Volume 1, Issue 8

The Sense of the Congress:
A Special Report

Israel-Hamas proxy for U.S.-Iran dialectic: tensions rise between Allied and Axis powers as the beast slouches toward Bethlehem to be born

By Antarah Crawley

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, October 19, 2023, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States (U.S.) House of Representatives (House) convened a Markup (M/U) of several bills and resolutions in House Visitors Center Room 210.  Those bills and resolutions included:

• H.Res. 559, Declaring it is the policy of the United States that a nuclear Islamic Republic of Iran is not acceptable;
• H.R. 340, To impose sanctions with respect to foreign support for terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad;
• H.R. 3266, To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing the curriculum used by the Palestinian Authority, and for other purposes;
• H.R. 3774, To impose additional sanctions with respect to the importation or facilitation of the importation of petroleum products from Iran, and for other purposes;
• H.R. 5826, To require a report on sanctions under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, and for other purposes;
• H.R. 2973, To require the Secretary of Defense to develop, in cooperation with allies and partners in the Middle East, an integrated maritime domain awareness and interdiction capability, and for other purposes;
• H.Res. 599, Urging the European Union to designate Hizballah [Hezbollah] in its entirety as a terrorist organization;
• H.R. 1809, To require the development of strategies and options to prevent the export to Iran of certain technologies related to unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes.

Committee Chairman McCaul (R-TX) presided.  Mr. Crawley reported on the proceedings through the House Clerk’s Office of Official Reporters.

The Markup comes on 12 days after news that “thousands of armed Hamas fighters breached a border security fence and indiscriminately gunning down Israeli civilians and soldiers taken off guard” (ABC News).  The Associated Press (AP) reported on 7 October 2023, “Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation.”  As of today, Israel has been given the green light to move into Gaza, marshaling into all out war in the Holy Land and escalating Jihad.

Regarding H.Res. 559, the Chairman remarked that he spoke last week with the Israeli Ambassador who told him about “the horrible war crimes that Hamas committed.”  He said that “dozens of babies were murdered, many were found decapitated and burned, Holocaust survivors were kidnapped, and 250 people at a music festival were slaughtered.  These ISIS-like atrocities will haunt the world forever.”  The Chairman held a moment of silence for “the victims of this massacre, in honor of the lives that they lived.”

The Chairman said that as Israel responds in “self-defense,” the United States stands strongly with its “friend and ally” as it protects itself from “Iran-backed terrorism.”  Iran’s nuclear posture is a growing cause of concern to U.S. Representatives. On 4 September 2023, Stephanie Liechtenstein of AP reported, “UN nuclear watchdog report seen by AP says Iran slows its enrichment of near-weapons-grade uranium,” but Ranking Member Meeks remarked today that since President Trump’s hasty withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) which capped Iran’s nuclear enrichment program at 3.67% (among other restrictions), “Iran’s nuclear program has now surged to extraordinarily dangerous levels. In August, the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] reported that Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium has grown since its May report.  Iran now possesses more than 15 times the amount of enriched uranium allowed under JCPoA.” “We are living in, and this is, a very dangerous moment in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program,” the Ranking Member said.

Across the pond, A United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: “18 October 2023 [yesterday] marks ‘Transition Day’ under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), when certain restrictions on Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes are due to lift, including: 84 UN and 112 UK designations on individuals and entities involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities; and sectoral measures including arms and missile embargoes on Iran.” President Biden has since imposed new sanctions aimed at Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs, acting to keep up pressure on Tehran after the expiration of United Nations restrictions on those activities (New York Times).

Mr. Wilson (R-SC) stated that the 18 August 1988 “Hamas Covenant” of the Islamic Resistance Movement contains the provision that “the Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then the Jews will hide behind the rocks and trees.  And the rocks and trees will cry out, ‘O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me.  Come and kill him.'”  The Representative remarked that “we need to take that seriously.”  Mr. Crow of Colorado stated that he finds the language “all means necessary,” with regard to the U.S. suppression of “Iran-backed terrorism,” problematic, and he does not believe that the U.S. should have nuclear force on the table in this debate.  He emphasized that the measure did not constitute an Authorized Use of Military Force (AUMF).

The Council on Foreign Relations writes:

Signed in 2015 by Iran and several world powers, including the United States, the JCPOA placed significant restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. President Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018, claiming it failed to curtail Iran’s missile program and regional influence. Iran began ignoring limitations on its nuclear program a year later. Washington and Tehran have both said they would return to the original deal but they disagree on the steps to get there.

Kali Robinson, 21 June 2023

Regarding H.R. 2973, Mrs. Wagner of Missouri remarked that “Israel is locked in a generational fight for survival against genocidal Hamas terrorists.  The United States stands with Israel as it grieves the unthinkable loss of more than 1400 innocent civilians and it stands with Israel in its fight to eliminate the brutal terrorist group Hamas, period, full stop. … As we saw on October 7, when Hamas launched the deadliest assault on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Israel is facing a complex range of threats across all domains.  On the bloody front and that tragic day, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israeli communities by air by land and by sea to unleash bloodshed against civilians on a scale that Israel has not seen in its history.”

Mr. Wilson remarked that “Taking hostage is a murderous tactic in a war between dictators’ rule of gun opposing democracy’s rule of law.  The Axis of Evil – Putin [President of Russia], Rezaee [Major General (Ret.), Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and former Vice President of Iran], and Xi [President, People’s Republic of China]– must be stopped by peace through strength. Sadly, the September 11th announcement – of all days – of the release of $6 billion to the terrorist regime in Tehran in exchange for five Americans detained confirms this tactic works.”

Regarding H.R. 3266, Mr. Mast (R-FL) and Ranking Member Meeks (D-NY) engaged in a spirited dialectic on popular and national ideologies.  Mr. Mast remarked that “there needs to be [a coming to Jesus moment] among many of our colleagues that Hamas is literally Palestinians.  Young people, from the time of grade school in the Gaza strip, are given the pedigree to become Hamas, trained to become Hamas, from their algebra and arithmetic to their reading, writing, and geography. The gentleman read some examples from a document he had in his hands which was never moved into the record:

Palestinian 6th graders grammar exercise requires them to add the correct verb to the sentences: the jihad warriors fought in defense of their homeland and the believers rushed to respond to the call to jihad.

Another example, 4th grade Palestinian math problem: the number of martyrs in the First Intifada is 2,026 martyrs and the number of martyrs in the al-Aqsa Intifada if 5,050. The number of martyrs in the two intifadas is how many martyrs?

7th grade physics problem: Newton’s second law; during the First Palestinian uprising, Palestinian youths used slingshots to confront the soldiers of the Zionist occupation and defend themselves from their treacherous bullets. What is the relationship between the elongation of slingshots’ rubber and the tensile strength affecting it?

Geography question, Palestinian 6th graders: to define the borders of Palestine, which completely erases Israel’s existence.

Mr. Mast (R-FL), quoting unknown Palestinian source

Mr. Mast concluded, “People need to move away from this idea of saying that the Palestinians are not Hamas and Hamas is not the Palestinians.”

In response to the gentleman’s remarks, Ranking Member Meeks asked, “Mr. Mast, are you Ku Klux Klan?”  

Mr. Mast replied, “No.”  

“Because,” the Ranking Member continued, “it was Ku Klux Klan that raised white people to hate black people.  And the Ku Klux Klan, today, they’re still here.  I get remarks, I get phone calls in my office from people calling me […] and teaching other kids that I’m less than a human being. I don’t say all white people are Ku Klux Klan. I don’t put them all in one category.  All Palestinians don’t belong to Hamas just like all white people don’t belong to the Ku Klux Klan.”  A heated dialogue ensued, in which the Ranking Member protested engaging in further debate on the matter.

“Let’s have this conversation,” said Mr. Mast.

“I’m not having this conversation with you; you’re not worthy of having a conversation with on this,” said Ranking Member Meeks.

“I would argue differently,” said Mr. Mast. 

Order was restored by Acting Chair Kim of California (R-CA), and Ranking Member Meeks reclaimed his time.

The Acting Chair then recognized Mr. Mast, who remarked that he believes he is worthy to speak, and stated further that he is half-white and half-Mexican and is not a member of “that hate organization which I would absolutely despise,” presumably referring to the Ku Klux Klan.  “But,” he continued, “let’s recall, they’re not our government.”

The Ranking Member responded that “many of them [Ku Klux Klan members] were elected, they were Senators, they were members of the House, they were judges, so they were part of the government.”

Regarding H.R. 1809, Mr. Keating remarked, “12 days ago the world witnessed the horror unleashed by Hamas against the state and the people of Israel, almost 50 years to the day after Yom Kippur War.” 

The House Foreign Affairs Committee, having postponed further proceedings on several measures (it being the sense of the Minority that the Majority is biased to roll call over voice votes in committee), reconvened after a recess to vote via roll call using the new electronic voting system for the first time of any House committee.  The Chairman and the Ranking Member agreed that this process saves at lot of time.  Provided continued success, the electronic voting system will be used by the chamber to vote for the Speaker of the House, the Chairman said.

Sources

Crowley, Michael. U.S. Issues New Sanctions Targeting Iran’s Missile and Drone Programs. New York Times. 18 Oct 2023.

Hutchinson, Bill. Israel-Hamas conflict: Timeline and key developments. ABC News, 19 October 2023.

Liechtenstein, Stephanie. UN nuclear watchdog report seen by AP says Iran slows its enrichment of near-weapons-grade uranium. Associated Press. 4 September 2023.

Robinson, Kali. What Is the Iran Nuclear Deal? Council on Foreign Relations. 21 June 2023.

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