1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters
2.  Hearings
3. On the Record

1. Bills & Resolutions
2. Letters
3. Hearings
4. On the Record

Congress returned this week from its summer recess – coming back for a very brief session before it goes back into recess for the final period before November elections. Surprising no one, GOP leaders returned to Washington eager to score points against the Obama Administration over its Iran policy – immediately introducing 6 pieces of Iran-focused legislation (all 100% partisan), on top of a whopping 14 GOP letters sent to the Obama Administration from GOP House and Senate members (over the recess and this week) demanding answers to long and leading lists of questions about Iran-related matters

In addition, this week opened with a faux-anti-BDS event on Capitol Hill – “faux” because, consistent with the trend in Congress for more than a year, the real goal of the event was to legitimize settlements. As noted in Israel Hayom (the paper owned by Sheldon Adelson and viewed as so close to Netanyahu that it is nicknamed, “Bibiton”), the event was instigated by the Shomron Regional Council – the municipal body of settlements in the northern part of the West Bank – and featured settler leader Yossi Dagan. The opening paragraph of the article makes crystal clear the intent of the event: “U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday hosted a unique conference to support the Judea and Samaria settlement enterprise and denounce anti-Israel incitement and the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement's activities on American university campuses.” Also see: A7: Samarian Council takes fight against BDS to Washington (with video); Ynet: Head of Samaria Regional Council speaks at congressional BDS conference; and JPost:  Republican Congressmen: BDS akin to 1930s anti-Semitism.  

1. JCPOA Bday Week: Iran-Focused Bills Passed by the House
2. JCPOA Bday Week: New Iran-Focused Bills & Resolutions
3. JCPOA Bday Week: Action on Existing Iran-Focused Bills & Resolutions
4. JCPOA Bday Week: Iran-Focused Letters
5. Other Bills, Resolutions & Letters (Not Focused Solely on Iran)
6. Hearings (more Iran here, too!
7. On the Record: Slamming the JCPOA, Supporting Iran bills, etc
8. On the Record: Defending the JCPOA, Opposing Iran bills, etc
9. On the Record: About Everything Other Than Iran

As expected, last week – which marked the one-year anniversary of the Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA – was for Iran deal opponents in Congress an opportunity for unremitting grandstanding, including with the introduction, promotion, and passage of various pieces of legislation designed to undermine or effectively cancel the agreement (see Washington Post 7/11: House GOP to tackle new Iran sanctions before leaving town). Those efforts were also unapologetically and overtly partisan (see Foreign Policy 7/12: House Dems Rebel Against GOP’s Iran Sanctions Push). For its part (and probably reflecting this partisan problem), AIPAC appears for now to be keeping its powder dry: it sent a memo to the Hill last week (Taking Stock: The Iran Deal One Year Later) acknowledging that the JCPOA has worked in reducing the threat of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon and calling on Congress to take a range of actions to get tougher on Iran (a list well worth keeping around for future reference); however, as of this writing the AIPAC “legislative agenda” page does not endorse any of the pending Iran-related measures.

Also: APN on the JCPOA at One Year: A Clear Win for Both the U.S. & Israel; APN resources on the anniversary of the JCPOA are here.

1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters
2. Hearings
3. On the Record

NOTE: July 14 will mark the one-year anniversary of the JCPOA. It is likely no coincidence that this week and next week, Iran is a big topic of discussion and grandstanding around Iran.

On June 7, 2016, APN published its own "explainer" laying out in detail the reasons why the anti-BDS/pro-settlements Executive Order signed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is unconstitutional. You can find that explainer - which applies in all or in parts to anti-BDS/pro-settlements legislation being pushed and adopted in states across the U.S. -- here.

APN is by no means alone in its conclusion that this E.O., and similar legislation, is unconstitutional. For analysis/opinions from other groups, including major civil liberties organizations, see below.

1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters
2. FY17 ForOps Season Opens: House Bill
3. FY17 ForOps Season Opens: Senate Bill
4. Hearings
5. On the Record

1. Bills, Resolutions, & Letters
2. FY17 DOD Appropriations Bill
3. Hearings
4. On the Record

APN sent the following written testimony to the platform drafting committees of the Republican and Democratic parties for consideration as they draft the portion of their platforms that addresses Israel and the Middle East:  

The ongoing disagreement between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Obama Administration over the terms of a new 10-year Memorandum of Understanding -- expected to commit the U.S. to annual financial assistance to Israel that will be far greater than that of the current MOU ($3.1 billion annually) -- is in the news this week, as Netanyahu and friends in Congress play hardball over demands for significantly increased funding for Israeli missile defense (over and above the funding in the current MOU).

Below are two articles from the Hebrew-language Israeli press, offering views that are somewhat different from those seen in English-language reports. [Translations by Israel News Today.]

1. Bills, Resolutions, & Letters
2. FY17 NDAA – Senate Madness Continues
3. Hearings
4. On the Record

Note: On June 5, 2016, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an Executive Order (EO) entitled: “Directing State Agencies and Authorities to Divest Public Funds Supporting BDS Campaign Against Israel.”  Americans for Peace Now (APN) opposes boycotts of Israel. APN also opposes legislation (and the equivalent, like this executive order) that seeks to outlaw boycotts or other forms of legal, non-violent activism against Israel. We believe such initiatives are the wrong way to combat BDS. Our full policy is here.  Our explainer, laying out our objections to the new EO in New York (and which apply equally to similar legislation being considered/adopted elsewhere in the country) – including an explanation of the constitutional issues involved, can be found here.