Aipac update

www.aipac.org October 7, 2008
Congress Approves $2.55 Billion in Aid to Israel
Iran Says It Will Not Stop Uranium Enrichment
Syria Bars U.N. Inspectors from Alleged Nuclear Sites
Lawmakers Condemn Prospect of Iran on U.N. Security Council
Hamas-Run TV Broadcasts Terrorist Techniques
Beatles Legend Paul McCartney Performs in Israel

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Congress Approves $2.55 Billion in Aid to Israel
In a strong show of support for the U.S.-Israel alliance, Congress has approved a bill that includes $2.38 billion in security assistance for the Jewish state. President Bush quickly signed the bill into law. Combined with the additional $170 million in aid to Israel locked in by Congress earlier this year, Jerusalem will receive a total of $2.55 billion in security assistance for fiscal year 2009—in line with the first year of the new 10-year, $30 billion agreement reached between the United States and Israel last year. Also last week, the Senate passed legislation that requires the president to ensure that Israel's qualitative military edge in the Middle East be maintained in any future arms sales to regional states. The House approved a similar measure earlier this year. Click here to learn more about the importance of U.S. aid to Israel.
Iran Says It Will Not Stop Uranium Enrichment
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic will not stop enriching uranium—a key step toward developing nuclear weapons—even if it is guaranteed supplies of nuclear fuel from abroad, Reuters reported. "Iran's uranium enrichment policy remains unchanged," Mottaki said. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, recently criticized Tehran for withholding information needed to explain alleged military involvement in the country's nuclear program. Iran faces further sanctions as a result of its continued defiance of U.N. Security Council demands that it halt its illicit nuclear activity. Click here to learn more about how Iran is rapidly expanding its atomic work.
Syria Bars U.N. Inspectors from Alleged Nuclear Sites
Syria refused on Friday to open up military sites to U.N. weapons inspectors probing the country's alleged nuclear activities, Reuters reported. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been questioning Syria since May over intelligence reports that Damascus was building a secret plutonium-producing reactor before it was destroyed in an air strike a year ago. Diplomats close to the IAEA have said Syria has ignored the agency's requests to check three military installations believed to be linked to the alleged reactor site. The Bush administration recently called Syria's nuclear program "a threat to regional peace and security," and warned that "we cannot allow the world's most dangerous regimes to acquire the world's most dangerous weapons."
Lawmakers Condemn Prospect of Iran on U.N. Security Council
Twenty-three House members sent a letter to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad asking him to urge his U.N. colleagues not to grant Iran's request to become a member of the U.N. Security Council. The letter, spearheaded by Reps. John R. "Randy" Kuhl, Jr. (R-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and sent on Friday, notes that Iran's repeated calls for the destruction of the United States and Israel and its support for various terrorist groups constitute a direct violation of the U.N. Charter. The letter also condemns Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, stating, "Iran has relentlessly and deceptively pursued nuclear capabilities for years, and continues to enrich uranium, in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2007), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008), and 1835 (2008)."
Hamas-Run TV Broadcasts Terrorist Techniques
Hamas is broadcasting detailed terrorism training classes on Gaza television, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. The Iranian-backed terrorist group is using its airwaves to teach Palestinians fighting techniques aimed at the Israel Defense Forces, including shooting at moving targets, assaulting tanks and trucks and building improvised bombs. Hamas is preparing for war against Israel despite its commitment to Egypt last June to halt all violent activity in and around Gaza. Hamas—whose charter says that Israel will exist "until Islam eliminates it"—faces international isolation until it recognizes Israel, renounces terrorism and accepts previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
Beatles Legend Paul McCartney Performs in Israel
In front of 40,000 fans in Tel Aviv, Sir Paul McCartney performed Beatles classics such as Hello Goodbye, Eleanor Rigby and Back in the USSR, The Guardianreported. McCartney's decision to play in Israel attracted controversy, but he did not change his plans. "I was approached by different groups and political bodies who asked me not to come here," McCartney said. "I refused. I do what I think, and I have many friends who support Israel." Speaking to reporters on the eve of his performance, McCartney said: "People ask this question through the years: 'Do you think music can change things?' I think it can. I think it's good for people's souls. I think without music it would be a seriously bad world. I'm bringing a message of peace, and I think that's what the region needs."