CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021 “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.” ISAIAH 62:1 Irving Roth: His Life and Legacy by Corina Cater pg. 6 By Renewing Palestinian Aid, America Is Funding Terrorism By Stuart Force and Sander Gerber pg. 12 Washington Must Confront Iran Over Sensitive Nuclear Work by Andrea Stricker & Brigadier General (Res.) Professor Jacob Nagel pg. 16 Palestinian Elections: What the Biden Administration Does Not Want to Know By Khaled Abu Toameh pg. 22 IRVING ROTH 1929 2021 FOREVER A FRIEND. FOREVER A LEGEND. FOREVER A ROLE MODEL. FOREVER CUFI.2 CUFI SUMMER 2021 ndeed—the earth may change, the mountains may tremble, and the seas roar—but our Almighty God remains the same. He is a shelter for His people, and He is ever their strong defense. In the past few months, we have seen powers shift, administrations change, and various developments in the world that are cause for both celebration and mourning. Positively, Israel celebrated its 73rd birthday as a modern nation, and CUFI surpassed ten million members. Nonetheless, as the articles within these pages reflect, many of the major items on CUFI’s agenda unfortunately remain unchanged: the tyrants of Tehran still tirelessly seek the destruction of the Jewish state and continue to take advantage of our own country’s dubious foreign policy approach—and we must fight to ensure Israel is secure and her people are safe. Meanwhile, the Palestinian leadership keeps up a longstanding pretense of pursuing peace while ignoring the suffering of its people and seeking to terrorize Israelis. But neither have CUFI’s efforts changed. As you will read in several articles in this issue, CUFI has been focused on advancing anti- BDS and Holocaust education legislation in several key states across the country—and while we have seen victories on both fronts this year, we know our work is far from complete. Thank you for staying the course, even as the world changes, and remaining committed to our biblical imperative to bless Israel and the Jewish people. Without your support, we could not have achieved these significant victories. From Alabama to Alaska, CUFI’s members are partnering with God in His indomitable mission to defend Israel and the Jewish people. Blessings to you and those you love, Pastor John Hagee Founder and Chairman Letter Pastor John Hagee Founder and Chairman Christians United For Israel Diana Hagee Co-Executive Director Christians United For Israel Shari Dollinger Co-Executive Director Christians United For Israel from the Editor… CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL I In Psalm 42:1-3 the sons of Korah proclaim: God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.3 CUFI SUMMER 2021 Features SUMMER 2021 05 CUFI’S Battle Against BDS at the State Level 06 Irving Roth: His Life and Legacy by Corina Cater 11 Combating Ignorance And Antisemitism: CUFI’s Holocaust Education Efforts 12 By Renewing Palestinial Aid, America is Funding Terrorism by Stuart Force & Sander Gerber 14 Why Biden Should Not Give Aid to the Palestinian Authority by Sandra Parker 16 Washington Must Confront Iran Over Sensitive Nuclear Work by Andrea Stricker & Brigadier General (Res.) Professor Jacob Nagel 18 CUFI on Campus Combats Antisemitism at Rutgers University by Rachel Lee 19 Idaho, West Virginia Enact Anti-BDS Law; Alabama Furthers Holocaust Education 20 Iran Deal: Past & Present by Gary Bauer 22 Palestinian Elections: What the Biden Administration Does Not Want to Know by Khaled Abu Toameh 26 The Biden Administration Must Enforce the Taylor Force Act by Sandra Parker 28 Remembering Prince Philip, the First Royal Family Member to Visit Israel VOL.15,NO.3 Publications Mail Agreement #40032588 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5 • www.cufi.org CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL All rights reserved. CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL EXECUTIVE BOARD Pastor John C. Hagee Founder and Senior Pastor, Cornerstone Church, Founder and Chairman, Christians United for Israel. Michael Little Principle Representative of Israel (CBN) Pastor Mac Hammond Senior Pastor of Living Word Christian Center, in Brooklyn Park (a suburb of Minneapolis), Minnesota. Pastor Happy Caldwell Founder and Pastor of Agape Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is also the founder and president of VTN (Victory Television Network). Bishop Keith A. Butler Founder and presiding bishop of Word of Faith International Christian Center. Pastor George Morrison Founder of Truth and Life Ministries Publishers:Pastor John and Diana Hagee Staff Writers: Pastor John Hagee / Diana Hagee / Ari Morgenstern / Kathy Rudkin / Shari Dollingerr Corina Cater / Sandra Parker Editors: Kathy Rudkin / Shari Dollinger / Corina Cater / Ari Morgenstern / Jordan Farhart Design: Alan Belcher / Kathy Rudkin / Olga Moreno / Garrett Rodenbeck Photography: www.israelimages.com / Dan Ostrem / Kelly Jackson/ Wharton Photography Produced by: Rudkin Productions, Boerne, Texas • www.rudkinproductions.com Circulation: Additional copies $6.25 each Correspondence: P.O. Box 1307 • San Antonio, Texas 78295-1307 Pastor Scott Thomas Founding and Lead Pastor of Free Life Chapel in Lakeland, Florida.WATCHMAN Monthly Up to $10 One-Time $24-$120 CHAI Monthly $11-$82 One-Time $121-$999 EZEKIEL Monthly $83-$416 One-Time $1,000-$4,999 NEHEMIAH Monthly $417-$2,083 One-Time $5,000-$24,999 AMBASSADOR Monthly Min. $2,084 One-Time Min. $25,000 Annual Partner Level Benefits C UFI Me m bership Pi n S U M M I T B E N E F I T S Quarterly P artner B riefing Call To rc h M agazine Subsc rip③o n Wh y Is r ael book Mo nthly P artne r B riefing Cal l S igned co py of P astor J ohn Ha gee' s In De fe nse of Is ra el book Bi-Annual Briefing Calls with P astor J ohn Ha ge e Invita③on to the Annual L eadership Summit in San Antonio, TX A Pe r sonalized Plaque on N ehemiah W all at CUFI's Na ③onal Office A Pe r sonalized Plaque o n Ambassador Cir c le W all at CUFI's Na ③onal Office Tw o complementary Summit R egistra③on s Sp ecial Ev ent In vita③on C UFI P artner Banquet P artner and L eade r ship Lu ncheon Pr e Night to H onor Is r ael Dinner Ex clusiv e Ambassador's Re cep③on CUFI'S NEW PARTNER PROGRAM Check or money order enclosed. Please make checks payable to CUFI. Please charge my partner gift to my credit card.. Enclosed is my one-time gift in the amount of $________________. I want to support CUFI monthly in the amount of $________________. Mr. Mrs. Ms. Pastor NAME ADDRESS CITY STATEZIP EMAIL EXPIRATION DATESECURITY CODE PRINT NAME SIGNATURE (PRINT ALL DIGITS) CARD NO. You can return this form in envelope provided in center of this publication.You can donate online at: cufi.org/partnerYou can donate over the phone at: 210-477-4714 I WANT TO PARTNER WITH CUFI CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL PLEASE SUPPORT CUFI TODAY! For CUFI Partnership Information please visit cufi.org/partner. Thank you for being a part of a movement of 10 Million Christians who are passionate about making Israel stronger and its people safer. As we look ahead to new challenges and opportunities, we hope to continue to count you as a partner. We invite you to choose the level that reflects your commitment to bless and defend Israel and the Jewish people. WATCHMAN Monthly Up to $10 One-Time $24-$120 CHAI Monthly $11-$82 One-Time $121-$999 EZEKIEL Monthly $83-$416 One-Time $1,000-$4,999 NEHEMIAH Monthly $417-$2,083 One-Time $5,000-$24,999 AMBASSADOR CIRCLE Monthly Min. $2,084 One-Time Min. $25,000 SELECT AN ANNUAL PARTNER LEVEL BENEFIT5 CUFI SUMMER 2021 y the grace of God and the participation of millions of members, Christians United for Israel has become a 10-million- member strong organization with impressive influence at the federal level, most recently exemplified in the passage of the CUFI-backed Never Again Education Act. But as wide as CUFI is in terms of numbers, it is also deep in terms of grassroots activism. CUFI has been perfectly positioned in recent years to focus on state policy initiatives more intently, with this effort becoming a central component of our advocacy efforts in 2021. For several years, we have worked with partners in the Jewish community to support legislation aimed at preventing those who would boycott Israel from benefiting from American tax dollars and investments. PUT SIMPLY, THE BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, AND SANCTIONS (BDS) MOVEMENT IS ANTISEMITIC. Its primary goal, destroying Israel through economic warfare, not only hurts the United States’ best friend in the region but also our own economic interests. State contractors who engage in BDS harm their ability to provide the best services at the lowest cost to the state. Israel is an integral part of the world’s economy, and many of the technologies we use daily were created in Israel. A true boycott of Israeli products would require one to eliminate one’s access to electricity and the internet. CUFI recognizes that cloaked just beneath the surface of BDS’s propaganda is the effort to accomplish with boycotts what terrorists have failed to do with bombs and bullets: destroy the world’s only Jewish state. Since our inception, CUFI has fought against BDS in churches, communities, and on college campuses across the country and has pledged to continue to do so. To that end, CUFI has worked tirelessly this year to advance anti-BDS legislation in several key states across the country. We have been pleased to see hard-fought victories in Utah, West Virginia, and Idaho. These efforts, which have been strengthened by our thousands of members in each state, reveal that support for Israel is not a partisan issue, despite attempts by certain fringes of Congress to make it so. Far and wide, Americans support Israel and recognize that our country benefits from doing business with the Jewish state. With the recent passage of anti- BDS legislation in all three states in which CUFI set out in January to advance, 33 states have now advanced such measures. Yet our campaign is far from over. CUFI will continue to work with the Jewish community, Christian leaders, and our Congressional Liaisons to advance policies at the state level that will ensure Israel is secure, her people are safe, and the U.S.-Israel relationship remains strong and vibrant. CUFI’S BATTLE AGAINST BDS AT THE STATE LEVEL B “The message is clear, Americans across the country stand with Israel and do not want their tax dollars in the hands of those who seek the destruction of the Jewish state.” –PASTOR JOHN HAGEE IRVING ROTH HIS LIFE7 CUFI SUMMER 2021 n a brisk winter day in Poland, 90-year-old Holocaust survivor and educator Irving Roth leans against the railing of the steps of the building in Auschwitz where he had slept as an emaciated 14-year-old on a flat wooden “bed,” cramped next to dozens of other boys his age. As though 1944 were yesterday, tears pool in his eyes as he explains to a film crew and a crowd of onlookers huddled close that it is the memory of his brother, Bondi—who did not survive the Holocaust—that inspires him today: Though he has been murdered because of who he was—a Jew—and though his body no longer exists…in me, his soul is alive today, here, and telling us all: Love your neighbor…It is that message from him, to me, to you: When you see evil, and you hear evil, do not close your eyes. Do not stuff your ears. Be there. Irving falls quiet in grieved reminiscence, and the silence—which had been penetrable as the crowd held its breath, hanging onto his every word—finally breaks. Soft sniffles can be heard as the crowd murmurs amongst themselves in awe, deeply moved. A heavy sense of responsibility settles onto those listening as they consider the culpability Irving’s words carry. Now that they know, they must act. Irving, who passed away on February 16, 2021, was known for the arresting effect his presence and his words had on people. Despite his small, wiry frame, he was able to captivate an audience with his stories, his piercing blue eyes and wide smile pulsating with urgency. One could not help but carefully consider one’s future in light of Irving’s past, and this is the legacy he leaves for those who survive him. O “ A transformation is possible. Repentance is possible. We can create a better world. It’s up to us.”8 CUFI SUMMER 2021 Born in 1929 in Kosice, a town in then-Czechoslovakia, Irving was the first member of the family to be born in a hospital, and his grandfather Shimon joked that he had been “born into luxury.” When Irving was six, his family moved to Humenne, a town about an hour away, for his father and grandfather to start a lumber business together. Their business was successful, and Irving vividly remembered his early childhood as having been “wonderful.” But when the Nuremberg Laws came to Irving’s country, Irving’s life changed dramatically. He was shunned by the boys with whom he used to play soccer, as well as by his longtime crush, a young Christian girl, Sonia, with whom he used to walk to school carrying her books. Legal ownership of the family’s business passed to a longstanding Christian friend of the family, who, before a year had passed, demanded over half of the profits despite his nominal involvement. In 1944, Irving’s family was packed into a cattle car and, along with hundreds of others, was told they were being resettled. When the train stopped and the door slid open at Auschwitz, Irving’s family was separated, and he never saw his grandfather, grandmother, aunt, or two cousins, again. Fourteen-year-old Irving would go on to survive death marches, two concentration camps, beatings, assault, and starvation. The immense difficulties of Irving’s time at Auschwitz, including the loss of his brother, are described in Irving’s memoir, Bondi’s Brother (Shoah Educational Enterprise: 2004). In the book, Irving’s son and co-author, Edward, dubs his father an “irrepressible optimist.” And all those who encountered Irving can attest to the truth of this description. After Auschwitz was liberated in 1945, Irving weighed just 75 pounds. He returned to Humenne and was reunited with his parents who had survived the war by being hidden by a Christian woman in Hungary. Irving immigrated to America with his parents in 1951, got married, served in the U.S. Army, attended high school, college, and graduate school, and raised a family. For many years, he refused to speak about his experiences during the Holocaust. But slowly, Irving began to recount the atrocities he experienced at Auschwitz and share the painful experiences he underwent. His purpose was to prevent such evil from ever occurring again—and to preserve alive the memory of those who perished in that genocide, including many members of his family. In 1999, Irving conceived and developed the acclaimed Adopt a Survivor program, through which “adopters” promise to tell the stories of survivors after they are gone, which has been instituted nationally at public high schools and colleges. The program has connected dozens of Survivors with young individuals who have pledged neither to forget their stories nor keep it to themselves. Truly a giant among men left us today. Traveling through Poland with Irving on a CUFI on Campus trip as a young college student, bearing witness to his overcoming and forgiveness at places like Auschwitz, was a foundational experience that shaped my purpose. No audience was too small and each person felt like the most important with Irving. Never have I met a man with such intention, joy, vigor, energy, and humor. His life and legacy challenge me to live intentionally and with great resolve. May his memory be a blessing and his wisdom live on through every person he has touched. His absence will leave a void in our hearts, and his legacy a reminder of our mission. HOPE HERNANDEZ Southeastern University CUFI on Campus 20099 CUFI SUMMER 2021 Until he passed, Irving was also the director of The Holocaust Resource Center at Temple Judea of Manhasset in New York. And in 2009, he led his first of two Living Witness Tours to Poland with CUFI, going on to speak to thousands of people at hundreds of CUFI events over the course of 11 years. Despite his horrific past, Irving never lost hope for the future. He wholeheartedly believed that light overpowers darkness and justice can beat back evil if good people are willing to stand up for what is right. At CUFI’s 2019 Washington, DC Summit, he spoke to a room of 5,000 Christians gathered in our nation’s capital and said, “Today, the Jewish people have a land; they have a state, an army, a navy, an air force. They are solidly in control of their destiny. But my friends, it is not enough. For a table or a chair to stand, it needs three legs. My friends, I am now looking at the representatives of the second leg: CUFI. You have committed yourself to making sure that the evildoers of this world don’t destroy the State of Israel... Continue your fight. Let’s stand together. And with the third leg, the help of God, Am Yisrael Chai.” In the tradition of the Righteous Among the Nations who did whatever was in their power to protect their Jewish brethren during the members are on the frontlines of the war against the Jews that wages on today, combating antisemitism and effecting policy to ensure the United States stands with Israel against her enemies in the region and in our own country. A year before his passing, Irving stood in Poland before a group of participants of CUFI’s 2019 Living Witness Tour whom he said were making the promise Never Again “a reality.” “You are the righteous of the world,” he stated simply. “A heavy burden. But I know, deep in my heart, you’re up to the test. And that gives me hope for the future. And I love you.” In the months since Irving’s passing, dozens of those who heard his story have pledged to share it with the next generation. It is up to them now—to us—to carry his torch and communicate his testimony. May Irving’s memory forever be a blessing, and may we inherit his irrepressible optimism that, together, we can beat back the darkness of antisemitism and better our world. Remember I spoke to you. I will not be able to speak to your grandchildren because I won’t be around. But I would like your children and grandchildren to know about the Holocaust, about my life. I would like you to become surrogate survivors. Make sure you tell the story. –Irving Roth Irving Roth, you left a legacy. We are forever changed by your life, your story, your words, your actions and your spirit. May we do everything we can to continue your life’s work. ank you will never be enough. May your memory be a blessing to us all. JORDAN FARHART San Antonio, TX I am a Jew, and a member of Christians United for Israel. I loved Irving Roth from afar. I knew how powerful it was that Irving told his Holocaust story to young people across the country, and that CUFI helped facilitate it. I am grateful for CUFI for its devotion to truth, to the Jewish people, and to Israel. I am deeply grateful for Irving Roth: his life and his memory are blessings. ANNE ETRA Richmond, NY Corina Cater is the Communications Associate at Christians United for Israel.Next >