Press Releases

CUFI Leaders Applaud White House for Order Combating Anti-Semitism

Policy adopting IHRA definition of anti-Semitism was CUFI’s Top 2019 Priority

December 11, 2019 WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, the leadership of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the nation’s largest pro-Israel organization, applauded the Trump administration’s announcement that the President will issue an executive order adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism for the purposes of government agencies tasked with enforcing Title VI.

CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee and CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman Sandra Parker will be on hand at the White House as the President signed the order.

CUFI has sought to advance the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which is expanded upon and mirrored by the executive order, since Parker testified on the matter before the House Judiciary Committee in 2017. Since that time, CUFI has consistently worked in support of the measure, and its leaders have authored several op-eds addressing the issue, including one as recently as last month.

“One cannot defeat that which they are unwilling to define. As such, advancing the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act has been CUFI’s top policy priority of the year. Through this executive order, President Trump will achieve what Congress could not bring themselves to do: take an important first step in combating the scourge of anti-Semitism that has spread across our nation,” Hagee said.

“Countries around the world adopted the IHRA’s definition while our leaders in Washington were too paralyzed to do so. I and CUFI’s 7 million members are very grateful to the President for his unequivocal stance on this vital issue,” Hagee added.

“At a time of extreme partisanship, the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act enjoyed widespread bipartisan support but not even that enabled the legislation to overcome the gridlock on Capitol Hill. It is astonishing to me that Congress dithered with meaningless resolutions while violent anti-Semitic incidents were surging across the country, but it is precisely because of such Congressional paralysis that President Trump’s executive order is the right and necessary path to adopting the IHRA’s definition,” Parker said.

“We are grateful to President Trump for having the courage to take this stand, and for Jared Kushner’s tireless efforts to shepherd this order forward,” Parker noted.

With more than 7 million members, Christians United for Israel is the largest pro-Israel organization in the United States and one of the leading Christian grassroots movements in the world. CUFI spans all fifty states and reaches millions with its educational message.

The CUFI Action Fund, a nonprofit 501(c)(4), nonpartisan organization, is related to the nation’s largest pro-Israel organization, Christians United for Israel (CUFI). The Action Fund is dedicated to ensuring our elected officials hear the perspective of the millions of Christian Zionists across the country. The Action Fund’s policy agenda includes support for a strong US-Israel relationship, standing up to anti-Semitism, defending Israel’s right to self-defense and self-determination, and opposition to regional bad actors such as Iran and Turkey and the terrorist organizations they support.

The following are supporters of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act from the 115th and 116th Congresses:

Senators:

Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC]

Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]

Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]

Sen. Isakson, Johnny [R-GA]

Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]

Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]

Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV]

Sen. Jones, Doug [D-AL]

Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND]

Sen. Blunt, Roy [R-MO]

Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]

Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL]

Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]

Sen. Hawley, Josh [R-MO]

Sen. Sinema, Kyrsten [D-AZ]

Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR]

Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR]

Representatives:

Rep. Roskam, Peter [R-IL-6]

Rep. Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL-22]

Rep. Collins, Doug [R-GA-9]

Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-10]

Rep. McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [R-WA-5]

Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R-FL-27]

Rep. Granger, Kay [R-TX-12]

Rep. Lowey, Nita M. [D-NY-17]

Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-30]

Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33]

Rep. Buck, Ken [R-CO-4]

Rep. Engel, Eliot L. [D-NY-16]

Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12]

Rep. Curbelo, Carlos [R-FL-26]

Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5]

Rep. Schweikert, David [R-AZ-6]

Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-23]

Rep. Gaetz, Matt [R-FL-1]

Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4]

Rep. Costello, Ryan A. [R-PA-6]

Rep. Chabot, Steve [R-OH-1]

Rep. Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [R-WI-5]

Rep. Lamborn, Doug [R-CO-5]

Rep. Lance, Leonard [R-NJ-7]

Rep. Zeldin, Lee M. [R-NY-1]

Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2]

Rep. Grothman, Glenn [R-WI-6]

Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-8]

Rep. Hastings, Alcee L. [D-FL-20]

Rep. Norcross, Donald [D-NJ-1]

Rep. Smith, Lamar [R-TX-21]

Rep. Mast, Brian J. [R-FL-18]

Rep. Poe, Ted [R-TX-2]

Rep. Handel, Karen C. [R-GA-6]

Rep. Swalwell, Eric [D-CA-15]

Rep. Mitchell, Paul [R-MI-10]

Rep. Ratcliffe, John [R-TX-4]

Rep. Gowdy, Trey [R-SC-4]

Rep. Perry, Scott [R-PA-4]

Rep. Rothfus, Keith J. [R-PA-12]

Rep. Meadows, Mark [R-NC-11]

Rep. Wilson, Joe [R-SC-2]

Rep. DeSantis, Ron [R-FL-6]

Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-22]

Rep. Weber, Randy K., Sr. [R-TX-14]

Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3]

Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott [D-IL-10]

Rep. Jordan, Jim [R-OH-4]

Rep. Green, Gene [D-TX-29]

Rep. Kustoff, David [R-TN-8]

Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6]