Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived.

1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters
2. FY22 SFOPS on the House Floor
3. Hearings & Markups
4. On the Record

More great FMEP programming:

• FMEP webinar 7/28: Palestinian Liberation & Leadership: What’s Next?, fr. Ines Abdel-Razek (PIPD) and Tareq Baconi (ICG), in conversation with FMEP’s Lara Friedman.
• FMEP podcast 7/28: NSO Group & Israel’s expertise in spyware & repression, ft. FMEP fellow Peter Beinart in conversation with Yousef Munayyer and Dahlia Scheindlin about the Israeli intelligence firm NSO Group, which leases military-grade surveillance tools to authoritarian regimes around the world.
• FMEP podcast 7/25: The System & Soldiers Behind Settler Violence, ft. Avner Gvaryahu (Breaking the Silence) in conversation with FMEP’s Kristin McCarthy, about BtS’s latest report, “On Duty: Settler Violence in the West Bank”

1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters

(TARGETING UNRWA, PALESTINIAN REFUGEES, & PALESTINIAN RIGHTS; CONFLATING ISRAEL WITH WEST BANK AND CONFLATING CRITICISM OF ISRAEL WITH ANTISEMITISM) S. 2479 (text) & HR 4721 (text): Introduced 7/27 in the Senate by Risch (R-ID) and 12 Republican cosponsors, and in the House by Roy (R-TX) and 20 Republican cosponsrs, the “United Nations Relief and Works Agency Accountability and Transparency Act” aka, “A bill to withhold United States contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and for other purposes.” Referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. This bill:

• attacks the UNRWA (the organization)
• attacks Palestinian refugees (legislating them out of existence)
• delegitimizes Palestinian history/narrative/rights (by targeting the mere idea of the right of return)
• attacks non-violent protest of Israel via boycotts of either Israel or settlements (citing an Obama-era trade law to conflate the two), and
• legislates/weaponizes a definition of “antisemitism” that explicitly conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

Tweets/statements in support: Risch (R-ID) [including quotes from all of the Senate cosponsors], Roy (R-TX), Roy (R-TX), Donalds (R-FL), Portman (R-OH), Crapo (R-ID), Rubio (R-FL), Rubio (R-FL), Boozman (R-AR), Boozman (R-AR), Portman (R-OH); Free Beacon 7/27 story breaking news of the legislation: Republicans Want To Cut Funding for Palestinian Refugee Agency

(SETTLEMENTS = ISRAEL!!!!) ​​S. 2489 (text): Introduced 7/27 by Cotton (R-AR) and 5 Republican co-sponsors, “A bill to require the maintenance of the country of origin markings for imported goods produced in the West Bank or Gaza, and for other purposes.” Referred to the Committee on Finance. Also see:

• Cotton tweet – “Left-wing activists abuse county-of-origin labels in order to stigmatize products made in Israel [by which he means, in the West Bank]. Our bill will defend the integrity of the Jewish State by ensuring that Israeli products may proudly bear the label ‘Made in Israel’”
• Cotton press release – “Cotton, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Ban Anti-Semitic Country-of-Origin Labels”; Rubio (R-FL) press release
• Jewish Insider 7/29: Republican senators seek to codify Trump settlement import-labeling policy

(CONFLATING ISRAEL W/ JEWS, CRITICISM OF ISRAEL W/ ANTISEMITISM) H. Res. 557: Introduced 7/26 by Cawthorn (R-NC) and 3 Republican cosponsors, “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives against the malignant and metastasizing ideology of anti-Semitism.” Referred to the Committees on the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs.  The resolution makes no reference to right-wing sources of antisemitism, but repeatedly invokes Israel and support for Israel, and conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism, including: 

• “Whereas polls show that Americans overwhelmingly support Israel, a liberal democracy in a sea of authoritarianism,” 
• “Whereas evil people try to cloak anti-Semitism in criticism of the Israeli government,” 
• “Whereas anti-Semitism regards Jews around the world as representatives for the nation of Israel and justifies attacking them as proto-military target” 
• “Whereas a significant sign of anti-Semitism is holding the nation of Israel to different standards for warfare, government, and behavior” [this is the final whereas clause]
• Resolving that the House “reaffirms the right of Israel to exist and defend her citizens”
• Resolving that the House “reaffirms the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization and rocket attacks against civilians as a terrorist tactic”
• Resolving that the House “rejects the idea that political discussions about Zionism are a legitimate cover for vicious anti-Semitism”

Also see: Jewish leaders give mixed reviews of Madison Cawthorn’s antisemitism resolution (Jewish Insider – TLDR – Mort Klein loves it).

(SANCTIONS ON COUNTRIES THAT VIOLATE HUMAN RIGHTS) HR 4718: Introduced 7/27 by Omar (D-MN), “To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to foreign countries that are in violation of international human rights law or international humanitarian law, and for other purposes.” Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, as well as the Committees on the Judiciary, Intelligence (Permanent Select), and Homeland Security. Omar announced the bill on Twitter on 7/27: ing the bill: “If we believe in democracy and human rights, we should be loudly decrying the current assault on democracy in Tunisia—the heart of the Arab Spring. If Tunisia’s president does not reverse course, we should suspend all security aid, as is required by law.” and “I will be introducing a bill today to make it illegal for the U.S. to continue to arm human rights abusers.”

(TARGETING HIZBALLAH) H. Res. 558: Introduced 7/26 by Deutch (D-FL) and having 9 bipartisan cosponsors, “Urging the European Union to designate Hizballah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.” Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Deutch press release is here. Also see: Members of US Congress call on EU to designate Hezbollah in entirety a terror group (EU Reporter)

(SOLIDARITY WITH LEBANON) H. Res. 569: Introduced 7/28 by Lahood (R-IL) and 10 bipartisan cosponsors, “Expressing continued solidarity with the Lebanese people after the devastating explosions at the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and the continued efforts to form a secure, independent, and democratic Lebanon.” Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Also see: Lahood (R-IL) press release; Lahood tweet highlighting Issa (R-CA) co-sponsorship.

(NDAA) S. XXXX: On July 22nd the Senate Armed Services completed work on the FY22 NDAA. As of this writing the bill text has not been released. Press release is here; Executive Summary is here. There will be full analysis of the Middle East-related elements in the bill once the actual text is released.

(EXTRA-TERRITORIAL PERSECUTION) HR 4806: Introduced 7/29 by Cohen (R-TN) and 10 bipartisan co-sponsors, “To counter efforts by foreign governments to pursue, harass, or otherwise persecute individuals for political and other unlawful motives overseas.” Referred to the Committees on Foreign Affairs and the Judiciary.

(FOREIGN INFLUENCE IN US ELEX) HR 4847: Introduced 7/29 by Porter (D-CA),  the “Foreign Political Influence Elimination Act of 2021“, aka, “To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to treat certain foreign-owned corporations and business organizations as foreign nationals for purposes of the ban on campaign activity, to prohibit foreign-affiliated section 501(c)(4) organizations from making contributions to super PACs or disbursing funds for independent expenditures or electioneering communications, to amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to reform the procedures for the registration of agents of foreign principals under such Act, and for other purposes.” Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on House Administration. Porter press release – which mentions UAE, Russia, China, Iran – is here.

(CONDEMNING HONOR KILLING IN IRAN) H. Res. 497: Introduced 6/24 by Cicilline (D-RI), “Condemning the murder of Alireza Fazeli Monfared and the practice of so-called “honor killings” in Iran, and for other purposes.” Marked up 7/29 and ordered to be reported out of Committee.

Letters

(EUROPE AND HEZBOLLAH) Rosen-Blackburn letter to Slovenian PM: On 7/29, Senators Rosen (D-NV) and Blackburn (R-TN) sent a letter to Slovenian Prime Minister Jansa applauding Slovenia’s designation of Hezbollah’s military and political wings as a terrorist organization in December and praising its leadership on the issue. The letter concludes: “With Slovenia’s assumption of the presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1, we urge you to continue your sound leadership on this matter, and place countering Hezbollah terrorism onto your agenda for Brussels…”

(BLOCK IRANIAN OFFICIALS COMING TO UNGA) Cotton et al letter to Biden: On 7/27, Sen. Cotton (R-AR) and 5 other Republican senators sent a letter to President Biden to deny visas to senior Iranian officials (including the new Iranian president) to come to the US for the United Nations General Assembly. Denying such visas would be a clear violation of the Agreement Between the United Nations and the United States Regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, Signed June 26, 1947, and Approved by the General Assembly October 31, 1947, aka, the Headquarters Agreement; but that doesn’t mean presidents haven’t done this kind of thing before. Press releases: Cotton, Rubio (R-FL)

(EXTRA $1 BILLION FOR ISRAEL FOR IRON DOME) Rubio et al letter to Approps leaders: On 7/28 Rubio (R-FL) and 6 bipartisan colleagues sent a letter to Appropriations Committee Chair Leahy (D-VT) and ranking member Shelby (R-AL), “urging them to support Israel’s emergency request of ‘$1 billion in security assistance in order to replenish and prepare its Iron Dome missile defense system for a future conflict.’” Rubio press release is here.

(DEAR UNILEVER: SUPPORTING ISRAEL = SUPPORTING SETTLEMENTS) Gottheimer letter to Unilever CEO: On 7/25, Rep. Gottheimer (D-NJ) sent a letter to the CEO of Unilever expressing his “deep disappointment with Ben & Jerry’s recent decision to not do business in the West Bank, and therefore end its current relationship with its licensee which manufactures Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region.” His letter notes his hope “that Ben & Jerry’s, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever, will reconsider this wrong and misguided decision to fuel efforts to single-out and undermine Israel, and will promptly reverse course,” that Unilever understands “the harmful consequences of such a misguided, disappointing decision” and that Unilever will “reverse course by continuing to do business without yielding to anti-Israel political pressure.”

2. FY22 SFOPS on the House Floor

On July 28th the House took up HR 4373, the FY22 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. For details of Middle East/Israel-related elements in the bill, as it was brought to the floor, see the July 2, 2021 edition of the Round-up.

• Bringing HR 4373 to the floor: debate on H. Res. 567 – providing for floor consideration of HR 4373 – is here.
• Floor debate on HR 4373: Statements/floor debate on HR 4373 and amendments is here and here.
• Motion to Recommit: Notably, Gonzalez (R-TX) offered (yet another) Israel-related Motion to Recommit (a grandstanding ploy that, if successful, would have derailed the entire bill but the clear purpose of the MTR is for it to be rejected, so the author can complain that Democrats are anti-Israel) seeking to send HR 4373 back to committee, in the name of adding to the bill $1 billion in additional funding for Israel for Iron Dome (to a bill that already includes more than $3 billion for Israel). That MTR was rejected on a party-line vote, and immediately a communications staffer for McCarthy (R-CA) tweeted: “House Democrats just voted to BLOCK additional funding to support Israel’s Iron Dome defense system WATCH @RepTonyGonzales explain why it is critical America continues to #StandWithIsrael.”
• Passage: The bill ultimately passed, with amendments, late on 7/28 by a vote of 217-212. All Republicans voted “no.” All Democrats voted “yes” except for Bush (D-MO), Tlaib (D-MI), and Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
• Amendments: On July 20, the House Rules Committee invited members to submit amendments to HR 4373. See all amendments submitted here; see Rules Committee debate on the amendments here. Many amendments related to the Middle East/Israel were submitted; only a small number were made In Order and received a vote on the House floor (all of which boiled down to adding statements of support/concern on various matters, as opposed to actually changing the legislation in any way). See below for details of all Middle East/Israel-related amendments to HR 4373 submitted to the Rules Committee
• Accountability: The House-adopted bill text includes a new provision that I did not cover in my earlier analysis of the bill, but which has now surfaced in the discussion around the final text. This provision states:

“(A) Prior to the signing of a new Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) involving funds appropriated under the heading ‘Foreign Military Financing Program’, the Secretary of State shall consult with each recipient government to ensure that the LOA between the United States and such recipient government complies with purposes of section 4 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2754) and that the defense articles, services, and training procured with funds appropriated under such heading are consistent with United States national security policy. (B) The Secretary of State shall promptly inform the appropriate congressional committees of any instance in which the Secretary of State has credible information that such assistance was used in a manner contrary to such agreement.”

Reporting about the bill suggests that this provision is aimed at Israel (see Jewish Insider: New oversight provision passes House alongside $3.3 billion in aid to Israel). Assuming this is indeed the case, there are two different ways (both valid, but contradictory) to view the provision.

• • Negative: It won’t lead to more oversight of aid to Israel and bolsters Israel’s sense of impunity. The provision doesn’t change what was already the law (so it isn’t truly a new requirement); it is highly improbable that a Secretary of State would ever make the (entirely subjective) determination under this provision that would result in reporting to Congress; and it is virtually inconceivable (for now) that the provision would negatively impact funding to Israel or funding for any other country that an Administration is determined to fund. Moreover, Israel knows all of this, and may see this as just Congress allowing its progressives to let off steam with empty words, while the real business of ensuring Israel’s unconditioned, unrestricted, and for all intents and purposes un-overseen aid continues as usual.
  • Positive: It sends a meaningful message to Israel that, as part of SFOPS, was inconceivable in the past. The mere fact that leadership allowed this language to be included, and that members voted for it, sends a message to Israel of growing congressional concern/discontent over Israeli policies and of increasing readiness in Congress to at least permit a conversation/thinking about a link between US aid and Israeli policies. This is true regardless of whether the language makes it into the Senate version of the bill or the final law. From this perspective, the passage of this provision by the House is not insignificant, especially when coupled with language included in the Report accompanying the bill (covered in the July 2 Round-Up) stating, “the Committee urges the Secretary of State to address in bilateral consultations with Israel the importance of ensuring that MOU-supported equipment is not used in any way that undermines the prospects of a negotiated two-state solution.” It is also notable that this language is accompanied by the adoption of the Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) amendment (discussed below), which makes a clear call for stronger oversight of US arms sales and linking them to human rights (the amendment mentions Saudi Arabia by name as an example, but applies to arms sales in general).

Amendments Made In Order (and their fate):

• (LOWEY FUND) Amdt. 36 (#2 in H. Rept. 117-110): Offered by Bowman (D-NY and two Democratic cosponsors, “Increases and decreases funding by $1 million for the Economic Support Fund, which funds the Nita M. Lowey Partnership for Peace Act, to express support for diplomatic efforts.” ADOPTED [this is in effect a statement of support, not a change in funding, which wouldn’t be possible on the floor without an offset]
• (YEMEN) Amdt. 92  (#5 in H. Rept. 117-110): Offered by Dingell (D-MI), “Increases and decreases funds in the Department of State Administrative Account by $1,000,000 to highlight opposition to U.S. political or diplomatic support for the Saudi blockade of Yemen.” ADOPTED [this is in effect a political statement regarding KSA and Yemen, not a change in funding, which wouldn’t be possible on the floor without an offset; Dingell (D-MI) tweeted: “The Saudi blockade has worsened a humanitarian crisis in Yemen that has left hundreds of thousands of children starving. It’s time for the blockade to end – period.” – with clip of her speech on the House floor.
• (ARMS SALES) Amdt. 84  (#25 in H. Rept. 117-110): Offered by Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), “Increases and decreases funds in the Department of State Administrative Account by $1,000,000 to highlight the need for stronger congressional oversight, robust human rights measures, and transparency in U.S. arms sales to countries such as Saudi Arabia.” ADOPTED [this is in effect a political statement regarding oversight of arms sales – including but not limited to Saudi Arabia (which in principle means Israel, too) — not a change in funding, which wouldn’t be possible on the floor without an offset]
• (CYBER/PRIORITIZE HUMAN RIGHTS) Amdt 73  (#31 in H. Rept. 117-110): Offered by Sherrill (D-NJ), “Increases and decreases the Diplomatic Programs account by $10 million to emphasize the need for State department to support efforts to establish clear international norms on state-sponsored, criminal, and commercial cyber activities that prioritize human rights, individual privacy, and consumer protections.” ADOPTED [this is in effect a statement of support for this kind of oversight, not a change in funding, which wouldn’t be possible on the floor without an offset]

Amendments NOT Made In Order [BUT still offering invaluable insight into what to expect from Members of Congress in the future]

• (EGYPT) Amdt. 7: Offered by Omar (D-MN), “Puts human rights, rule of law, and democracy conditions on all FMF funds for Egypt.”
• (JERUSALEM) Amdt 12: Offered by Stefanik (R-NY) and 8 Republican cosponsors, “Prohibits funds for establishing or operating a diplomatic consulate or consulate general in any city with an existing United States Embassy.”
• (UNRWA) Amdt. 19: Offered by Burchett (R-TN), “Prohibits funds from going to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency unless the Secretary of State determines and reports that none of UNRWA’s employees are members of a foreign terrorist organization.”
• (UNHRC) Amdt. 20: Offered by Burchett (R-TN), “Prohibits funds from being used to reenter the United Nations Human Rights Council until the membership of the Council is increased to all 193 UN member states.”
• (NO FUNDS TO APARTHEID) Amdt. 37: Offered by Tlaib (D-MI), “Prohibits any funds appropriated in this act from being made available to any third country, entity or individual found by a vote of the UN General Assembly to be committing the crime against humanity of apartheid.”
• (SURVEILLANCE) Amdt. 38: Offered by Tlaib (D-MI), “Prohibits funds from this act from being made available to to any third country, entity, or individual found to have installed or aided and abetted in the installation of electronic spyware and/or surveillance technology targeting any employee of the United States government.”
• (NO GOING BACK ON ISRAEL MOU) Amdt. 48: Offered by Foxx (R-NC), “Reinforces the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security by protecting the U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding signed on September 14, 2016.”
• (NO $$ to PA for Terrorists) Amdt. 51: Offered by Budd (R-NC) and Zeldin (R-NY), “Prevents funds from being used to pay compensation to Palestinians killed in connection with conspiring to commit an act of domestic or international terrorism or commissioning an act of domestic or international terrorism.”
• (BDS SCREEN FOR US FUNDING TO NGOS) Amdt. 63: Offered by Zeldin (R-NY) and two Republican cosponsors, “Provides that none of the funds may be available to NGOs that participate in the BDS campaign against Israel.”
• (FUND US-ISRAEL POLICE TRAINING) Amdt. 69: Offered by Keller (R-PA), “Directs the Department of State to support bilateral training between United States and Israeli law enforcement personnel.”
• (JERUSALEM) Amdt. 79: Offered by Barr (R-AZ) and Zeldin (R-NY), “Prevents any funding in this bill being used to move the United States’ embassy in Israel to a location other than Jerusalem.”
• (JCPOA) Amdt. 83: Offered by Barr (R-KY), “Prevents any funding in this Act from being used to rejoin the JCPOA (Iran Nuclear Deal) unless the President submits in writing to the House of Representatives and the Senate his commitment to submitting any successor agreement to the Senate for advise and consent as a treaty rather than as an international agreement.”
• (EGYPT) Amdt. 95: Offered by Malinowski (D-NJ) and 5 Democratic cosponsors, “Transfers $1.3B from Egypt Foreign Military Financing to the following accounts: $50M for Nita Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act in Israel /Palestine; $150M for scholarships & educational funding across the Middle East; $150M to support elections and stabilization activities in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia; $250M for emergency humanitarian assistance to Yemeni people; $200M for economic development programs in Tunisia and Jordan; $100M for health programs and vaccinations serving Syrian refugees; $50M to fund Egyptian military contributions to international peacekeeping; $20M for DOS-administered training and monitoring on human rights in detention and torture in the Middle East; $20M to fund OTF counter-surveillance programs for citizens in the Middle East under persistent invasive spyware threats; $100M for emergency economic support to Lebanese people; $50M for NED’s democracy promotion and electoral training programming in the Middle East; $100M to support economic development programs in Iraq; $60M to fund DOS security forces professionalization programs in the Middle East and to strengthen end-use monitoring of US weapons sales in the Middle East.” [NOTE: Malinowski made clear in the Rules committee debate that he had no expectation of this passing but wanted to underscore all that the US could do just in the Middle East with the $1.3 billion that goes to Egypt – watch starting at 3:42:44 in the video].
• (YEMEN) Amdt. 96: Offered by Dingell (D-MI), “States that none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to provide logistical support, supplies and services for the air force or navy of any country that restricts imports or travel at Yemen’s air or sea ports.”
• (EGYPT) Amdt. 104: Offered by Malinowsk (D-NJ) and 7 Democratic cosponsors, “Transfers $25M from Egypt Foreign Military Financing weapons assistance to scholarship funding for Egyptians under the Education and Cultural Exchange account.”
• (UN/PALESTINE) Amdt. 109: Offered by Foxx (R-NC), “Prohibits United States Government officials from serving on any United Nations agencies or affiliates that have granted full membership as a state to any organization that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood.”
• (EGYPT) Amdt. 112: Offered by Malinowski (D-NJ), “Transfers $10M from Egypt FMF account to the Democracy Fund account to support the US-Egypt human rights dialogue and to fund strengthened human rights vetting and monitoring of US security assistance for Egypt.”
• (APARTHEID) Amdt. 129: Offered by Perry (R-PA), “States that none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be made available to any country the government of which has labeled Israel as an apartheid state.”
• (UNRWA) Amdt. 136: Offered by Perry (R-PA), “States that none of the funds made available by this Act may be used for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.”
• (UNHRC) Amdt. 137: Offered by Perry (R-PA), “States that none of the funds made available by this Act may be used for the United Nations Human Rights Council.”

Members on the Record re: SFOPS

• Lots of members spoke on the floor in support of aid to Israel (with clips helpfully disseminated on Twitter by AIPAC), some also mentioning support for the two-state solution or issued statements about the bill citing support for Israel, including: Rogers (R-KY), Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Pelosi (D-CA), Frankel (D-FL) [full statement], Lee (D-CA) [full statement], Frankel (D-FL), Rice (D-NY), Rice (D-NY)
• Rogers (R-KY) (also here) and Reschenthaler (R-PA) spoke positively about funding for Israel but objected to non-waivable conditions on part of Egypt’s aid

Media

• US Jewish groups hail House bill giving aid to Israel, Palestinians (Times of Israel)
• US House approves bill anchoring defense aid to Israel (Israel Hayom)

3. Hearings & Markups

August 3: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing entitled, Authorizations of Use of Force: Administration Perspectives. Scheduled witnesses are Department of State Acting Legal Advisor Richard Visek and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. The following day, the Committee will hold a business meeting to consider S. J. Res. 10, to repeal the authorizations for use of military force against Iraq (and other pending calendar business).

August 3 (MANEL): The Senate Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing entitled, Domestic Terrorism and Violent Extremism: Examining the Threat of Racially, Ethnically, Religiously, and Politically Motivated Attacks, Part I. Scheduled witnesses are: Wade Henderson, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Eric Fingerhut, The Jewish Federations of North America; John Yang, Asian Americans Advancing Justice; Paul Goldenberg, Cardinal Point Strategies; and Seth G. Jones, PH.D., CSIS. On August 5 the Committee will hold Part 2 of this hearing – witnesses have not yet been announced.

July 29: The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism held a hearing entitled, Lebanon: Assessing Political Paralysis, Economic Crisis and Challenges for U.S. Policy. Witnesses were: Mona Yacoubian, United States Institute of Peace (statement); Randa Slim, Middle East Institute (statement); and David Schenker, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (statement). Video is here. Also see: Congress sounds alarm bells on Lebanon (Jewish Insider)

4. On the Record