Yesterday was day three of the Christians United for Israel Washington Summit, and words cannot express the tremendous excitement here! (As you may know, I run CUFI’s Washington, DC, lobbying office.) Christians United for Israel was founded by Pastor John Hagee and is the largest pro-Israel organization in America, with more than four million members.

Attendees heard from key pro-Israel leaders in Congress. Among them were Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), the lead sponsors of the Taylor Force Act, a top legislative priority of CUFI.

The law, named after an American veteran who was killed by a Palestinian terrorist, cuts off taxpayer funding to the Palestinian Authority as long as it pays stipends to terrorists who target innocent Israelis. CUFI honored Taylor’s parents, Stuart and Robbi Force, for their courage and sacrifice.

Before the thousands of attendees headed to Capitol Hill to meet with their elected representatives, I had the opportunity to address the summit and offer some words of encouragement. 

I told attendees that the Washington swamp was crawling with lobbyists representing every imaginable industry. And every day they are knocking on doors and greasing palms hoping to get something, some tweak in the tax policy or some regulation that will benefit them.

In stark contrast, the men and women of CUFI come to Washington, DC, and meet with their elected leaders out of love — love for Israel and the Jewish people.

They do it so that other families won’t have to experience the tragedy that Taylor Force’s family experienced. They do it so that the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors can live in peace and so the world will never again witness another Holocaust.

Honoring Israel

Monday night, 5,000 Christians gathered in Washington, DC, for a tremendous Night to Honor Israel, celebrating the modern state of Israel’s 70th birthday. We were privileged to hear from Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Not surprisingly, Ambassador Dermer had a lot to say about President Trump’s commitment to Israel. Below are some excerpts of his outstanding speech.

Last year when I spoke at this conference, America was still part of the nuclear deal with Iran and the U.S. still had not recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. What a difference a year makes! What a difference President Trump has made…

That nuclear deal with Iran was a disaster for Israel… When he was a candidate, Donald Trump railed against the nuclear agreement… But as you all know, in politics, talk is cheap. At the end of the day, it’s actions that count…

President Trump could have kicked this can down the road. He didn’t… Instead, President Trump did what he promised to do… And last May, President Trump terminated America’s involvement in the deal and restored U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Thank God! And thank you, President Trump! Thank you for ending the shameful policy of appeasing the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism … [and] for standing up to an Iranian regime that vows and works to destroy the one and only Jewish state…

Ladies and gentlemen, while withdrawing from the nuclear deal was the most important decision President Trump has made, it was not the most historic one. That came on December 6th, 2017, when he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Less than six months later, on May 14th, President Trump … moved the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Thank you, President Trump! … Thank you for fulfilling a promise many had made but none had kept…

I don’t know if the Persians remember Cyrus the Great. But Jews do. He is inscribed in our eternal book and has been carried for millennia in our people’s collective memory. So too, President Trump’s decision will never be forgotten…

But today, I have the privilege to stand here as Israel’s Ambassador to the United States not only to hope for Next Year in Jerusalem but to thank President Trump for what America did This Year in Jerusalem…

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley told the audience about her battles to defend America’s interests at the United Nations. Frequently, those battles involve defending our ally Israel from false attacks and smears. Haley said:

At the UN, some well-meaning countries are constantly in search of consensus. They frequently invoke the principle of neutrality. At times, there is virtue in working together with other countries to form consensus. But that principle can be taken too far — and it often is.

The United States has no moral duty to be neutral between right and wrong; on the contrary, we have a moral duty to take sides, even when that means standing alone.

Standing with Israel against the radical Islamic supremacists who seek to delegitimize and destroy the Jewish state is always the right thing to do!

The Left’s Double Standard

The Left’s double standard was on full display as pundits and politicians reacted to President Trump’s tweet to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

In one breath, the Left attacks Trump for being weak on Russia, even accusing him of treason. And in the next breath, it attacks Trump for being too aggressive with Iran. Not only is this utterly absurd (Rouhani threatened us), it demonstrates the media’s ignorance.

Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. It is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers. The president should be tough on Iran.

But Iran is essentially allied with Russia. It has bought sophisticated weapons systems from Russia. Russia is building nuclear power plants in Iran. Iran occupies much of Syria because Russia tolerates it.

By getting tough on Iran, Trump is being tough with Russia.

Faith Under Fire

The State Department launched a three-day Ministerial (a conference of government officials) devoted to the promotion of religious freedom around the world. According to a press release, this is the “first-ever” such Ministerial hosted by the State Department.

Sam Brownback, ambassador-at-large for religious freedom, addressed delegations from more than 80 nations. “Religious freedom really, truly is for everyone,” Brownback said. “It’s a right given by God, and your presence is an encouragement to people of faith around the world that someone cares about their plight.”

In his remarks, Ambassador Brownback raised the unjust detention of Pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey. “This cannot be allowed to continue,” he said. “The lack of religious freedom anywhere is a threat to peace and prosperity everywhere.”

As a Trump-appointee to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, I will be participating in several events this week associated with the Ministerial.

This first-ever conference is just one more example of the Trump/Pence administration’s commitment to defend religious liberty here at home and overseas.