23
(D-NY), were unable or unwilling to block her
appointment.
The PA has refused to stop paying salaries
to terrorists and their families, which increase
with the brutality of the crimes committed
against Jewish victims. As PA President Mahmoud
Abbas begins the 15th year of his fouryear
term, the PA has also refused to meet
with senior U.S. diplomats. President Trump
has responded by curtailing discretionary U.S.
aid, and the PA refused additional U.S. aid
in an effort to escape the jurisdiction of U.S.
courts when American terror victims (or their
families) seek civil remedies for the deaths
and injuries resulting from the PA’s terrorist
actions. One controversial area is U.S. aid that
supports security cooperation between the PA
and Israel. ZOA believes there should be no
blank checks to the PA, but rather of course
Israel itself should choose the correct level of
security cooperation.
BDS and Iran
BDS against Israel is intrinsically a scheme
to destroy Israel by alternative means. It will
fail, and everywhere it is promoted, it reveals
its adherents as extremists. Much of the legislative
activity against BDS is at the state level,
where individual states have passed laws making
it impossible for a business to contract
with the state if they are boycotting Israel.
At the federal level, technical legislation to
ensure that federal laws do not conflict with
these state efforts is the focus of the current
battle. Our opponents are raising baseless
First Amendment objections to these efforts.
In the first decisive legal ruling, a federal judge
in Arkansas recently upheld that state’s anti
BDS law.
Iran has not yet been stopped from proceeding
with its plans to develop nuclear weapons,
and ZOA continues to push for congressional
actions to make this more difficult. President
Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo, along with National Security Advisor
John Bolton, are doing great work on this
challenging issue, but new congressional sanctions
are needed as well. ZOA is doing all we
can to keep the focus on Iran and its nefarious
activity. Nothing that happens in Lebanon,
Syria or Gaza is really independent of the evil
plans of the Iranian regime.
Nothing that happens in Lebanon,
Syria or Gaza is really independent of
the evil plans of the Iranian regime.
Community Affairs
The ZOA’s Government Relations department
also continues to focus on our other regular
legislative priorities, including fighting
for Jewish students on our college campuses.
We continue to be vigilant in educating Congress
about the ongoing Arab war against Israel,
and communicating ZOA’s insights and
reactions to the news of the day.
In addition to dealing with our elected officials,
the Government Relations department
interacts with other Jewish and Christian
pro-Israel organizations in D.C., and other
American Jewish groups. Our annual ZOA
Capitol Hill Advocacy Mission will take place
in June this year. We also work closely with
our regional directors throughout the U.S.
and Israel; we participate in meetings, public
forums and policy discussions with foreign
policy and political professionals, and continue
to engage in print and broadcast media
opportunities to spread the word on ZOA’s
issues. ZOA’s Government Relations department
director has also visited ZOA chapters
to give talks and educate our members on the
situation in Washington.