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Press Release: EMET Strongly Condemns Iran’s Latest Eliminationist Rhetoric Towards

Nov 27, 2018 Posted by The Endowment for Middle East Truth In All, Iran, Press Releases, Radical Islam

EMET Strongly Condemns Iran’s Latest Eliminationist Rhetoric Towards Israel

(Washington, DC, November 27, 2018) – Today, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) strongly condemned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the supposed “moderate” in the Iranian government, for his eliminationist and false rhetoric towards Israel. On Saturday, at an Islamic Unity Conference, Rouhani called Israel “a cancerous tumor” and a “fake regime” created by Western countries in order to advance their interests in the Middle East. The use of this type of language is, unfortunately, a common occurrence in Iran. …

EMET Praises DoE for Working to Curb Political Biases on College Campuses

Sep 27, 2018 Posted by The Endowment for Middle East Truth In Anti-Semitism, BDS, Press Releases

Press Release: EMET Praises Department of Education for Taking Steps to Curb Political Biases on College Campuses

(Washington, DC, September 26, 2018) – Today, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) praised the Department of Education (DoE) for taking steps to enforce a law that could help curb many professors and programs on university campuses, and teachers of the K-12 level, that espouses anti-American, anti-Israel, and at times, anti-Semitic viewpoints, in violation of federal law.

Some grants to universities and schools funded under Title VI of the Higher Education Act (HEA) have contributed much to the belief that America’s support for Israel is a strategic liability and a source of why the US is resented in the global community. EMET has long been working on Capitol Hill and beyond to reform Title VI of HEA to ensure that the biases are put to an end. Under the Obama Administration, DoE had willfully ignored the law in place to prevent these biases, and further enabled the politicization of Title VI programming.

All of this is about to change.

The Higher Education Act was originally signed into law on November 8^th, 1965, to strengthen the educational resources of American universities and colleges and to provide financial assistance to students in postsecondary and Higher Education. HEA was a later version of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), signed into law in 1958 by President Eisenhower. The original intent of Title VI of the NDEA was to prepare our students to serve the national security needs of the United States by funding foreign language and area studies programs at universities, particularly with respect to combatting the Soviet threat at the time. The area studies programs are known as National Resource Centers (NRCs). In 1965, Title VI legislation was included into HEA, most recently reauthorized as the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) in 2008.

For the 2014-2018 grant cycle, more than $13.4 million of federal grant money was awarded to 19 Middle East NRCs under Title VI of HEA. Grants for the next cycle will be allocated this fall.

Unfortunately, the original legislative intent of Title VI of HEA had been turned on its head. Research shows that many Title VI-funded NRCs – currently at 100 institutions of higher education across the U.S. – are replete with an anti-American and anti-Israel biases. Specifically, many Middle East NRCs, including at such prestigious institutions as Columbia University, Georgetown University, Princeton University, and Yale University, among others, are replete with Title VI-supported faculty and programs that advance the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement; whitewash terrorism and radical Islam; and create a false narrative of U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East.

Also, problematic, under Title VI, NRCs are required to extend their activities by creating programs of “public outreach,” including workshops where K-12 teachers are trained. Many of the workshops, and their lesson plans on the Middle East, are heavily influenced by Saudi money, reports show. Some of the training materials include essays of Islamist radicals who advocate for terrorism; textbooks painting Israel and the West as colonial powers; and lesson plans that promote Islam, but criticize Christianity and Judaism. As a result, Title VI-funded Middle East studies biases are trickling down to America’s most vulnerable and impressionable youth.

Since 2008, EMET has been the only organization on Capitol Hill regularly raising awareness about the abuses of, and calling for legislative changes to, Title VI, through one-on-one meetings with Congressional staffers and Members of Congress. EMET has also met with the Department of Education, a number of times, and with a senior member of the White House, to discuss the issue.

Thanks to EMET’s work, the Department of Education is now giving more consideration to the 2008 amendments of “diverse perspectives and a wide range of viewpoints” when evaluating applications for funding under Title VI of HEA. The Fiscal Year 2018 application for grants for NRCs states that it is an “Absolute Priority” that applicants fulfill the 2008 amendments, by providing “….(1) an explanation of how the activities funded by the grant will reflect diverse perspectives and a wide range of views and generate debate on world regions and international affairs; and (2) a description of how the applicant will encourage government service in areas of national need, as identified by the Secretary, as well as in areas of need in the education, business, and non-profit sectors.”

Sarah Stern, founder and president of EMET said, “For far too long, students at universities and on the K-12 level have received a steady diet of anti-Israel propaganda as a paltry substitute for a solid education, under some Title VI of HEA programming. After the 2008 amendments — that attempted to remedy the problem – the biases have only gotten worse. The Saudis continue to pour millions of dollars into many Title VI-funded Middle East Centers and faculty, resulting in extreme anti-American and anti-Israel biases in their classroom instruction and materials that they use in their teacher-training workshops, which are mandated by the Title VI legislation.”

Stern added, “I applaud the Department of Education for taking the matter of the misuse of funding under Title VI of HEA seriously, and for taking the significant step of emphasizing the “diverse perspectives” requirement, which may help remedy the abominable political biases within some of the programs. When the universities who have applied for these taxpayer funded grants in this cycle are turned down, they will receive an explanation as to why. If it is because they have not demonstrated a capacity to teach from a diversity of perspectives and a wide-range of viewpoints, perhaps they will be more careful to hire faculty who are not quite so monolithic in their biases against the United States and the State of Israel. The change in the anti-American and anti-Israel atmosphere will not happen overnight, but incrementally, we hope that this will create a much less hostile environment in the college classroom.”

About The Endowment for Middle East Truth
Founded in 2005, EMET’s mission is to educate policymakers in Washington and the general public about the importance of Israel to the United States in their common struggle against radical Islam. For more information, please visit, http://www.emetonline.org. Follow EMET on Twitter and Facebook.

EMET Praises the Department of Education

Sep 17, 2018 Posted by The Endowment for Middle East Truth In Anti-Semitism, Press Releases

Press Release: EMET Praises the Department of Education for Using State Department Definition of anti-Semitism

(Washington, DC, September 17, 2018) – Today, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) praised Kenneth L. Marcus, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education (DOE), for employing the U.S. State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism in a case against Rutgers University, involving discrimination against Jewish students.

The case, originally filed in 2011 and appealed in 2014, alleged that a Jewish student was harassed and physically threatened by the Outreach Coordinator of the University’s Center for Middle East Studies. Additionally, a campus student group discriminated against pro-Israel and Jewish students by selectively charging them an admission fee to an event. At the time, DOE’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) determined there was insufficient evidence of discrimination on the basis of “national origin” under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and closed the case.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin. However, OCR has previously indicated in a 2010 Dear Colleague letter that “discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics may not be denied protection under Title VI on the ground that they also share a common faith. These principles apply not just to Jewish students, but also to students from any discrete religious group that shares, or is perceived to share, ancestry or ethnic characteristics (e.g., Muslims or Sikhs).” Essentially, according to the letter, OCR has the responsibility to investigate cases of anti-Semitism under Title VI of the Civil Rights. The letter did not, however, provide a definition or examples of what constitutes as anti-Semitism.

Mr. Marcus reopened the Rutgers case, and determined that OCR New York will investigate the case based upon the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which is also used by the State Department. “In determining whether students face discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived Jewish ancestry, we rely where appropriate upon widely established definitions of anti-Semitism. The IHRA working definition is widely used by governmental agencies, including the U.S. Department of State, and is used by OCR as well,” Mr. Marcus wrote in a letter dated August 27, 2018.

The IHRA definition of anti-Semitism used by the U.S. State Department includes examples of the ways in which anti-Semitism manifests itself with regards to the State of Israel, including examples relating to: demonizing Israel, applying a double standard on Israel, and delegitimizing Israel. Employing the definition thus broadens the DOE’s criteria to identify, investigate, and punish all forms of anti-Semitism, including extreme anti-Zionism and anti-Israel harassment.

Anti-Semitic attacks on our nation’s college campuses have been on the rise. A July 2016 report by the AMCHA Initiative found that “There were nearly 100 more antisemitic incidents in the first six months of 2016 compared with the same time period in 2015,” when examining more than 100 college and university campuses with the largest Jewish student populations. A 2017 AMCHA report found that anti-Semitic incidents that were related to Israel were more likely to contribute to a “hostile environment” for Jewish students, than incidents of standard anti-Semitism.

EMET has been on Capitol Hill meeting with congressional offices for years to educate them about the rise of anti-Semitism on campuses, and to encourage them to ask the DOE to adopt the State department definition of anti-Semitism, to determine if incidents of harassment or discrimination potentially in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act were motivated by anti-Semitism.

Sarah Stern, founder and president of EMET said, “I applaud Kenneth Marcus and the Trump Administration for adopting the State Department definition of anti-Semitism to effectively combat the growing rise of anti-Semitism on our nation’s college campuses. For far too long, our Jewish students have been bullied, harassed and threatened simply for showing their support for the Jewish State of Israel. Finally, the Department of Education has recognized these attacks are often motivated by anti-Semitism. The Department of Education’s application of State’s definition of anti-Semitism will help to ensure that our students can safely and proudly continue to support Israel on campuses.”

EMET Praises President Trump and National Security Advisor Bolton for the Closure of the PLO Office

Sep 12, 2018 Posted by The Endowment for Middle East Truth In Israel, Press Releases

(Washington, DC, September 12, 2018) – Today, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) praised President Trump, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and the rest of the Trump administration, for their order to close the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington DC. The administration cited the refusal of Palestinian leaders to enter into peace talks with Israel, and their attempts to prompt an investigation of Israel by the International Criminal Court, as the reasons for closing the PLO office.

Since 1994, the year after the Oslo Accords, the PLO has maintained an office in Washington DC. This office was meant to assist with the implementation of the Oslo Accords and to help facilitate a lasting Middle East peace.

However, the PLO, and the Palestinian Authority it created, have been in violation of many of the terms of the Oslo Accords since they were signed 25 years ago. Among those violations are: 1) the PLO/PA’s violation of their obligation to refrain from incitement to violence; 2) the PLO/PA’s failure to change the PLO Covenant to remove the clauses in the Palestinian National Covenant which called for the destruction of Israel; 3) the PLO/PA’s refusal to stop supporting terrorism; and 4) the PLO/PA’s circumvention of a negotiated settlement with Israel by seeking unilateral statehood at the United Nations and from other countries.

In her written statement, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said“We have permitted the PLO office to conduct operations that support the objective of achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between Israelis and the Palestinians since the expiration of a previous waiver in November 2017. However, the PLO has not taken steps to advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel. To the contrary, PLO leadership has condemned a U.S. peace plan they have not yet seen and refused to engage with the U.S. government with respect to peace efforts and otherwise. As such, and reflecting Congressional concerns, the Administration has decided that the PLO office in Washington will close at this point. This decision is also consistent with Administration and Congressional concerns with Palestinian attempts to prompt an investigation of Israel by the International Criminal Court.”

“President Trump has yet again given, not only to the Jewish people, but also to the State of Israel, the United States and the international community, a gift by closing the PLO office in Washington,” said Sarah Stern, founder and president of EMET.

She continued, “Today marks 25 years since the signing of the Oslo Accords when the parties were supposed to have developed a sense of mutual trust in order to go to final status agreements. For 25 years, we have watched as the PLO/PA continued its relentless campaign to demonize Jews using every means possible, to teach that one day all of Israel will eventually become Palestine, and to extoll the virtues of jihad and martyrdom. Since the signing of the Oslo Accords, the PLO/PA has nurtured an entire generation that is steeped in a philosophy of enormous antipathy towards Jews, unrivaled in history since that of Nazi Germany, resulting in the deaths of over 3,000 deaths of Israeli civilians, and 70 Americans. Up till now, the U.S. has turned a blind eye to these and other flagrant violations of the Oslo Accords, consequently reinforcing their malevolent behavior. Meanwhile, the PLO/PA keeps promising over and over again the same pledges that they had made 25 years ago on the White House lawn. President Trump, by shuttering the PLO/PA office, is finally signaling that the jig is up.”

Press Release: EMET Applauds the US Congress for the Imminent Passage of the Taylor Force Act

Mar 22, 2018 Posted by The Endowment for Middle East Truth In All, Israel, Middle East, Press Releases, Terrorism, Uncategorized

EMET Applauds the US Congress for the Imminent Passage of the Taylor Force Act
Legislation Holds Accountable the Palestinian Authority for Paying Terrorists and their Families

March 22, 2018 (Washington, DC) Today, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) praised U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Representative Doug Lamborn (R-CO), as well as Representatives Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ed Royce (R-CA); and Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Tim Scott (R-SC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Richard Burr (R-NC), John Thune (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and John Boozman (R-AR) for leading the effort in Congress to pass the Taylor Force Act. EMET particularly thanks citizen activist Sander Gerber who worked more than anyone else to expose the Palestinian Authority’s heinous ‘pay for slay’ program, and to ensure that America does not turn a blind to this practice.

The Senate is expected to pass the Taylor Force Act (TFA) as part of an omnibus appropriations bill by Friday, in order that it be signed into law by the President. The House passed the Taylor Force Act in December 2017, with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Taylor Force Act is key legislation which conditions aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) until it stops financially rewarding Palestinian terrorists through their “martyrs’ fund” and “prisoners’ fund.” The bill also calls on the PA to takes steps to end acts of violence against the U.S. and Israeli citizens, including publicly condemning acts of terrorism, and helping to bring Palestinian terrorists to justice.

The bill is named for former U.S. Army officer and Vanderbilt University graduate Taylor Force, an American citizen who served one tour of duty in Iraq and one tour of duty in Afghanistan and came home unscathed, only to be stabbed to death in Israel in March 2016 by a Palestinian terrorist.

Palestinian terrorists that are arrested and imprisoned by Israel are glorified by the PA as heroes and treated as employees of the PA government. While in prison, these terrorists and their families are paid salaries and receive benefits as rewards for their service. The more heinous the crime, the more money the terrorists and their families receive. Since September 2015, 65 innocent people have been killed by Palestinian terrorists in Israel and Judea and Samaria, and more than 900 wounded. They have been killed or harmed by car rammings, stabbings, shootings, and bombing attacks. This includes many Americans, including U.S. Army veteran Taylor Force.

For the past two Congresses, EMET has arduously educated the Congress about the importance of the Taylor Force Act. Last month, EMET also spearheaded a letter signed by 13 pro-Israel organizations, representing at least 4.1 million Americans, to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urging him to bring the Taylor Force Act to the floor for a full vote, or to attach it to a legislative vehicle that will ensure it will be sent to President Trump to enshrine into law.

“I wish to express my deep appreciation to Senator Lindsay Graham and Congressman Doug Lamborn, and all of the Congressmen and Senators that have worked tirelessly to ensure that the Taylor Force Act pass. I would also like to particularly thank citizen activist Sander Gerber who worked more than anyone else to expose the PA’s heinous ‘pay for slay’ practice,” Sarah Stern, the founder and president of EMET said.

Stern added: “Although I would prefer a floor debate to further educate the public about the immorality of the Palestinians and their barbaric incentivization of the murder of innocent civilians, the most essential thing is that the Taylor Force Act finally be passed. The willful blindness that the United States and the Western world has been giving to the Palestinians for 25 years, and their systematic incitement to despise and to murder American and Israeli civilians, and their brazen system of ‘pay for slay,’ has finally got to be put to an end.”

Stern concluded, “The Palestinians have been playing all of us by shielding their murderous actions under the phrase of a ‘peace process.’ One asks how this behavior can possibly fall under the banner of ‘Peace?’” The Palestinians, and the Arab world in general, place a great premium on honor, and a significant reduction in their funding will be a tremendous wake-up call that not everyone in the world can continue to be duped by them.”

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Jan 3, 2018 Posted by The Endowment for Middle East Truth In All, Anti-Semitism, Israel, Press Releases

EMET Commends the House Committee for Curbing anti-American, anti-Israel biases on College Campuses:

Education & Workforce Committee Reformed the Title VI International Education Programs

(Washington, DC, January 2, 2017) Today, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) commends the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for including new language into Title VI of the ‘‘Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity 6 through Education Reform Act,’’ also known the ‘‘PROSPER Act,’’ H.R 4508. The PROSPER Act, which passed the House Education & Workforce Committee December 13, 2017, is the new name for the Higher Education Act (HEA), last reauthorized in 2008. EMET has long been working on the issue of International and Foreign Language Studies grants in Title VI of HEA, in an effort to reform this law that helps support many professors and programs on university campuses that espouse anti-American, anti-Israel, and at times, anti-Semitic viewpoints, in violation of federal law.

In October 2014, more than $3.3 million of federal grant money was awarded to Middle East NRCs under Title VI of HEA. More than $13.4 million will be awarded to 19 Middle East NRCs for the entire 2014-2018 cycle.

For example, Hatem Bazian, a champion of BDS and anti-Israel causes, is a senior lecturer at Title VI-funded Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Bazian co-founded the oftentimes anti-Semitic and pro-BDS student organization, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and is the chairman of the radical organization, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). AMP was the topic of a Congressional hearing on BDS in April, 2016, which exposed the organization as one of the main funders of the BDS movement, as well as having ties to the terrorist organization Hamas. AMP called the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration as a “sad date” in history, with Bazian stating, “Everything thing that has befallen Palestine – It’s partition, the settlements, random arrests and detentions, the Apartheid Wall, the siege on Gaza, and the millions of Palestinians living in exile and Diaspora – was made possible because of the Balfour Declaration.”

Also, problematic, under Title VI, NRCs are required to extend their activities by creating programs of “public outreach,” including workshops where K-12 teachers are trained. Many of the workshops, and their lesson plans on the Middle East, are heavily influenced by Saudi money, reports show. Some of the training materials include essays of Islamist radicals who advocate for terrorism; textbooks painting Israel and the West as colonial powers; and lesson plans that promote Islam and criticize the Jewish State. As a result, Title VI-funded Middle East studies biases are trickling down to our most vulnerable youth.

In 2008, EMET was instrumental in amending Title VI of HEA to require the need for “diverse perspectives and a wide range of views,” within the U.S. taxpayer-funded Title VI programs. Despite EMET’s exhaustive efforts in 2008, the U.S. Department of Education, which provides these grants to the universities, as well as the recipients of the grants themselves, have ignored their statutory requirements to provide “diverse perspectives.” Since 2008, EMET has been the only organization on Capitol Hill regularly raising awareness about the abuses of, and calling for legislative changes to, Title VI, through one-on-one meetings with Congressional staffers and Members of Congress.

Thanks to EMET’s hard work educating congressional staff and Members of Congress on the House Education and Workforce Committee for several years on Title VI, these changes were finally made. EMET was also instrumental in helping to draft and include amendments within the new PROSPER Act to strengthen the “diverse perspectives” requirement, and to create accountability for universities and Title VI-funded programs – including the NRCs – that fail to comply with the diverse perspectives requirement, among other amendments. Specifically, the new bill states that the “Secretary shall use [the diverse perspectives] requirement…as part of the application evaluation, review, and approval process when determining grant recipients for initial funding and continuation of awards.” And the bill further mandates that the Secretary annually “submit to the authorizing committees a report that identifies the efforts taken to ensure recipients’ compliance with the requirements under this title relating to the ‘diverse perspectives and a wide range of views’ requirement…”

Perhaps most notably, EMET’s work and diligence on Title VI biases prompted Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) to include an amendment to HEA which states: “Sec. 629 Compliance with Diverse Perspectives and a Wide Range of Views – When complying with the requirement of this title to offer a diverse perspective and a wide range of views, a recipient of a grant under this title shall not promote any biased views that are discriminatory toward any group, religion, or population of people.”

Sarah Stern, founder and president of EMET said, “I am thrilled by the new language included within Title VI of the PROSPER Act. Congressman Wilson’s amendment is nothing short of historic; students previously discriminated under Title VI of HEA programming for their religious and political beliefs – including politically divergent views, Jewish student groups, and pro-Israel groups – will now be guaranteed protections under Title VI. Furthermore, EMET has been calling for reforms to Title VI of HEA for years – and we are pleased that many of our recommendations have been included in the PROSPER Act, including an annual report by the Secretary of Education on ‘Compliance with Diverse Perspectives and a Wide Range of Views Requirement.’”

Ms. Stern added, “I applaud the entire House Education and Workforce Committee for taking the matter of Title VI of HEA seriously, and for taking the long overdue step to include language that will work to remedy the terrible anti-American and anti-Israel biases within the program. EMET was also pleased to collaborate with other civil rights and pro-Israel organizations on the issue, and looks forward to working with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) to help ensure the legislation passes and is subsequently signed into law.”

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Media Contact: Jennifer Dekel
Endowment for Middle East Truth

202.601.7422

jdekel@emetonline.org

Press Release: EMET Strongly Applauds Groundbreaking Taylor Force Act

Dec 4, 2017 Posted by The Endowment for Middle East Truth In All, Israel, Middle East, Press Releases

EMET Strongly Applauds Groundbreaking Taylor Force Act

Legislation Holds Accountable the Palestinian Authority for Paying Terrorists and their Families

December 4, 2017 (Washington, DC) Today, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) praised U.S. Representatives Doug Lamborn (R-CO) and Lee Zeldin (R-NY) and Senators Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Tim Scott (R-SC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Richard Burr (R-NC), John Thune (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and John Boozman (R-AR) for reintroducing the Taylor Force Act in February of this year, and leading the effort in Congress to pass this vital legislation. The legislation will cut U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) until it stops paying the salaries of Palestinian terrorists who are imprisoned in Israeli jails, and financially rewarding their families. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the bill in August, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved it in November. The bill will vote on the Taylor Force Act on Tuesday, December 5^th.

The Act conditions aid to the PA until it stops the rewarding of acts of terrorism to Palestinians who have been incentivizing terrorism through their “martyrs’ fund” and “prisoners’ fund.” The Act also calls on the PA to takes steps to end acts of violence against the U.S. and Israeli citizens, including publicly condemning acts of terrorism, and helping to bring Palestinian terrorists to justice.

Congressman Doug Lamborn, the primary sponsor on the House side, has announced, “I am pleased to see the Taylor Force Act come to the House Floor for a vote on Tuesday, December 5. It is critical that Congress pass this legislation to ensure that U.S. tax dollars do not go to supporting terrorism.” He continued, “In Taylor’s memory, we must stop sending aid money to an entity that rewards his murderer’s family. I urge my colleagues to vote ‘yes’ on this bill and hold the Palestinian Authority accountable for financing terrorism.”

Palestinian terrorists that are arrested and imprisoned by Israel are glorified by the PA as heroes and treated as employees of the PA government. While in prison, these terrorists and their families are paid salaries and receive benefits as rewards for their service. Since September 2015, 59 innocent people have been killed by Palestinian terrorists in Israel and Judea and Samaria, and more than 800 wounded. They have been killed or harmed by car rammings, stabbings, shootings, and bombing attacks. This includes many Americans, including U.S. Army veteran Taylor Force.

Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, 69 innocent Americans, plus two unborn children, have been murdered by Palestinian terrorists. Yet since 1991, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has refused to prosecute Palestinian terrorists who have killed or wounded Americans in Israel and Judea and Samaria, even though U.S. law gives American prosecutors the necessary tools to seek justice. For well over two decades, EMET has been fighting for justice for those Americans victims of Palestinian terrorism in Israel and the disputed territories. EMET has focused on the unwillingness of the DOJ to indict, extradite, and prosecute a single Palestinian terrorist with American blood on his/her hands.

Since 2005, there has been an office within the DOJ – the Office of Justice of Victims of Overseas Terrorism (OVT) – to pressure the DOJ to prosecute. EMET’s Sarah Stern was instrumental in the initial creation of the OVT. This DOJ unit is meant to monitor acts of terrorism against Americans outside the U.S., to assist the living victims and their families, and, most importantly, to pressure the DOJ to bring to justice those terrorists who have harmed Americans anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, since its establishment, the office has not helped produce a single DOJ prosecution of Palestinian terrorists who have harmed Americans in Israel or Judea or Samaria. Neither the OVT, nor the DOJ, have ever adequately explained their unwillingness to prosecute these Palestinian terrorists.

In the years since 2005, EMET has doggedly been working to educate Congress about the DOJ and the OVT’s unwillingness to do their job and make sure that any Palestinian terrorist who harms an American is brought to justice. EMET has held a staff briefing on Capitol Hill, bringing in American victims and family members. EMET has also met with more than 100 offices to explain to them this issue. EMET has worked with a bipartisan group of House members, and Senators, to produce numerous letters to the DOJ, demanding prosecutions of these terrorists, and also assisted in finding co-sponsors for these letters. In 2015, thanks in large part to EMET’s tireless efforts, a Senate Subcommittee led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) held an oversight hearing, primarily focusing on Iranian funded Palestinian terrorism and civil lawsuits. And in 2016, EMET prompted another hearing by Rep. Ron Desantis (R-FL), the Subcommittee Chairman for the National Security Subcommittee of Oversight and Government Reform, focusing on criminal prosecutions and the OVT. EMET also assisted the Subcommittee in preparing for the hearing. At the second hearing, for the first time ever, a DOJ representative, Brad Wiegmann, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division, who supervises the OVT and these prosecutions, was called to account for the DOJ’s lack of prosecution. He was also forced to agree to provide a report to the Subcommittee on DOJ/OVT progress.

For the past two Congresses, EMET also has arduously educated the Congress about the importance of the Taylor Force Act.

EMET Founder and President, Sarah Stern, said, “For far too long, the Palestinian Authority has glorified the virtues of terrorism. That has been the very core of the problem for why there is no peace with Israel. A culture of glorification of terrorism has been part of the zeitgeist of the areas under PA control. The more heinous the act of terrorism, the more innocent civilians who have been killed, the greater the salary that has been paid out by the PA to the families of the prisoners of the terrorists. This is morally unconscionable.”

She continued, “The Palestinians need to understand that there are serious consequences for their moral, political, and material support of terrorism. I strongly applaud Congressman Doug Lamborn and Senator Lindsey Graham, and all their Congressional allies, for reintroducing and passing the Taylor Force Act, which sends a very strong message to the PA and all would-be terrorists that America will not turn a blind eye towards Palestinian terrorism. For far too long, people throughout the world have been fooled by the PA’s double message when it comes to terrorism, one to their own people in Arabic, and another in English to foreign diplomats and journalists. Fortunately, there are still Members of the United States Congress who are not willing to allow American tax payers’ dollars be a party to this culture of deification of terrorism.”

Press Release: EMET Applauds President Trump for Taking the First Courageous Step in Extricating the U.S. from the Dangerous Iran Nuclear Deal

Oct 16, 2017 Posted by The Endowment for Middle East Truth In All, Press Releases

(Washington, DC, October 16, 2017) EMET applauds President Trump for taking the courageous, critical first step in extricating the United States from the dangerous Iranian nuclear deal that has been bequeathed upon on us by the Obama administration. This deal, also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has been sold to the American public and the international community based on a series of false assurances and sometimes outright fabrications about the nature of the deal, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. EMET strongly believes President Trump did the right thing by reviewing the conditions required by the U.S. Congress in the Iranian Nuclear Review Act of 2015, and then honestly determining which of these conditions have been met. In the end, the President determined that Iran had been in material breach of the JCPOA, and that he (Trump) could not certify that continuing to grant sanction relief to Iran best serves the national security interests of the United States.

By inserting the United States as just one of six nations (the P5 plus 1: the US, Russia, China, France, Great Britain plus Germany), the Obama administration engaged in an attack on our national sovereignty. It made it that much more complicated for the US legislative body to exercise their constitutional responsibility of oversight and review, and if found that Iran has been in violation of that deal, to extricate ourselves from it.

This was further complicated by Obama making an end-run around Congress and going directly to the UN Security Council to enshrine it by a vote (although it has no standing under international law).
Although the US was the essential driver of the deal, it now becomes increasingly difficult to get out of it because America now appears like just one of 6 passengers. This was Obama’s calculation all along.
This is exactly what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they asserted that a treaty had to be ratified by 2/3 of the Senate. That is why members of the US Congress had felt that they needed to play more of their constitutionally mandated role of oversight and review and drafted the Iranian Nuclear Review Act of 2015, known in shorthand as Corker-Cardin.

Contrary to popular belief, President Trump did not de-certify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, (JCPOA) or withdraw from the nuclear agreement on Friday. He simply did what he had been legally mandated to do under Corker-Cardin: to certify that the lifting of Iranian sanctions is in the national security interest of the United States.

In contrast to many European leaders, and the International Atomic Energy Agency, an arm of the United Nations which has not actually been on the ground in Iran to monitor the deal since before implementation day, (January of 2016), and has been dependent on Iran to monitor itself, President Trump has told the truth.

“I firmly believe that a foundation built upon wishful thinking, falsehoods and flimsy assurances could not stand. But only serves to empower the most ruthless actors on the world’s stage, as lonely as it is the first step towards a sound and healthy foreign policy that will end up saving the lives of Americans, and those of our friends and allies,” said Sarah Stern, founder and president of EMET.

To read EMET’s fact sheets regarding Iran, and the Iran deal, and Iranian aggression, please click here.

About The Endowment for Middle East Truth

Founded in 2005, EMET’s mission is to educate policymakers in Washington and the general public about the importance of Israel to the United States in their common struggle against radical Islam. For more information, please visit www.emetonline.org. Follow EMET on Twitter and Facebook.

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Press Release: EMET Applauds the U.S. Justice Department for Filing Criminal Charges Against Palestinian Terrorist Ahlam Tamimie

Mar 15, 2017 Posted by The Endowment for Middle East Truth In All, Israel, Middle East, Press Releases, Radical Islam, Terrorism

EMET Applauds the U.S. Justice Department for Filing Criminal Charges Against Palestinian Terrorist Ahlam Tamimi

The Justice Department also Seeks Extradition of the Terrorist from Jordan

(March 15, 2017, Washington, DC) Today, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) praised the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decision to publicly charge Palestinian terrorist Ahlam Tamimi. Ahlam Tamimi planned and implemented a bombing that killed and injured American citizens in a Sbarro Pizzeria in Jerusalem in 2001. This is the first and necessary step in achieving justice for the American victims of her terrorism. …

Press Release: EMET Sends Letter to Senators Urging Them to Confirm David Friedman

Mar 9, 2017 Posted by The Endowment for Middle East Truth In Press Releases

EMET Sends Letter to Senators Urging Them to Confirm David Friedman as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel

(Washington, DC, March 8, 2017) Today, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) sent a letter to Members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to encourage the Senators to confirm David Friedman as the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

President Trump has nominated David Friedman, a lawyer and ardent supporter of Israel, to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will consider the nomination tomorrow before it is sent to the entire Senate for a floor vote.

A number of leftist groups, such as J Street, have launched a campaign against Mr. Friedman, arguing that he is not suitable for the position due to his opposition to the two-state solution.

These leftists group do not seem to understand the job that Mr. Friedman has been nominated for. As he has unequivocally acknowledged at his confirmation hearings, he represents President Trump and the United States, and President Trump has already stated that he would like to facilitate a negotiated peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

These groups also ignore the fact that the two-state paradigm has continuously failed, and alternative solutions, which have the potential to improve the lives and security of both Israelis and Palestinians, are more feasible. In 2000, 2001, and 2008, Israel offered major land withdrawals. In 2005, the Israelis actually gave up part of Judea and Samaria, and all of the Gaza strip, but none of this has gotten Israel and the Palestinians any closer to the goalpost of a true peace. On the contrary, each and every time Israel makes territorial concessions the Palestinians launch campaigns of terror against innocent Israelis. This is most clearly illustrated by the thousands of rockets from Gaza.

The real problem is that the Palestinians have refused to stop the incitement to violence and murder. Palestinian culture deifies the “shahid,” or the martyr, e.g., the suicide bomber and knife stabber, and demonizes the Israeli and the Jew. The Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to teach its children to want to hate and kill Jews, and continues to provide convicted terrorists and their families with money for their acts of terrorism.

The refusal of the PA to end its incitement is a violation of the Oslo Process. The Palestinians are also violating Oslo by seeking membership in various international agencies, and by attempting to use international organizations to force Israel to give them land without the Palestinians having to agree to implement a real peace. None of these actions demonstrate that the PA is a positive force for peace.

The EMET letter concludes, “the U.S. should not be wedded to the idea of producing another pro-terror radical state in the Middle East. The fact that David Friedman has recognized this fact should not be a reason to critique him, but rather, should be a reason to confirm him as the next U.S. Ambassador to Israel. We urge you to take the above information into account, and to confirm Mr. Friedman’s nomination.”

To read the letter in its entirety, please click here.

About The Endowment for Middle East Truth

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Review Category : Press Releases

Press Release: EMET Praises Department of Education for Taking Steps to Curb Political Biases on College Campuses

EMET Applauds the U.S. Justice Department for Filing Criminal Charges Against Palestinian Terrorist Ahlam Tamimi

EMET Sends Letter to Senators Urging Them to Confirm David Friedman as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel