Statement from Josh Block, President and CEO of The Israel Project on the Iranian nuclear deal
I received the following statement by email from Josh Block, the President and CEO of The Israel Project.
Today's announcement of this nuclear agreement with Iran is a
realization of the deepest fears and the most dire predictions of
skeptics who have, for two years, been warning against exactly this
outcome -- a bad deal that both enriches this tyrannical regime and
fails to strip Iran of nuclear weapons capability. The deal will give
Iran billions in cash and sanctions relief to fuel its terror and war
machines, shred the hard-won sanctions regime beyond repair, and enable
the Iranians to get away with hiding the full extent of their nuclear
work, infrastructure, and know-how. It will not have an enforceable
inspections regime or a workable way to re-impose pressure on Iran when
it cheats.
And then, after just over a decade, most of this deal will
expire, and Iran will be allowed to have a full-blown nuclear program-- a
screw's turn away from a nuclear weapon.
It is important to ask: if a 3-month nuclear breakout by Iran is a
problem today, why are we giving the Mullah’s in Tehran hundreds of
billions of dollars, all so Iran will have a zero break out time,
according to President Obama himself, in just over a decade?
Iran’s repressive regime needs economic relief far more than we
need an agreement by these terms. Prior to this round of talks in
September 2013, Iran was six-months from a balance of payments crisis
and total economic calamity. Rather than leveraging that pressure to
stop Iran and dismantle its program, President Obama relieved it
prematurely in order to secure an agreement that will midwife an era of
nuclear terror and tyranny, at the expense of freedom, human rights, and
American national security.
At the beginning of these talks, President Obama promised
Congress and the American people that he would secure a good deal or
walk away. He couldn't bring home a good deal and he couldn't bring
himself to walk away. Instead, he walked away from every key position
demanding the shuttering or dismantlement of Iran's military nuclear
infrastructure -- including their fortified enrichment bunker, buried
under a mountain, on a military base, where Iran will be permitted to
continue enriching and developing its ability to spin faster and more
advanced centrifuges.
To believe this is a good deal, you have to trust Iran. The American people, and their lawmakers, rightly, do not.
Over the next 60 days, Congress will review this accord,
acknowledge that the President has, unfortunately, not lived up to the
promises that he made, and instead delivered a deal that will make
America, our children, and the world less safe.
The American people deserve better. Our negotiators can do better. Congress must insist on it, and reject this bad deal.
Amen.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Iran Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran sanctions regime, Iranian nuclear threat, Obama's legacy, P 5+1, The Israel Project
Josh Block to head The Israel Project
Former AIPAC spokesman Josh Block is going to be
heading up The Israel Project.
Block, 39, will take over the reigns in September, replacing Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, who resigned several months ago to start her own public relations firm.
The educational organization provides facts and analysis about Israel, the U.S.-Israel relationship and Middle East policy to the media, policymakers and the public. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has an office in Jerusalem.
Block will report to the board of directors, chaired by Lennert J. Leader.
"The Israel Project is thrilled to have found its next CEO and president. Josh is a gifted leader with strong credentials whose record of pro-Israel advocacy in many different arenas will provide TIP with exactly what it needs," said Leader in a statement.
"Josh's skills and his background - in policy and strategic communications, government, and the nonprofit world - make him the right person to lead the organization to even greater success," he said.
"The Israel Project is a global leader in providing facts, unique research and policy insight to the media, policy makers, diplomats, and the general public, on issues vital to the U.S.-Israel relationship, Middle East policy and Israel's place in the world," said Block. "I am excited to be joining TIP at a moment of great consequence for Israel, the Middle East and for America, globally and in the region."
"I congratulate The Israel Project on selecting a true leader and trusted policy thinker, Josh Block, as its new CEO and president," said Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.), a member of the organization's bipartisan board of advisors.
"Josh is among the most respected voices in the pro-Israel community and a real fighter on issues vital to all Americans who care about a strong and secure Jewish state of Israel. I wish TIP well under its new leadership and in its work to strengthen the US-Israel relationship."
Joining Rep. Rothman in welcoming Block was Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), also a member of TIP's board of advisers. "I congratulate The Israel Project on selecting a new CEO and president to lead this important organization into the months and years ahead," said Kirk. "Our work together to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability has never been more important."
Congratulations and best of luck to Josh!
Labels: Josh Block, The Israel Project
Progressive first 'Jewish' organizations losing donations
YidWithLid writes that Jewish political organizations that place
progressivism before Jewish values are experiencing a significant drop in donations.
Two Jewish Organizations that that put progressive politics before their mission, the ADL and The AJC have seen their donations plummet during the past five years. Apparently the money is shifting toward single-issue organizations especially Israel advocacy groups. The Anti-Defamation League has lost more than $20 million in annual contributions over the past five years, going from more than $73 million in 2006 down to $51 million in 2010, according to its latest tax filings. That is a 30% fall-off, before taking inflation into account.
Similarly, the American Jewish Committee, which brought in $62 million in donations in 2005, raised only $38 million in 2010. In the last half of 2009 — the only part of that year the group reported due to a shift from fiscal to calendar year — the group raised $10.6 million in donations.
The excuse given by the the Institute for Jewish and Community research (based in San Francisco-'nuff said) is that younger donors want to have more control of their dollars so they are moving their cash to single issue-oriented organizations.
The organizations on the rise include AIPAC, The Israel Project, and Stand With Us all Israel advocacy groups.
Read the whole thing.
Heh.
Labels: ADL, AIPAC, American Jewish Committee, StandWithUs, The Israel Project
Israel more popular in the US than Obama and Congress
A new survey finds that support for Israel in the United States is increasing. The support is increasing from surprising sources: Democratic supporters of Barack Hussein Obama, and 'opinion elites' - those who are both wealthy and engaged in foreign policy.
Support for Israel is higher than approval of Congress or Obama. And a majority of Americans have figured out that the 'Palestinians' are extremists who are not interested in peace.
So-called “opinion elites” and Democratic voters drove the shift, which pegged American voter support for Israel around the 60 percent mark in the survey conducted last week.
The poll demonstrated that support for Israel among President Barack Obama’s Democratic voters was on the rise, and that the majority of Americans believed that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was more committed to peace than his Palestinian counterpart.
Support for Israel among Democrats has risen by 10 percentage points in the past six months, while support among independent voters and Republicans has remained steady.
The current support for Israel reflects the highest rate since 2009 among polls conducted for the Israel Project. “Opinion elites” – responders who display high engagement in foreign policy, education and income – showed an even more pronounced level of support, exceeding the general sample by 7 percentage points.
...
Respondents characterized Israel as “one of our strongest allies” (68%) and a “democracy” (66%) while rejecting the notion that Israel is “extremist” (61%) or “responsible for the violence” (65%).
Over half of those polled – 56% – consider Palestinians to be “extremist” and an “obstacle to peace,” and 55% do not consider Palestinians to be “victims.”
The voters polled cited women’s rights, freedom of speech, voting, freedom of religion, and the threat of terrorism (24%) as the top reasons they are proud of America’s strong alliance with Israel – although none of those reasons appeared as clearly dominant.
...
Days before Obama, in a conversation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, was caught expressing frustration with Netanyahu’s efforts on the peace process, a majority of American voters (60%) said that Netanyahu and Israel are committed to peace, while 52% say that President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are not committed to that end.
The poll was conducted by The Israel Project.
Labels: American support for Israel, The Israel Project
More 'Palestinians' dislike Hamas, but that doesn't mean that they'll live in peace with Israel
A new survey done by The Israel Project shows more disapproval of Hamas, but disapproval of Hamas does not improve the
prospects for peace.
According to the poll, 56 percent of Gazans and 53% of West Bank Palestinians think negatively of Hamas in comparison to 28% and 40% respectively who have positive views. The numbers are also down from the 35% and 44% respectively who had favorable views of Hamas in July 2009.
The change comes after the Turkish flotilla incident in May, where a deadly confrontation between the IDF and Turkish civilians trying to break the Gaza blockade eventually led to Israel changing its embargo on Gaza to let in many more goods. The pollsters interpreted the results as a sign that the local population didn’t give Hamas credit for the change in Israel’s approach.
Gazans also equally blamed Israel (46%) and both Israel and Hamas (46%) for their situation. In comparison, while those in the West Bank blamed their own leaders as much as Gazans blamed Hamas (both at 6%), West Bank Palestinians overwhelming blamed Israel (62%) while only 19% blamed both.
Palestinians in both areas dislike Iran more than like it, with 49% in Gaza and 58% in the West Bank having unfavorable attitudes versus 39% and 35% respectively who have favorable attitudes towards them. While Gazans' negative attitudes toward Iran grew from the 44% who had negative views last year, the approval rate also increased from 31% in 2009.
...
Overall, 54% of Palestinians thought peace with Israel was possible with only 43% saying there was no hope, and 61% said they approved of continuing talks with Israel while only 33% disapproved.
Additionally, 60% said they accept a two-state solution with only 36% saying they don’t. However, 60% of those surveyed said they agreed with the statement that “the real goal should be to start with two states but then move to it all being one Palestinian state” with just 30% backing the statement that “the best goal is for a two-state solution that keeps two states living side by side.”
In addition, 56% said the Palestinians would once again have to resort to armed struggle, with only 38% agreeing that violence only hurts the Palestinians and the days of armed struggle are over.
That confirms what most Israelis believe: the 'Palestinian state' is just part of the 'phased plan.' There is nothing for Israel to gain by agreeing to it.
Labels: Palestinian state, phased plan, The Israel Project
