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AIPAC on Iran sanctions: Act now

By Ami Eden · March 10, 2010

AIPAC leaders, who tend to operate behind the scenes, are going public in a big way -- with implied criticism of three presidents. By name.

And just in time for the organization's annual policy conference, which starts March 21.

Here's the letter that they have sent to all members of Congress:

March 9, 2010

Dear Congressman XXXX,

We are writing to every member of Congress to express outrage at the U.S. government's continuing relationship with dozens of companies doing
business with Iran. These ongoing financial dealings undermine longstanding American efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.

As the New York Times reported on Sunday, the federal government during the past decade has awarded $107 billion in contracts and grants to more
than 70 companies that are doing business in Iran. More than two-thirds of these contracts have gone to companies involved in Iran's energy industry despite American law to discourage such involvement.

The time has long since passed this policy to change. Unfortunately, as the Times points out, three successive American administrations have
failed to enforce the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, which mandates U.S. sanctions on firms investing more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector. While Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama may have discouraged some investment in Iran through their rhetoric, the United States has sent the American and international business community a contradictory message by failing to enforce the law.

Despite publicly acknowledged investments by several companies of hundreds of millions of dollars in Iran's energy sector, the U.S. Government has
inexplicably failed to make even one determination of an investment of $20 million during the course of the past decade. Yet, throughout this entire
time, Iran has pursued a nuclear weapons capability, flouting its international obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and presenting the international community with a growing, and now urgent, threat.

As Iran continues to reject U.S.-European engagement efforts and to defy U.N. Security Council resolutions requiring that it halt its illicit uranium enrichment efforts, the United States must take action now.

We call on Congress to:

1.  Investigate why successive administrations have failed to implement
the law by failing to determine what companies have invested in the
Iranian energy sector;

2.   Enact -- without delay -- the Iran sanctions legislation currently before Congress, which, inter alia, contains provisions barring federal contracts
to companies which are investing in Iran's energy sector or providing sensitive technology, and their parents or subsidiaries who are engaged in
such activity;

3.  Demand that the U.S. Government enforce existing sanctions law and impose crippling new sanctions on Iran.

In addition to these actions, we hope you will join with us in urging the administration to impose tough new multilateral sanctions with like-minded
states without delay while continuing to pursue the widest possible sanctions through the U.N. Security Council.

Sincerely,

David Victor, President

Howard Kohr, Executive Director

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And what about the Palestinian incitement?

By Ami Eden · March 10, 2010

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden sparked headlines Tuesday in Jerusalem by denouncing an Israeli decision to authorize new housing starts in eastern Jerusalem as "undermining the trust" that he needs to advance peace while in the region.

Several left-wing Jewish groups joined Biden in criticzing the move, saying that it would undermine the start of so-called Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks.

Ori Nir, Americans for Peace Now spokesman:

Announcing plans for East Jerusalem construction is a perfect example of what Israel cannot be doing if it is acting in good faith and wants to be taken seriously as a partner in negotiations. This announcement is a slap in the face of not only the Palestinians, the Arab states, and the Obama Administration, but of the entire peace effort.

Hadar Susskind, J Street's director of policy and strategy:

J Street joins Vice President Biden in condemning Israel's announcement of new East Jerusalem construction that only serves to hinder Middle East peace efforts, particularly as the Israelis and Palestinians begin proximity talks. As Vice President Biden said, this is "precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now."

In response to claims that they are picking on Israel by focusing so heavily on settlements, the White House and left-wing Jewish groups often counter by saying that they are equally concerns about areas where the Palestinians need to do better, particularly on ending incitement.

Well, it turns out that the Palestinians have their own timing issues: On Thursday, according to Palestinian Media Watch, the Palestinian Authority is planning to go through with plans to name a public square after Dalal Mughrabi, who led a 1978 bus hijacking in which 37 Israelis, including 12 children, were killed.

Thursday is the 32nd anniversary of the attack. Biden will still be in town. So it'll be interesting to see if he wieghs in, as he did on the Israeli housing starts.

Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, has more:

The record shows that within the PA, few opportunities are missed to glorify a terrorist, celebrate a suicide bomber, or inculcate Palestinian youth into worshipping cold-blooded murderers. The record also shows that all aspects of PA life -- the schools, youth movements, sports teams, newspapers, TV, even the names of streets -- are made vehicles for honoring and praising terrorism. This in turn breeds more terrorists and bloodshed.

The ZOA has long maintained that Mahmoud Abbas, the PA that he heads and the Fatah party that controls it and which he co-founded, are unreconstructed supporters of terrorism and not genuine moderates and peace makers. In fact, it is incumbent upon all civilized people to call Abbas and Fayyad as evil leaders of an evil regime.

A Palestinian leader who neither arrests terrorists nor ceases to honor them is not one who will lead Palestinians on a new path of peace and reconciliation.

Given this shocking record, we renew our long-standing call for the Obama Administration to desist from ignoring the incitement to hatred and murder within the PA and to insist in talks with Abbas and other PA officials that the PA takes immediate action to comprehensively end this glorification of terror. Only when Palestinians reject the idea that it is a religious and national duty to murder Jews and to celebrate those among them who act on this instruction will there be any prospect of peace.”

UPDATE: Apparently the PA is reading the blog -- how else to explain that the ceremony has been cancelled? Also interesting... Israel plans to step up monitoring of incitement.

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