Though Herzog did not name the lawmakers, his comments appeared to be directed at representatives who refused to attend his speech, which commemorated 75 years of Israeli independence. That group includes "Squad" members Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Cori Bush (Mo.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.).

Omar and other members of the far-left "Squad" have routinely employed anti-Semitic rhetoric when criticizing Israel and working to undermine the U.S.-Israel alliance. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.), the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, drew outrage in the days before Herzog's speech when she publicly slammed Israel as a "racist state."

"I'm not oblivious to criticism among friends, including some expressed by respected members of this House," Herzog said. "I respect criticism, especially from friends, although one does not always have to accept it."

"Criticism of Israel must not cross the line into negation of the State of Israel's right to exist," Herzog said to wide applause in the chamber. "Vilifying and attacking Jews, whether in Israel, in the United States, or anywhere else in the world, is anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is a disgrace in every form."

Herzog also delivered a dire warning about Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon, imploring Congress to work alongside Israel to confront Tehran's genocidal designs.

"Perhaps the greatest challenge Israel and the United States face at this time together is the Iranian nuclear program," the Israeli leader said. "Let there be no doubt: Iran does not strive to obtain nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Iran is building nuclear capabilities that pose a threat to the stability of the Middle East and beyond."

The Islamic Republic "is the only nation on the planet publicly calling, plotting, and developing means to annihilate another nation and member of the family of nations, the State of Israel," Herzog warned. "Allowing Iran to become a nuclear threshold state, whether by omission or by diplomatic commission, is unacceptable."

Though Herzog did not openly criticize the Biden administration's secret diplomacy with Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal—an agreement that would provide Tehran's hardline regime with billions of dollars—he made clear that the Ayatollah's government will never be reformed.

"The world cannot remain indifferent to the Iranian regime's call to wipe Israel off the map," Herzog said. "Tolerating this call and Iran's measures to realize it is an inexcusable moral collapse."

Israel, he added, remains "determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capabilities."

Herzog also revealed that efforts are underway to foster a landmark peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

"Israel thanks the United States for working towards establishing peaceful relations between Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Herzog said. "We pray for this moment to come. This would be a huge sea change in the course of history in the Middle East and the world at large."

The Abraham Accords—the landmark peace deal between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco brokered by the Trump administration—wholly "realigned … our region," Herzog said, noting that more than one million Israelis have visited these countries since peace was struck.

"Israel's hand is extended, and our heart is open, to any partner in peace near or far," including the Palestinians, Herzog said. Peace is impossible, however, as long as the Palestinian government foments terrorism and kills Israeli citizens.

"Palestinian terror against Israel or Israelis undermines any possibility for a future of peace between our peoples," Herzog said. "Israelis are targeted while waiting for buses, while taking a stroll on the promenade, while spending time with their family. At the same time, successful terror attacks are celebrated, terrorists are glorified, and their families are financially rewarded for every Israeli they attack. This is inconceivable. It's a moral disgrace."

Palestinian terrorism "is not a bump in the road," Herzog said. "Terror is hatred and bloodshed. It contradicts humanity's most basic principles of peace. Israel cannot and will not tolerate terror, and we know that in this we are joined by the United States of America."

Even amid ongoing disagreements between Israel's conservative government and the Biden administration, the U.S.-Israel alliance remains unbreakable, Herzog said to sustained applause.

"America is irreplaceable to Israel, and Israel is irreplaceable to America," he said. "Our bond may be challenged at times, but it is absolutely unbreakable."

The post Israeli President Isaac Herzog Blasts Democratic Anti-Semitism in Landmark Congressional Address appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) told the Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday that she is leading efforts to forge a coalition between the United States, Israel, and other Arab signatories to the Abraham Accords. The military coalition would specifically seek to thwart a massive uptick in Iranian attacks on commercial ships traversing through the region. In an unprecedented move, the countries would also link their missile detection systems together to greatly increase reconnaissance on Iran’s missile and drone programs.

Since President Joe Biden took office, Iran has tried to seize nearly 20 oil tankers as they make their way through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil shipping route. The administration also has avoided enforcing sanctions on Iran’s illicit oil trade, helping the regime rake in record profits. Tehran’s terrorism has become so problematic that the Biden administration announced on Monday it will send additional war planes into the region to help deter attacks.

Ernst blamed Biden’s "strategy of appeasement" for emboldening Iran’s hardline regime, saying the only solution is to build a coalition that can "start pushing back on these tanker seizures." The senator’s plan would significantly increase military cooperation between the United States, Israel, and Arab allies in the region at a time when the Jewish state is facing unprecedented criticism from far-left Democrats in Congress.

Republicans like Ernst, on the other hand, say they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Jewish state, even as the Biden administration works to undermine the conservative Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Speaking to the Free Beacon following a keynote speech Tuesday morning at the Christians United for Israel annual Washington, D.C., gathering, Ernst said she is concerned by an uptick in anti-Israel activism among House Democrats.

At least four members of the Democratic Party’s progressive "Squad" announced this week they would boycott a congressional speech by Israel’s president. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) and fellow progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.) also faced widespread condemnation over the weekend for maligning Israel, which Jayapal claimed is a "racist state."

"Israel’s under attack from so many different angles," Ernst said. "It’s under attack from Iran, from violent extremist organizations backed by Iran, and now even from members of Congress they are under attack."

Her legislative efforts are meant to bolster Israel’s security at an uncertain time and also send the message that most in Congress still have the Jewish state’s back.

Biden is "really appeasing Iran, and then we see members of Congress in his own party who feel they can also target Israel," Ernst said. "I think it’s unacceptable to do this."

The lawmaker, who sits on the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, also raised concerns about U.S.-Iran envoy Rob Malley, who recently had his security clearance revoked amid an investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified information.

"We have to know what was going on. What’s the deal here? What was released? What information may have gotten into the wrong hands?" Ernst said, joining a chorus of Republican lawmakers who are demanding answers from the Biden administration. "It’s very troubling, especially when we’re talking about an actor like Iran."

Before being removed from his post and put on unpaid leave, Malley was engaged in secret negotiations with Iran aimed at resurrecting the 2015 nuclear accord. Congress, Ernst said, is already examining several routes to block a potential deal.

"Congress really needs to step in," she said, "and try to thwart these behind closed doors, under the radar type meetings and any agreement President Biden reaches with Iran."

The post Joni Ernst Blasts Biden Admin's 'Appeasement' of Iran, Outlines Plan To Fight Tehran With Arab Allies appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

At least four members of the Democratic Party’s progressive "Squad" announced they would boycott Herzog’s address to Congress this Wednesday. The group includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.), Cori Bush (D., Mo.), and Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.). Omar and fellow progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.) drew widespread scrutiny over the weekend for criticizing Israel, which Jayapal slammed as a "racist state."

Herzog’s visit comes days after President Joe Biden denounced Israel’s governing coalition as "extremist." Until Monday, when Biden spoke to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone and made plans to meet with him in person, the two had not talked in months, and Biden's invitation to Herzog, who has been a critic of Israeli judicial reforms backed by Netanyahu, was viewed as a rebuke. It was also a move that some Jewish community leaders say has emboldened Israel-bashing within the Democratic Party.

"The Biden administration has created an atmosphere that is literally anti-Israel, that doesn’t respect democracy," former Democratic New York assemblyman Dov Hikind told the Washington Free Beacon. "When the prime minister is not invited to the White House, which is a tradition going back decades and decades and decades, what message does that send? That gave a green light to these [anti-Israel] radicals."

Speaking at the left-wing Netroots Nation conference Saturday, Omar called for voters to elect to Congress "Palestinian people who have now experienced occupation and displacement for 75 years." At the same event, Jayapal, the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said she was "fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state."

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was also accused of anti-Semitism over the weekend after he said there was "an argument that [COVID-19] is ethnically targeted" to have a greater impact on white and black people and a lower impact on Chinese and Jewish people.

The American Jewish Committee said Kennedy’s claim "reflects some of the most abhorrent antisemitic conspiracy theories throughout history and contributes to today’s dangerous rise of antisemitism."

After facing backlash from Jewish community leaders—who noted that her remarks fall under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism—Jayapal tried to dial back her comments slightly. In a statement, she said she was referring to the "outright racist policies" of the Israeli government and does not believe that "the idea of Israel as a nation is racist."

But in her apology, Jayapal reiterated her opposition to conservative Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, writing: "I do, however, believe that Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government."

The apology did not go nearly far enough for mainstream Jewish Democrats, who are circulating a letter calling for the expulsion of "anti-Zionist voices" from the party, according to a copy of the missive obtained Sunday evening by Axios.

"Israel is the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people and efforts to delegitimize and demonize it are not only dangerous and antisemitic, but they also undermine America’s national security," the signatories wrote. The letter stopped short of calling Jayapal’s statements anti-Semitic.

Biden has been increasingly vocal with his criticism of Israel as well. In a July 9 interview with CNN, he labeled Netanyahu’s government "one of the most extremist" of all time, and called on the Israeli leader to "move toward moderation." The White House also appeared to support anti-Netanyahu protests in Israel last week, saying it "urge[s] authorities in Israel to protect and respect the right of peaceful assembly"—a comment that the administration has not made about protests in other countries, such as France, and which carries the implication that Netanyahu’s government is undemocratic.

Biden reiterated these concerns in his Monday call to Netanyahu, during which he also "expressed concern" about Israeli settlements, according to the White House.

Republicans have seized on Democrats’ internecine conflict in advance of Herzog’s trip, set to mark 75 years of Israeli independence. Republican presidential hopefuls Mike Pence and Nikki Haley both condemned the boycott. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), who has repeatedly clashed with anti-Israel Democrats, told reporters on Friday that "anti-Semitism shouldn’t be anywhere, and especially shouldn’t be inside Congress."

Hikind, a longtime Democratic politician in New York, said the increasing animosity against Israel from Biden and top Democratic leaders has crossed the line—and pushed him to register as a Republican for the first time.

"That’s not because things are perfect in the Republican Party, they’re not," said Hikind. "But the Democratic Party, forget it, they’ve gone off a cliff."

Update July 18, 11:00 a.m.: This post has been updated to correct Dov Hikind’s position. He was a New York state assemblyman, not a New York City councilman.

The post ‘Gone Off a Cliff’: Dems Grapple with Anti-Semitism Ahead of Israeli President’s Visit appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) is spearheading an effort to formally reinstate the federal government’s Migrant Protection Protocols, commonly known as the "Remain in Mexico" policy, which required illegal immigrants seeking asylum at the southern border to stay in Mexico while awaiting immigration proceedings.

The Biden administration reversed this order in 2022, leading scores of migrants to surge across the border and eventually be released into the country, where federal authorities have no way of tracking them. Blackburn on Monday moved to revive the Trump-era policy via an amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

The proposal is certain to draw support from Senate Republicans, who have rallied against the Biden administration’s lax border policies, blaming them for a historic surge in illegal immigration. But with Democrats in control of the Senate, a reinstatement of the "Remain in Mexico" policy could complicate efforts to pass the NDAA, the mandatory yearly spending bill that funds national security priorities. The House passed its own version of the NDAA on Monday over the objection of the Biden administration, which opposes a host of provisions that crack down on China and defund woke cultural initiatives.

Blackburn’s measure, a version of a bill she introduced in May, would effectively stop federal border authorities from permitting most migrants from entering America. Instead, they will be sent back to Mexico and assigned a court hearing date. Proponents say this policy is critical to ensuring illegal immigrants are not freely released into the country, where it is difficult for border authorities to track their whereabouts.

"An open border is one of our greatest national security threats, as migrant children are trafficked and suspected criminals and terrorists enter undetected," Blackburn told the Free Beacon. "We must take action now to curb child trafficking and stop the flow of illegal immigration into the United States."

In May, the Biden administration directed Customs and Border Protection to release migrants into America "without court dates or the ability to track them," according to NBC News. With migrants arriving at the border "at levels not seen in more than two decades," the Biden administration’s decision to release them into the country has emerged as a top concern among border hawks.

Blackburn is pushing a second border amendment that would require DNA tests to determine the relationship between illegal immigrants and any children arriving with them at the border. The Biden administration also reversed the policy earlier in the year, with critics warning this would make it easier for human traffickers to move migrant children into America. The amendment is a revamped version of a June law that Blackburn spearheaded with the support of 10 other Republican senators.

The measure is meant to address growing concerns in Congress that migrant children released into the country are being illegally put to work, often in the sex trade. A record number of 152,000 unaccompanied minors were seen by Customs and Border Protection in 2022, with another 324,000 in the last 26 months, the Free Beacon reported in May.

The post Amid Border Crisis, Republicans Push to Reinstate 'Remain In Mexico' appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

In a Monday letter sent to State Department acting inspector general Diana Shaw, a group of 17 senators, led by South Carolina Republican Tim Scott, demand the watchdog "conduct an independent investigation into whether State Department officials complied with all appropriate laws and regulations" when they removed Malley from his posting. The signatories say the State Department must clearly explain why Malley was only placed on unpaid leave after information about an FBI investigation into his actions spilled into the press.

"We were alarmed to learn that the U.S. Department of State has suspended Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley's clearance, is conducting an investigation into Malley's handling of classified information, and only recently placed Malley on leave without pay," the senators wrote.

The charges against Malley come as the Biden administration conducts secret diplomacy with Iran aimed at securing a new nuclear deal. The United States is reportedly prepared to give the cash-strapped Iranian regime access to billions of dollars in exchange for minimal restrictions on its nuclear program, which is closer than ever to developing an atomic weapon.

Malley quietly had his security clearance revoked sometime earlier this year, but that information was kept hidden from Congress until late last month, when Malley himself confirmed he was on extended leave. Congressional leaders in both chambers have now initiated investigations into the matter and suspect the Biden administration may have intentionally tried to hide the investigation into Malley's apparent mishandling of classified information.

For at least a month, the State Department would only say that Malley was on extended leave for personal reasons, but later changed his status once the investigation became public. Malley's official biography has now been scrubbed from the State Department's website, and his image removed from the Iran envoy's Twitter page, the Washington Free Beacon reported last week.

Scott and his colleagues want to know exactly when Malley was informed his security clearance had been revoked and when he turned in "all 'department-issued credentials that provide logical or physical access to classified systems or designated classified spaces.'" This information will help the senators determine if the investigation into Malley began earlier than publicly known.

The lawmakers also ask the State Department, "On what date did the State Department place Special Envoy Malley on leave without pay? Why did the State Department make the decision to do so on this date rather than on the date on which Malley's clearance was suspended?"

The House Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Texas), is running its own investigation into the Malley scandal. The State Department is stonewalling the probe, telling McCaul last week that it "is not in a position to provide further documents or information related to this personnel-security clearance matter."

The State Department also will not answer press questions about the situation, only telling the Free Beacon that Malley "remains on leave" and that "we have nothing further to share at this time due to privacy considerations."

The post Senators Demand Independent Probe Into Rob Malley Security Clearance Fiasco appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Malley’s biography is no longer featured on the State Department's official web portal, hinting that the official may no longer be employed even as the department maintains that Malley is "on leave" from his posting for undisclosed reasons. The Iran envoy’s official Twitter page also no longer features Malley’s image, which is now replaced with a photograph of acting special envoy Abram Paley, who has taken on Malley’s duties.

Malley has been missing in action for months, but was formally placed on unpaid leave late last month after news broke of an investigation into his mishandling of classified information. Malley’s security clearance was revoked while the FBI reportedly probes the matter.

The investigation into Malley has fueled speculation across Capitol Hill as the Biden administration secretly negotiates a revamped version of the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran. Malley was leading these talks until he quietly went on extended leave earlier this month.

House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (R., Texas) pressed the State Department for answers earlier this month, but his investigation is being stonewalled, the Washington Free Beacon reported Wednesday. The State Department informed McCaul that it is "not in a position to provide further documents or information related to this personnel-security clearance matter."

The response drew outrage from McCaul, who is currently working on ways to compel the State Department into coming clean about Malley’s actions. Lawmakers say they are particularly concerned by the Biden administration’s attempts to keep Malley’s security clearance issues a secret. News of the investigation only became public after it leaked to the press.

"Congress deserves to know exactly why the U.S. Special Envoy to Iran had his security clearance suspended, was then suspended from his position, and now, according to news reports, is being investigated by the FBI," McCaul told the Free Beacon earlier this week. "This is a person whose mission is to negotiate with the Islamic Republic of Iran—nothing could be more serious than this."

The State Department continues to duck questions about Malley, or even confirm that he is under investigation, despite Malley himself confirming that his security clearance was revoked.

"Rob Malley remains on leave," a State Department spokesman told the Free Beacon. "We have nothing further to share at this time due to privacy considerations."

The post Now You See Me, Now You Don't: State Department Removes Embattled Iran Envoy’s Bio from Website appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Kerry, who was not in government at the time, held at least three secret meetings with former Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, during which he attempted to undermine the Trump administration’s hardline policies towards Tehran. Kerry defended these powwows under questioning from Rep. Michael Waltz (R., Fla.) during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Thursday.

"Shadow diplomacy," Kerry said, is permissible "depending on what it does. Shadow diplomacy has also saved us from a war," Kerry said, referring to back-channel discussions that helped diffuse the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

Kerry’s behavior, Waltz said, "undermined current administration diplomacy." At the time Kerry met with Zarif, then-president Donald Trump was working to kill the nuclear accord and reimpose tough sanctions on Tehran. Kerry’s meetings drew widespread scrutiny after Zarif claimed the former secretary of state passed him sensitive information about Israeli strikes in Syria.

Kerry denied disclosing that information, saying that conversation "never took place," but also claimed details about Israel’s attacks on Iranian positions were "in public circulation" at the time.

Waltz dismissed this rationale, saying, "I would posit that your shadow diplomacy now has us on the verge of Iran having a nuclear weapon."

Kerry also declined to elaborate on how he communicated with Zarif, and whether any conversations took place via encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal.

"I don’t recall how I communicated with him," Kerry said.

The post WATCH: Kerry Defends Secret Meetings With Iran During Trump Admin appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

The State Department on Tuesday informed House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (R., Texas) that it wont answer any questions about the matter or provide the committee with details about the allegations against Malley, who was placed on unpaid leave late last month while the FBI and other security agencies investigate his actions.

"The Department is not in a position to provide further documents or information related to this personnel-security clearance matter," the State Department informed McCaul, according to a copy of the correspondence obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The exact charges against Malley remain unclear, but the decision to revoke his security clearance has led lawmakers to suspect the top diplomat may have mishandled classified information during diplomatic talks with Iran. Malley has been working to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which would remove sanctions on Tehran and provide the hardline regime with billions in cash windfalls.

Malley has a history of going off the rails in his diplomatic efforts. In 2008, he was fired from the Obama campaign for conducting unauthorized talks with the Iranian-backed terror group Hamas.

McCaul and other lawmakers suspect the Biden administration tried to conceal Malley’s alleged mishandling of classified information. He has been on an extended leave of absence from the State Department for some time, but was formally placed on unpaid leave after news of the investigation into his behavior leaked to the press last month.

Instead of answering McCaul’s questions, the State Department referred him to the Foreign Affairs Manual, an internal employee handbook that summarizes how classified information should be treated.

The State Department’s refusal to answer basic questions and turn over information to Congress is "absolutely unacceptable," according to McCaul, who said that "nothing could be more serious" than the charges outlined against Malley.

"Congress deserves to know exactly why the U.S. Special Envoy to Iran had his security clearance suspended, was then suspended from his position, and now, according to news reports, is being investigated by the FBI," McCaul told the Free Beacon in a statement. "This is a person whose mission is to negotiate with the Islamic Republic of Iran—nothing could be more serious than this."

A senior congressional source familiar with the matter said the foreign affairs committee will send another letter to the State Department this week outlining specific questions that must be answered immediately.

The charges against Malley come at a sensitive time for the Biden administration, as it conducts secret diplomacy with Iran aimed at securing a new nuclear deal. The United States is reportedly prepared to give the cash-strapped Iranian regime access to billions of dollars in exchange for minimal restrictions on its nuclear program, which is closer than ever to developing an atomic weapon.

McCaul first pressed the State Department for answers in late June, after Malley publicly confirmed that his security clearance was revoked. The State Department has repeatedly declined to comment on the matter, saying only that Malley is on extended leave.

"The Department’s failure to inform Congress of this matter demonstrates at best a lack of candor, and at worst represents deliberate and potentially unlawful misinformation," McCaul wrote in his initial letter.

The committee chairman had instructed the State Department to turn over "any and all allegations, investigations, and/or findings of misconduct, including security violations, against Special Envoy Malley."

The post Biden State Department Blocks Congressional Investigation into Scandal-Plagued Iran Envoy appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

The White House on Monday announced its opposition to a range of national security provisions included in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Congress is currently debating. One provision would force the Pentagon to disclose information about foreign nationals working on military-funded research programs at American universities, where Chinese spies are known to steal proprietary research. Another would order the secretary of defense to determine whether Chinese government officials assisted or were aware of the transportation of fentanyl precursors to Mexican drug cartels.

According to the provisions' author, the White House’s opposition is tantamount to capitulating to Beijing.

"The Chinese Communist Party is poisoning and killing nearly a hundred thousand Americans each year with ‘Made in China’ fentanyl while their spies infiltrate our universities and even high-level government laboratories," Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.) told the Washington Free Beacon.

"It’s an upside-down world in the Biden White House," added Banks, a member of the House Select Committee on China, "where appeasing Communist China comes first and America’s national security and well-being comes last."

Banks’s measures are part of a larger effort by congressional Republicans to use the NDAA as a vehicle to combat China. China hawks, in particular, have been angling for months to increase pressure on American universities that partner with the CCP on sensitive research projects. Lawmakers are already investigating American schools that use Pentagon funding for research projects that involve entities tied to the Chinese military.

China is one the most prolific donors to American universities, handing out more than $426 million to American schools since 2011, even as the federal government warns that Beijing is using its status to steal proprietary research and spy on Americans.

Under Banks’s transparency provision, the Pentagon would have to publicly disclose the identities of all individuals working on government-funded projects, including the "date and place of birth, country of citizenship, and immigration status in the case of a foreign national."

The White House, in a Monday statement on the NDAA discussions, said it "strongly opposes" this measure because it would "impose a significant increase in disclosure requirements for university research funded by DoD."

The White House also expressed concerns the reporting requirements could "jeopardize the Department’s ability to fund universities in States with nondiscrimination laws that prohibit citizenship and nationality reporting." The administration also worries the strict parameters would "deter the ability to attract the best and brightest foreign scientists from working with the Department."

Banks’s fentanyl measure also attracted White House opposition, primarily because it would force the Pentagon to publicly acknowledge that China is pumping deadly drugs into America—an accusation that could inflame tensions at a time when American diplomats are trying to repair relations with Beijing.

The U.S. ambassador to China, for instance, recently claimed the CCP is not responsible for America’s fentanyl crisis, even though virtually all of the ingredients for the drug are produced in China and shipped to Mexican cartels illicitly running the drug into the country.

The White House says any effort to tie China to the fentanyl crisis would interfere with its ability to "ensure foreign assistance or engagement is carried out in a manner consistent with foreign policy priorities."

The post White House Fights to Strip Tough-On-China Provisions From Annual Defense Spending Bill appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

The Biden administration sent shockwaves through the pro-Israel advocacy world late last month when it decided to boycott all scientific cooperation projects with Jewish Israelis living in so-called settlements throughout East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Golan Heights. But "the State Department’s own Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism was excluded from deliberations over this guidance and did not clear it," according to a draft investigatory letter authored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) making the rounds on Capitol Hill.

The disclosure could undermine the State Department’s claim that its ban on taxpayer funding for these Israeli groups is "simply reflective of the longstanding U.S. position" on disputed areas of the Jewish state. The department’s anti-Semitism envoy, Holocaust historian Debra Lipstadt, is a vocal opponent of Israel boycotts, and routinely calls out foreign nations for their efforts to unfairly target the Jewish state. If the State Department cut Lipstadt out of discussions around the policy, it could signal the decision was much more internally controversial than officials are willing to publicly admit.

After news about the Israel funding prohibition leaked last month, Republican leaders—including several Republican presidential candidates—quickly accused the Biden administration of advancing the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Cruz’s draft letter on the matter warns the Biden administration that its endorsement of this policy risks "a full rupture" in Congress’s "ability to engage the Department of State on these issues."

"Candidly, it is untenable for State Department officials to continue testifying to Congress that they support the U.S.-Israel relationship and then—once out of view—to push policies designed to undermine that relationship," Cruz wrote, according to a copy of the letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. "Without a reversal in these trends Congressional oversight and the expeditious vetting of nominees would become intractable."

A State Department spokesman declined to comment on Cruz’s claims, saying it does not discuss internal deliberations, but told the Free Beacon the "United States firmly rejects the BDS movement."

The spokesman reiterated the department’s claim that the policy shift "reflects longstanding policy differentiating between the State of Israel."

Cruz also disclosed in the letter that the Israel funding boycott was hidden from Congress and the American public, only becoming known after it was leaked to the press.

"It is no wonder that the Biden administration sought to shield this new guidance from Congressional and public scrutiny," the letter states. "The guidance does something America has never done before: unilaterally impose territorial restrictions on U.S. scientific research aid to Israel."

In plain terms, Cruz added, the Biden administration is endorsing an "antisemitic boycott of Israel."

The ban will impact at least three U.S.-Israeli scientific collaborations, according to Axios, which first reported the policy shift. The updated guidance reverses a Trump-era policy that allowed collaborative projects with Jews living in disputed territories.

Israel also objected to the move, with foreign minister Eli Cohen saying, "I object to the decision and think it is wrong."

The State Department spokesman pushed back against criticism, saying its diplomats "work tirelessly to oppose efforts that try to delegitimize Israel and to support Israel’s further integration in the region and beyond."

The Biden administration has repeatedly found itself in hot water for trying to undermine Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. In addition to hiring several officials who have promoted the BDS movement, the administration was caught providing funding to left-wing advocacy groups seeking to unseat Netanyahu, as the Free Beacon first reported in March.

The post Biden State Department Did Not Consult Anti-Semitism Office on Israel Boycott, Cruz Says appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Gershkovich was arrested in late March and charged with espionage, a crime that carries a 20-year prison sentence. The United States appears to be quietly working with Russia to secure the release of Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a former Marine who was detained in Russia more than four years ago.

"Given the ongoing work to secure Paul and Evan’s release, we will not go into details on the negotiation process," a State Department spokesman told the Washington Free Beacon in response to questions about the Kremlin’s claim earlier this week that a prisoner swap is on the table.

The State Department’s comments appear to confirm the Kremlin’s claims that it is discussing a possible prisoner exchange with American officials, potentially the second such swap in six months. Diplomatic channels with Moscow appear to be open even as Russia wages an unprovoked war on Ukraine that has drawn fierce condemnation from the United States.

Women’s basketball player Brittney Griner was freed from Moscow late last year after she was arrested for carrying drugs into the country. In exchange for Griner, the Biden administration released Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the "Merchant of Death," drawing fierce criticism from Republicans who accused President Joe Biden of surrendering to Moscow. Whelan, notably, was not part of that deal and expressed shock that the Biden administration would leave him behind.

Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov signaled that releasing both Whelan and Gershkovich is now on the table, but said negotiations must be carried out in secret.

"We have said that there have been certain contacts on the subject, but we don't want them to be discussed in public," Peskov was quoted as saying in a press call. "They must be carried out and continue in complete silence."

The U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, was permitted to visit Gershkovich on Monday, the first time American officials were granted consular access since April 17.

A State Department official, speaking only on background, told the Free Beacon that the meeting was held at Lefortova Prison in Moscow, and that "Gershkovich is in good health and remains strong, despite his circumstances."

U.S. embassy officials, the State Department said, "will continue to provide all appropriate support to Mr. Gershkovich and his family, and we expect Russian authorities to provide continued consular access."

The State Department reiterated its belief that Gershkovich "is wrongfully detained and the charges against him are baseless." The United States is pushing for the "immediate release" of both Gershkovich and Whelan, the State Department continued, adding that "both men deserve to go home to their families now."

The White House did not respond to a Free Beacon request for comment on the prisoner talks with Russia, but said Tuesday that it continues to push for the release of both men.

"While we unfortunately do not have a breakthrough to share, we continue to pursue every avenue to secure the release of Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan," a White House spokesman told the Wall Street Journal.

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France, Germany, and the United Kingdom are signaling that they will not move to reinstate the sanctions on Iran that were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, the Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday. Without these sanctions, a United Nations arms embargo on Iran will expire in October, possibly paving the way for Iran to legally transfer weapons to Russia, which could use Iranian drones and arms in its war on Ukraine.

The European trio’s move comes as the Biden administration is engaged in secret diplomacy with Tehran to secure a revamped nuclear deal. By not reimposing sanctions, the White House and its foreign allies are poised to secure an interim deal with Iran that will lift sanctions in return for minimal nuclear restrictions. These concessions undercut the allies’ efforts to rebuff Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine, experts say.

"The U.S. and Europe had a choice to make: Kyiv or Tehran. It appears they've chosen Tehran," Richard Goldberg, former director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction at the White House National Security Council, told the Washington Free Beacon. "There is nothing left of the [Iran deal] and yet there's an unwillingness to trigger the snapback and take away all of Iran's strategic benefits under deal."

Any nation that signed onto the Iran nuclear deal has the power to trigger the deal’s "snapback" provision, which would reimpose the pre-2015 sanctions on Tehran. The provision was meant to ensure that Iran did not violate the provisions of the deal. Triggering the snapback sanctions does not require approval from the United Nations Security Council, making it safe from a Russian veto.

Iran has repeatedly violated the nuclear agreement, most notably the restriction on how much enriched uranium it can produce. Tehran is currently enriching nuclear materials to above 60 percent purity, just shy of the amount needed to power an atomic bomb. Iran has also violated an arms embargo by sending weapons to regional terror groups, as well as Russia, one of its top allies.

The Biden administration and its European allies have been using the arms embargo as justification for their sanctions on Iran’s drone industry, which is feeding Russia’s war in Ukraine. If the arms embargo expires, the West will lose this leverage while also legalizing these sales.

"Every attack on Ukraine using an Iranian drone will be a reminder of American and European fecklessness," said Goldberg, who currently serves as a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

The Biden administration has waived sanctions so that Iraq can pay Iran up to $10 billion in back payments for electricity purchases. This money will serve as a critical lifeline to the cash-strapped Iranian regime as it attempts to quash democratic protests.

The United States has also granted sanctions waivers that allow Iran to work with Russia on a range of nuclear issues, including the construction of reactors. This work has provided billions of dollars to Russia, even as the United States uses sanctions to try and restrict Moscow’s funding for the war in Ukraine.

The arms embargo’s expiration would also throw a wrench in congressional efforts to sanction the Iran-Russia military pipeline.

The Biden administration’s budding agreement with Iran would allow it to produce "up to eight nuclear weapons in three months," the Free Beacon reported last week, a move that would put Iran "closer to the nuclear threshold" than ever before.

A State Department spokesman would not outline the administration's position on sanctions snapback, but said diplomats "have long made clear our concerns about Iran’s nuclear, missile, and conventional arms-related activities, and associated procurement efforts." The U.S. continues to work closely with European allies and the U.N. to "impede these activities," according to the spokesman, who noted that "Iran’s development and proliferation of ballistic missiles pose a serious threat to regional and international security."

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"The Department’s failure to inform Congress of this matter demonstrates at best a lack of candor, and at worst represents deliberate and potentially unlawful misinformation," Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Texas), the committee’s chairman, wrote in a letter to the State Department, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

McCaul and other Republican leaders suspect the Biden administration attempted to hide information about Malley’s alleged mishandling of classified information. Malley has been on an extended leave of absence from the State Department, but it remains unclear if this is due to his current inability to access classified information. After news of his security clearance issue became public on Thursday, the State Department officially put Malley on unpaid leave.

The revelations come as the Biden administration engages in secret diplomacy with Iran. The White House is working to secure a revamped nuclear deal that would provide the hardline regime with billions-of-dollars in sanctions relief. Malley appears to have been sidelined from the talks, which are reportedly being held in Oman.

Malley confirmed late Thursday he was "informed that my security clearance is under review," but would not provide additional information. The State Department, in comments to the Free Beacon, would only say that Malley is on a leave of absence, and declined to provide any details about the status of his security clearance and position in the administration.

The situation, McCaul informed the State Department, raises "serious concerns both regarding Malley’s conduct and whether the State Department misled Congress and the American public."

"While the suspension of Special Envoy Malley’s clearance is independently troubling, our concern is compounded by the State Department’s failure to respond to the Committee’s efforts to conduct oversight of its negotiations with and policy toward Iran," McCaul wrote.

The committee chairman is requesting that the State Department immediately turn over all internal information about the charges levied against Malley and brief members about "any and all allegations, investigations, and/or findings of misconduct, including security violations, against Special Envoy Malley."

Lawmakers first discovered Malley was on leave in mid-May, when he failed to appear for a classified briefing. At that time, lawmakers were only told that Malley was "on extended personal leave," according to several sources familiar with the matter.

By June, however, congressional staffers and reporters began questioning the State Department about Malley’s status, leading him to publicly confirm on Thursday afternoon that his security clearance was revoked.

In addition to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have also begun probing the allegations.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), a Foreign Affairs Committee member, told the Free Beacon that the Biden administration must immediately "come clean exactly how long he was compromised and how long they hid this from Congress."

"Rob Malley represents the worst of Biden’s foreign policy failures," Issa said. "He counseled concessions to Iran, weakness to the Mullahs, and put America’s interest last."

A senior congressional source familiar with the matter further confirmed to the Free Beacon that several oversight committees have already expressed an interest in probing Malley and the Biden administration’s conduct.

Gabriel Noronha, a senior Iran adviser at the State Department during the Trump administration, expressed concern about the Biden administration’s "shifting and non-sensical explanations for Envoy Malley’s leave of absence that simply don’t add up."

"Until Thursday," Noronha said, "State was telling Congress that Malley was on family leave. Only when the press exposed the investigation into security clearance did they suspend Malley without pay—even though he appears to have been under investigation for months now."

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Advocacy groups from at least 55 foreign nations have received millions from the Biden State Department to fund a range of initiatives aimed at bolstering the LGBT community and spreading its ideology into the mainstream, according to a Washington Free Beacon review of federal spending databases. The United States has helped organize pride parades in at least seven different countries, paid for drag queen shows in Ecuador, funded a Polish advocacy group that encourages puberty blockers for children with gender confusion, and sent cash to a Mexican group that markets cross-sex hormones to gender-confused individuals.

The global funding spree is part of the Biden administration’s larger effort to promote a woke cultural agenda throughout the United States and abroad, even in countries with more traditional social values. In addition to funding LGBT activism across the world, the administration has allocated millions to fight climate change in various countries and teach gender studies in war-torn nations like Iraq. In 2023 alone, American taxpayers have helped foot the bill for Pride Month festivities in Australia, Estonia, Slovenia, and Bosnia.

The State Department told the Free Beacon these programs help create "a world that is safer and more prosperous for all." But critics accuse the Biden administration of wasting millions in taxpayer funds on far-left causes that do little to actually strengthen American diplomacy abroad.

"There was a time when America's most recognizable exports were baseball and apple pie. But now, under the Biden administration, we're subjecting the rest of the world to drag queens and childhood sex changes," said Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project. "Of course, no one outside of LGBT extremists actually wants this. American parents are fed up with this agenda being imposed on their kids here at home and funded by their tax dollars."

The Biden administration’s focus on these priorities, Schilling warned, is pushing foreign nations to embrace China "for aid rather than submit to the left's radical ideology."

Since 2021, the Biden administration has funded at least 84 separate LGBT advocacy projects in 55 countries, with budgets ranging from as little as $5,000 to more than $1.5 million, according to the federal government’s spending database.

This year alone, the Biden administration doled out nearly $800,000 for LGBT projects in nine different countries, including $300,000 for "Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals of Botswana," and another $45,000 for Australia "to welcome LGBTQIA+ people from across the globe."

Taxpayer funds have also been allocated to foreign groups pushing what many believe to be radical medical treatments for gender-confused children and adults.

A Mexican advocacy group, Impulso Trans, received $10,000 this year from the State Department to help "raise awareness and connect key stakeholders of the LGBTQ community." That organization, in posts on its Instagram page, promotes cross-sex hormones for people with gender dysphoria and also provides "medical information for children who want to change certain aspects of their body."

The Biden administration is also promoting these causes in more socially conservative nations like Poland. In 2021, the State Department allocated $12,408 to an organization that provides "toolkits" to help teachers promote gender ideology in school, a project that run counter to efforts by the Polish government to outlaw the teaching of this material.

The group, Stowarzyszenie Teczowka, touts the State Department funding on its website, money that benefited a program providing "legal education for the LGBT+ community."

The United States in 2021 also funded LGBT film and art festivals in Latvia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Spain, Italy, and Serbia. In 2022, $32,000 in taxpayer cash was awarded to a group in Peru so it could create an LGBT comic book. Another $25,000 was given to a group in Thailand that is pushing "digital empathy" for the LGBT community.

In Colombia, Liberia, and Slovakia, the United States allocated thousands throughout 2022 to groups working to eliminate negative media coverage about the LGBT community. The State Department additionally sponsored LGBT film and arts festivals in South Korea, Poland, and India.

A State Department spokesman defended the funding in comments to the Free Beacon, saying these programs "advance the foreign policy priority of reducing discrimination and violence and promoting inclusion."

"Indigenous persons, religious and ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQI+ persons, and persons with disabilities, among others, live with disproportionate violence that requires targeted support," the spokesman said. "U.S. citizens benefit from a world that is safer and more prosperous for all."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is slated to host a Pride Month reception at the State Department on Thursday.

Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center, said that the Biden's administration's foreign funding strategy is isolating nations that typically would welcome U.S. aid.

"The Biden Administration’s activist-led diplomacy is managing to leverage small grants of money to remarkable success—in alienating the target countries and uniting them in opposition," Hankinson said. "American realists have long understood that even our allies will not agree with us on everything, and that we need to build out from areas of consensus like peace, democratic governance, and the rule of law."

The Biden administration, however, "seems to think that a mixture of lecturing governments and injecting money into local activism will suddenly change that. So far, that doesn’t seem to be working."

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The agreement, which Biden administration officials are negotiating in secret, will bring Tehran "closer to the nuclear threshold" than ever before, according to a policy analysis published on Wednesday by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).

"Nothing in the reported arrangement would stop Iran from constructing a new underground nuclear facility that experts fear would make it all but impossible to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons," according to the analysis authored by Richard Goldberg, former director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction at the White House National Security Council, and Behnam Ben Taleblu, a veteran arms control expert.

The findings are likely to further galvanize Republican opponents of a new Iran deal, who are already concerned the Biden administration will violate the law by signing an agreement without first receiving legislative approval. Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House are already laying the groundwork to subpoena top Biden administration officials over their secret talks with Iran, which are reportedly being held in Oman. Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed on Wednesday that the United States is "willing to explore diplomatic paths" with Tehran, and Iranian officials have signaled a similar willingness in recent weeks.

While the contours of the deal remain heavily guarded, details that have leaked into the press indicate the Biden administration is offering Tehran billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for minimal restrictions on Tehran’s contested nuclear program. FDD says Congress should immediately intervene to stop the deal and consider issuing a "temporary restraining order against the Treasury Department" to prevent the sanctions relief.

The Biden administration rumored arrangement "adds insult to injury by capping Iran’s uranium enrichment purity level at 60 percent, which the regime can quickly enrich to weapons-grade, or 90 percent," according to the FDD analysis.

Lawmakers and experts worry the Biden administration will provide Tehran with sanctions relief before presenting Congress with a chance to approve the deal, a move that would violate a 2015 law enacted after the Obama administration circumvented Congress to ink the original accord.

"The release of funds for Iran prior to the Biden administration’s submission of any agreement for congressional review may already entail a violation of" the law, according to Goldberg and Ben Taleblu.

Additionally, "the Biden administration may be violating U.S. law by allowing the [International Monetary Fund] to provide Iran, a designated state sponsor of terrorism, with a multibillion-dollar bailout," according to the analysis.

Congress "should immediately launch an investigation" into the Biden administration’s proposed bailout for Iran and also force top American diplomats to disclose details of the agreement to the American public, the report says. Lawmakers could also "seek injunctive relief" if the Biden administration waives sanctions without first obtaining legislative approval.

Iranian officials, meanwhile, claim that talks surrounding a deal could formally resume in the near future at the Biden administration’s urging.

"Considering the series of messages that have reached us from the United States and European countries [the United Kingdom, Germany, and France], negotiations to revive the JCPOA will probably be resumed soon," Shahriar Heidari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, said last month.

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Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, painted herself as the most hawkish Republican nominee in the field in a Tuesday foreign policy speech and accused President Joe Biden of kowtowing to the Communist regime. She also sharply rebuked her former boss and presidential rival, Donald Trump, claiming his friendly dealings with the CCP showed "moral weakness."

"China is preparing its people for war," Haley said at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. "Communist China is an enemy. It is the most dangerous foreign threat we’ve faced since the Second World War. We have to stop wasting time."

Haley’s early focus on China signals that pressing foreign policy challenges could play an outsized role during the campaign season, as Republican nominees seek to set themselves apart from one another. Haley repeatedly singled out China as America’s number one enemy, saying her "top priority" as president "will be strengthening America’s economy and America’s military" to confront the Communist threat.

Even with a Russian-led war unfolding in Europe and Iran marching towards a nuclear weapon, "Communist China is the greatest threat to American security and prosperity, by far," Haley said before laying out her day one priorities.

"We will tackle Chinese meddling in our society and its manipulation of our economy," she said. "And we will hold the Communist Party accountable, while putting it on the global defensive. This is a sea-change in American policy. It’s grounded in the reality that our leaders have failed to admit."

Haley would restrict American universities, which are among the largest beneficiaries of Chinese cash, from receiving federal contracts if they work with the CCP.

"We should ban all propaganda centers and eliminate federal funding for universities that take Chinese money," Haley said. "Universities must choose—China or America. It shouldn’t be a hard decision."

Haley would also bar China from purchasing American land. Beijing currently owns around 400,000 acres of lands located near sensitive military sites.

"We aren’t just talking about any old property. China has bought miles of farms near sensitive military facilities. And China has taken majority control of agricultural industries," Haley said. "We must prevent China from buying more land and force it to sell what it already owns."

Under Haley’s plan, members of the CCP would not be allowed to lobby American lawmakers.

"We should ban all lobbying from the Communist Party and Chinese companies and prevent former members of Congress and military leaders from lobbying on China’s behalf," she said. "Beijing should never be allowed to influence our laws."

Haley also said she would move to "revoke permanent normal trade relations" with China until it stops pumping lethal fentanyl into American communities and restrict American technology trade with Beijing.

"We must end the export of sensitive technology to China, full stop," she said.

Haley also worked to set herself apart from Trump—who is widely seen as the Republican front runner in 2024—saying the former president "did too little" to stop China’s malign activities.

"He did not put us on a stronger military foothold in Asia. He did not stop the flow of American technology and investment into the Chinese military. He did not effectively rally our allies against the Chinese threat," Haley said. "Even the trade deal he signed came up short when China predictably failed to live up to its commitments."

Though successive presidential administrations have ignored the threat posed by China, Haley noted that "it is not too late to wake up and take charge of our destiny."

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Ramzi Kassem, a professor at CUNY's law school, was tapped to serve as a senior policy adviser for immigration in the White House's Domestic Policy Council. Kassem is a vocal Israel critic who spent a portion of his time as an undergrad at Columbia University writing scathing criticisms of the Jewish state, a Washington Free Beacon review found. Kassem, who helped defend terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, charged the Jewish state with genocide and decried "unconditional" support for Israel.

Kassem's hiring comes as the Biden administration fights the perception it is feeding Israel's opponents. A closely watched White House plan on combating anti-Semitism, for instance, was recently watered down by anti-Israel activists. The State Department admitted on Monday that it is boycotting research partnerships with certain Israeli organizations.

CUNY announced that Kassem "will work to support the Biden-Harris agenda across a range of immigration issues" using his expertise as "a national leader on progressive immigration reform." Kassem enters the White House after working for more than a decade at CUNY, which has repeatedly found itself in hot water for promoting anti-Semitic hate speech and, in some cases, subjecting Jewish students to "severe and persistent anti-Semitic harassment." CUNY's law school, in particular, promotes anti-Semitic boycotts against Israel and recently featured a graduation speaker who accused Israel of sending "lynch mobs" after Palestinians.

Kassem's past writings strike a similar note. In an April 1998 article, the White House adviser claimed there is "sufficient evidence" implicating Israel in a "systematic genocide" against the Palestinians. The Jewish state's behavior, Kassem wrote in the Columbia Spectator, is "a clear-cut case of ethnic cleansing." In another April 1998 article, titled "Zionism Impedes Middle Eastern Peace," Kassem claimed European Jews came to the Middle East "with the intention of conquering the land." A two-state solution between the parties "is not viable, nor is it desirable," he insisted.

Kassem also maintained that peace will only be achieved if Israel affords Palestinians the "right of return," a long dormant policy proposal that would erase Israel's Jewish majority.

"It doesn't make sense that Jewish Americans living in Brooklyn have more rights to the land than Palestinians who live in Lebanon and can't return to their historical land," Kassem was quoted as saying in a November 2000 Spectator interview.

In a separate piece authored in October 2000, Kassem claimed that Israel has no business defending Jews from terror attacks in Nablus, a Palestinian city where militants frequently clash with Israeli security forces.

"The fact that Israel has no internationally recognized right to be there in the first place is conveniently omitted, and never mind that the citizens in question happen to be illegal settlers armed to the teeth by the Israeli military and heavily subsidized by their government," Kassem wrote in that Spectator article, which includes several other bylines.

Kassem also decried "unconditional" U.S. support for Israel, saying in the November 2000 interview with the Spectator that "the power of the America Israel Public Affairs Committee and other lobbying groups has allowed Israeli 'ethnocracy' to flourish."

Kassem's role at the White House is generating scrutiny among pro-Israel advocates already upset by the Biden administration's efforts to undermine the current Israeli government.

"The peril lies in the White House's choice to enlist an individual who has espoused profoundly offensive and injurious rhetoric concerning Israel and Jews," Hen Mazzig, a senior fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute, which combats anti-Semitism, told the Free Beacon. "History has shown us that individuals harboring anti-Israel notions may attempt a performative transformation upon assuming public office, yet their stand remains the same within."

"Were any other marginalized community at stake," Mazzig said, "unequivocal consensus would swiftly denounce the wisdom of appointing such a person with employment."

Kassem also took issue with Columbia University's 1999 decision to call one of its sandwiches an "Israeli wrap," writing in a letter to the editor of the Spectator that the term is offensive to Muslims and Arabs.

"The hiring of an anti-Israel college professor from CUNY Law, a school riddled with anti-Semitism, to the highest levels of the United States government is incredibly concerning," StopAntisemitism.org executive director Liora Rez told the Free Beacon. "With anti-Semitism skyrocketing across the country, the last thing we need are bigots with anti-Semitic views advising the president on immigration policy. Kassems hiring is antithetical to the White House's anti-Semitism strategy , which has already been watered down plenty by anti-Israel groups that share his values."

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and recently appointed chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, said that Kassem should commit to upholding the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's widely recognized standard definition of anti-Semitism.

"There is only one question I would ask Ramzi Kassem: 'As a senior policy White House adviser do you endorse and will you apply the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism?'" Cooper told the Free Beacon.

In addition to his anti-Israel advocacy, Kassem has sought to downplay the impact of the 9/11 terror attacks, writing in September 2001 article that the attackers were not evil.

"The perpetrators were probably not driven to their actions by some intrinsic evil or inherent hatred of the good United States. These acts of violence were gratuitous only in the sense that they wantonly and indiscriminately targeted innocent civilians," Kassem wrote. "The resentment these terrorists felt towards the United States was rooted in political realities shaped by our country's policies."

As a law professor and CUNY employee, Kassem has helped free several accused terrorists from prison, according to his online profile. He is also the founding director of CUNY's CLEAR program, a legal advocacy group that helps Muslims and other communities pursue allegations of unjust surveillance by local authorities.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. An request for comment sent to Kassem's CUNY email address returned an auto-response saying he is on leave.

Update 11:09 p.m.: This piece has been updated to include comment from StopAntisemitism.org executive director Liora Rez.

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The White House earlier this month moved to formally boycott all scientific cooperation with Jewish Israelis living in so-called Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Golan Heights. A State Department spokesman confirmed the policy shift in comments to the Free Beacon, saying it is "simply reflective of the longstanding U.S. position" on disputed areas of Israel.

"The Department of State recently circulated foreign policy guidance to relevant agencies advising that engaging in bilateral scientific and technological cooperation with Israel in geographic areas which came under the administration of Israel after June 5, 1967, and which remain subject to final status negotiations, is inconsistent with U.S. foreign policy," the spokesman said.

Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday, "I object to the decision and think it is wrong," according to the Times of Israel.

When grilled about the move during a press briefing on Monday, the State Department would not rule out declaring all so-called Israeli settlements as illegal. The United States, the State Department maintains, cannot fund programs that are being carried out in areas the administration considers to be part of negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. Republicans disagree.

"Biden boycotting Israeli scientific projects does nothing to promote peace and is no way to treat an ally," said former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley. Haley, a Republican presidential candidate and vocal opponent of the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, slammed the Biden administration for what she sees as foreign policy hypocrisy.

"If this was scientific projects in China, Biden would be for it," Haley told the Washington Free Beacon Monday, calling the plan "Ridiculous."

"This is just another example from President Biden where he has abandoned unambiguous support for our ally Israel, emboldened our enemies, and turned their back on the policy that yielded historic peace deals in the Middle East," former vice president Mike Pence told the Free Beacon. Pence, who is also seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, slammed Biden for replacing "strength with weakness, moral clarity with confusion, and loyalty with betrayal."

The White House’s move reverses a Trump-era policy that allowed collaborative projects with Jews living in disputed territories.  A spokesman for Trump's presidential campaign slammed the reversal Monday, telling the Free Beacon that "President Trump followed through on his promises" and that "Israel had no greater friend than President Trump."

The ban will impact at least three U.S.-Israeli scientific collaborations, according to Axios, which said the State Department moved to crackdown on this funding after one of the Israeli groups approached them for new funding opportunities. The ban quickly drew pushback from Republicans in Congress, who accused the Biden administration of outwardly supporting the BDS movement, which wages economic warfare on Israel.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) lashed out at the Biden administration over the weekend, saying the policy shift was kept hidden from public view.

"The State Department is telling the entire U.S. government not to cooperate with Jews in Judea and Samaria," Cruz said, referring to portions of Jerusalem and the West Bank that Israel controls. "And of course, it was sent to Congress in secret, and only revealed because reporters found out."

"Joe Biden and Biden administration officials are pathologically obsessed with undermining Israel," Cruz said, adding that he will do "everything possible to reverse this decision and prohibit such antisemitic discrimination by the U.S. government in the future."

The Biden administration has repeatedly come under fire for trying to undermine the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. In addition to hiring several officials who have promoted the BDS movement, the administration was recently caught funding left-wing Israeli advocacy groups seeking to unseat Netanyahu, as the Free Beacon first reported in March.

Grants to these anti-Netanyahu groups were personally approved by outgoing U.S. ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, according to internal State Department emails first disclosed by the Free Beacon earlier this month.

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"The Iranian regime has consistently sought to obtain technology for its illegal nuclear program and ballistic missile apparatus," according to a summary of separate intelligence products published by the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden during the first half of this year.

The Netherlands General and Intelligence Security Service disclosed in April that it had "succeeded a number of times in preventing Russia and Iran from acquiring Dutch knowledge or technology for their nuclear weapons programs," according to a translation of the report published earlier this week by the Middle East Media Research Institute. The country’s intelligence service also determined that Tehran’s advancements, including the enrichment of uranium to levels needed to power a bomb, "brings the option of a possible [Iranian] first nuclear test closer."

The findings come as the Biden administration engages in secret negotiations with Iran aimed at securing an altered version of the 2015 nuclear accord. Reports indicate the administration is promising Tehran billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for minor restrictions on its contested nuclear program. Republicans in Congress are already warning that the administration plans on violating the law to secure a deal, which would likely not be authorized by the legislative branch. These plans could result in senior White House and State Department officials being subpoenaed on the matter, the Washington Free Beacon reported on Thursday.

The Netherlands’ intelligence community determined that Iran is "ignoring the agreements" it made as part of the original nuclear deal, including by "deploying increasingly more sophisticated uranium enrichment centrifuges [and] enlarging its enrichment capacity."

The country’s intelligence agencies also "succeeded a number of times in preventing Russia and Iran, among others, from procuring materials, technology, and (applied) scientific knowledge in the Netherlands that they could have used for their nuclear weapons programs."

Swedish intelligence authorities made similar determinations in a February assessment.

"Swedish technology as products with dual uses and critical cutting-edge products for both civilian and military use is of interest to Iran," the Swedish Security Service disclosed. "Iran procures both technology and knowledge through illegal methods, and develops its own ability through Swedish universities and research institutions."

German authorities also disrupted Iranian nuclear procurement plots in the last year.

In one instance, a businessman was charged with "violating the foreign trade law by allegedly supplying spectrometer systems and laboratory equipment intended for the Iranian nuclear and missile program."

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The Republican Study Committee (RSC), Congress’s largest conservative caucus, is leaning on party leadership to immediately launch a multi-pronged investigation into the Biden administration’s secret negotiations with Iran, which are expected to result in a fresh agreement that evades congressional oversight. As part of these investigations, the group wants to subpoena U.S.-Iran Envoy Robert Malley and White House national security aide Brett McGurk, both of whom are key players in the administration’s backdoor diplomacy with Tehran.

"Biden's diplomats are trying to unlawfully implement a secret deal with the Iranian terrorist regime to give them tens of billions of dollars," the RSC wrote in an action memo obtained by the Free Beacon that will be blasted to all House Republicans later on Thursday. "They do not want Congress or the American people to know what's in the Biden Iran deal or how much money they will send the Ayatollah."

While the administration has denied engaging in discussions with Iran, multiple reports have surfaced in recent months indicating that U.S. diplomats are holding indirect talks with Tehran via mediators in Oman. The Biden administration is aiming to secure a series of "mutual understandings" with Tehran that will ease sanctions on the hardline regime in exchange for minimal restrictions on the country’s nuclear program. This deal, congressional sources told the Free Beacon, is specifically being constructed to skirt laws mandating that lawmakers have a vote on the agreement.

"This is unacceptable," the memo states. "Malley and McGurk should testify before a public hearing regarding this deal, and the committees of jurisdiction—including the House Foreign Affairs Committee, House Oversight Committee, and House Financial Services Committee—should be prepared to use the subpoena power if necessary."

To date, both Malley and McGurk have refused to publicly testify before Congress, although they have participated in classified briefings. McGurk–who was caught having an extramarital affair with a reporter in 2008 while serving as the Obama administration's ambassadorial nominee to Iraq—is believed to be the driving force behind the talks in Oman and is working under orders from the White House, congressional sources told the Free Beacon.

The RSC further assesses that "a formal congressional investigation is warranted to determine whether the Biden administration conspired to violate the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act." This law was passed in 2015, after the Obama administration unilaterally bypassed Congress to ink the original nuclear deal with Iran.

"It seems clear," the RSC writes, "that the Biden administration does not plan to submit the agreement for a vote in Congress, despite being required to do so by law."

A Biden administration ally appeared to confirm these plans in recently unearthed video from a conference organized by the anti-Israel group J Street. During the roundtable, which featured earlier remarks from Malley, former Obama administration lawyer Tess Bridgeman said it is important for the administration to prevent Congress from authorizing any new deal

"With elections coming up, we are not going to see the administration do anything that requires voting in Congress, so I think it’s really important to keep in mind ... that [agreements] be in that realm of discretionary, unilateral gestures," Bridgeman said. "Something that’s written down on a piece of paper for all sides to try to implement is a recipe for Congress making it impossible."

This statement, the RSC says in its memo, "makes it clear why the administration is denying entering into any agreement or deal."

Rep. Kevin Hern (R., Okla.), the RSC’s chairman, said the contours of the new agreement are "even worse than Obama’s Iran deal."

"Biden can call it whatever he wants but it’s clear what he is doing—negotiating a deal with the terrorists in Iran behind Congress’ back," Hern told the Free Beacon. "Paying ransom to terrorists is only going to encourage more terrorism and put more Americans at risk of kidnapping around the world."

The talks with Iran have been making progress, leading Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly accuse the Biden administration of appeasing the hardline regime at a time when it is facing an unprecedented wave of popular protests that threaten its grip on power.

The United States has also granted several sanctions waivers in the past several months, including permitting Iraq to make multi-billion dollar payments to Iran. These side deals are believed to be part of a concessions package meant to cajole Tehran into rolling back portions of its nuclear enrichment program.

"Biden’s Iran Deal will gift tens of billions in sanctions relief to Iran—the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism—and lead to even weaker restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program," the RSC warns in its memo. "It will also fund both sides of the war in Ukraine even, as Iran is providing Russia with hundreds of drones to use in Ukraine and helping Russia build a drone factory."

In its attempt to interfere with the Biden administration’s latest deal, the RSC is urging its members to fast track new sanctions legislation that could derail the talks and prevent the White House from using executive orders to ease economic pressure on Iran.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R., S.C.), chair of the RSC’s national security task force, said there is no doubt that a new deal "would be rejected on a bipartisan basis."

"We are betraying the ‘woman, life, freedom’ revolution and the women of Iran by bailing out this terrorist regime right at its weakest point," Wilson told the Free Beacon.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the ongoing discussions in Oman provide "proof that deal-making was never really on the back-burner, as many administration officials previously alleged."

"This agreement," Taleblu added, "will help Iran pay off its debts and improve its liquidity, which means that more resources will be freed up for Iran to continue to improve its missile and drone programs."

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