.

Unfortunately, “de-linkage” does not operate reciprocally: Although the Arab-Israeli confl ict has little impact on the Middle East’s many problems, the region’s maladies directly aff ect Israel’s prospects for a secure peace with its neighbors. Israel has already unilaterally evacuated two strategic swathes of territory: southern Lebanon in 2000 and the Gaza Strip in 2005. In both cases radical Islamist groups—

Shia Hezbollah in Lebanon and Sunni Hamas in Gaza—fi lled the vacuum. And this was before the region began to disintegrate following the “Arab Spring.”

Because sectarian, Islamist, and Iranian violence and aggression will continue to buff et the Near East for many years to come, Israel must prepare for worst case scenarios. These could include attempts by Iran or Salafi st-assisted Islamist terrorists to seize control of any land Jerusalem evacuates in the West Bank; alternatively, Hezbollah could pummel Israel with tens of thousands of rockets and missiles. Although fi ghting the Jewish state may no longer be the extremists’ chief concern, they are not reconciled to its existence. These groups



will likely exploit any Israeli weaknesses that emerge. Accordingly, Israel must seek iron-clad security guarantees if it decides to withdraw from territory abutting its heartland. The regional chaos that Abdo and Wood so eff ectively describe is clearly not Israel’s fault, but Israel must factor the impact of this maelstrom into its diplomatic and security calculations.

Washington Brief: A Recap of News From the Hill and BeyondHOUSE STRENGTHENS U.S. SUPPORT FOR VITAL ISRAEL DEFENSE PROGRAMS.

On March 8, the House of Representatives bolstered its support of U.S.-Israel missile defense cooperation in the Fiscal Year 2017 defense appropriations bill.

The House appropriated $600.7 million for U.S.-Israel missile defense programs. These funds will help Israel defend its citizens against rocket and missile threats, and contribute to America’s missile defense programs. In addition, the House included $42.5 million for U.S.-Israel anti-tunnel cooperation to continue developing technologies to locate and destroy terrorist tunnel networks.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY), and House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee

Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) and Ranking Member Peter Visclosky (D-IN), ensured that these critical programs were included in the legislation.

ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH TOP U.S. OFFICIALS TO REAFFIRM BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP

On March 7, Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman traveled to Washington to meet with top U.S. offi cials, including Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

Lieberman and Pence emphasized during their meeting the “unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel and reaffi rmed the United States’ commitment to upholding Israel’s qualitative military edge.”

They also discussed “the need to counter threats posed by Iran and its proxies, as well as terrorist organizations,” and “ways in which our militaries can work even more closely together to address shared threats.”

During a meeting with his American counterpart at the Pentagon, the Israeli defense chief called for an “active America” in the Middle East. Lieberman and Mattis also discussed a range of regional issues including Iran, Syria and Lebanon, and praised U.S.-Israel security ties.

On March 6, U.S. European Command Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti traveled to Israel on a multi-day trip to discuss regional and local issues with top Israel defense offi cials and strengthen military ties between the United States and Israel.

He met with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Gadi Eizenkot and President Reuven Rivlin, observed an IDF fi eld exercise,



visited a captured Hamas terror tunnel and toured the Arrow Missile Defense system headquarters.

“The visit reinforces the strong and enduring U.S.-Israel defense relationship and continues the cooperation between the two militaries,” said the IDF.

GREENBLATT, NETANYAHU MEET TO DISCUSS PEACE PROCESS

On March 14, U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt met in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

After the meeting, the two offi cials issued a joint statement in which they “reaffi rmed the joint commitment of both Israel and the United States to advance a genuine and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians that strengthens the security of Israel and enhances stability in the region.”

Greenblatt also reiterated President Donald Trump’s “commitment to Israel’s security and to the eff ort to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve a lasting peace through direct negotiations,” and stressed “how important enabling the growth of the Palestinian economy and improving the quality of life for Palestinians are to President Trump.”

Netanyahu expressed his belief that “under President Trump’s leadership, it is possible to advance peace between Israel and all its neighbors, including the Palestinians,” and that he “looks forward to working closely with President Trump to achieve that goal.”

The prime minister also “assured Mr. Greenblatt

that he was fully committed to broadening prosperity for Palestinians and sees it as a means of bolstering the prospects for peace.”

Additionally, the two engaged in discussions “relating to settlement construction in the hope of working out an approach that is consistent with the goal of advancing peace and security.”

Later in the day, Greenblatt traveled to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The American envoy stated that he and Abbas “had a positive, far-ranging exchange about the current situation” and discussed “how to make progress toward peace, building capacity of Palestinian security forces & stopping incitement.”

SENATE COMMITTEE ADDRESSES IRAN THREAT

On March 9, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing to receive testimony from Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of U.S. Central Command.

In his opening remarks, Gen. Votel stated: “We are dealing also with the range of malign activities perpetrated by Iran, and its proxies operating in the region. It is my view that Iran poses the greatest long-term threat to stability for this part of the world.”

When asked by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) to describe Iran’s behavior following the Iran nuclear deal, Gen. Votel noted Iran “has not been helpful to anything that I can see going on across the region.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) used the hearing to highlight Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests and harassment of U.S. Naval vessels. General Votel agreed with Sen.



Blumenthal that Iran’s actions required a response from the United States. “I think we should use a combination of both diplomatic and other security-related tools here, economic tools, to address this concern,” said Votel.

NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES INITIATIVE TO DEEPEN COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL

On March 5, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) announced the launch of the New York-Israel Commission, a 22-member panel dedicated to expanding trade and building partnerships between New York and Israel, deepening educational and cultural exchanges, and facilitating security cooperation between Israeli and New York law enforcement agencies.

Cuomo made the announcement while on an economic development and unity trip to Israel. “New York and Israel have always shared a deep cultural, social and economic bond and I am proud that we are working to make our partnership stronger than ever before,” he said. “[The commission] will help continue to strengthen our relationship with the Jewish community and reaffi rm our commitment to Israel, and I look forward to seeing the impacts of this partnership resonate across the state and the globe for years to come.”

Israel is an important trading partner for New York: It is the fi fth largest export market for New York products. In 2016, New York exports to Israel totaled $4.89 billion.

In addition to deepening economic ties, the commission will support academic and cultural exchanges between Israeli and New York students. It will also connect U.S. and Israeli law enforcement agencies to share best practices on counter-terrorism operations.

“New York and Israel are more than just major economic partners—we share a bond that transcends borders,” said Commission Co-Chair Linda Mirels. “The New York-Israel Commission will work to strengthen the ties that bind us, as well as open new doors to economic growth, expand cultural exchanges and ensure our best and brightest continue to advance cutting-edge research and technology.”

UNITED STATES CRITICIZES U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL’S ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS

The U.S. government recently criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) due to the body’s “obsession with Israel.”

“In order for this Council to have any credibility, let alone success, it must move away from its unbalanced and unproductive positions,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Aff airs Erin Barclay on March 1. “As we consider our future engagements, my government will be considering the Council’s actions with an eye toward reform to more fully achieve the Council’s mission to protect and promote human rights.”

Citing ongoing human rights abuses in Syria and North Korea, Barclay condemned the UNHCR’s anti-Israel bias. “The obsession with Israel...is the largest threat to this council’s credibility,” she said. “When it comes to human rights no country should be free from scrutiny, but neither should any democratic country be regularly subjected to unfair, unbalanced and unfounded bias.”

On Feb. 16, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley similarly criticized anti-Israel bias within the United Nations system and pledged to



defend Israel against one-sided measures: “I am here to underscore the ironclad support of the United States for Israel. I’m here to emphasize the United States is determined to stand up to the U.N.’s anti-Israel bias…The United States will not hesitate to speak out against these biases in defense of our friend and ally, Israel.”

CHINESE COMPANY TO PAY UNITED STATES LARGE PENALTY FOLLOWING SANCTIONS VIOLATIONS

On March 7, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE Corp. agreed to pay a combined $1.19 billion in civil and criminal penalties after pleading guilty to violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea, and impeding a federal investigation. If approved by a federal judge, the penalties would be the largest fi ne ever levied in an export control case.

According to U.S. offi cials, ZTE conspired to acquire technology from the United States, incorporate it into ZTE equipment and ultimately ship the equipment to Iran. As part of the settlement, ZTE has agreed to pay a penalty of $661 million to Commerce’s Bureau of Industry Security, with $300 million suspended during a seven-year probationary period to deter future violations.

“We are putting the world on notice: the games are over,” said Secretary Ross. “Those who fl out our economic sanctions and export control laws will not go unpunished—they will suff er the harshest of consequences. Under President Trump’s leadership, we will be aggressively enforcing strong trade policies with the dual purpose of protecting American national security and protecting American workers…

This penalty is an example of the extraordinary powers the Department of Commerce will use to vigorously protect the interests of the United States.”

While under investigation, ZTE continued to participate in these sanctionable transactions and knowingly made false statements to U.S. investigators.

“The highest levels of management within the company approved the scheme,” said Department of Justice National Security Division Head Mary McCord. The company also “repeatedly lied to and misled federal investigators.”

“Despite ZTE’s repeated attempts to thwart the investigation, the dogged determination of investigators uncovered damning evidence of an orchestrated, systematic scheme to violate U.S. export controls by supplying equipment to sanctioned destinations,” said Douglas Hassebrock, director of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Offi ce of Export Enforcement, which spearheaded the investigation.

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