SENATORS TED CRUZ (R-TEXAS) AND REP. LEE ZELDIN (R- NY) ON OBAMA POLITICAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST NETANYAHU
Full text of the letter is … available at
http://www.cruz.senate.gov/files/documents/Letters/20150129_Letter_to_Secretary_Kerry.pdf
Sen. Cruz: Has President Obama Launched a Political Campaign Against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu?
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Congressman Lee Zeldin, R-NY-1, today sent
a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry asking for information regarding
media reports that U.S. taxpayer dollars are being used to fund efforts to
influence upcoming elections in Israel. This is from Senator Cruz’s press
release.
“Has President Obama launched a political campaign against Prime Minister
Netanyahu and his representatives?” Sen. Cruz asked. “This administration’s
relentless harassment of Israel is utterly incomprehensible. The Islamic
Republic of Iran is pursuing the deadliest weapons on the planet, and there
can be no doubt that their first target will be Israel, followed by the
United States. This administration should be focusing its animosity on the
very real enemies we face, not on our staunch allies.”
“It is completely unacceptable to use U.S. tax dollars to influence the
elections in Israel,” said Rep. Zeldin. “State Department grants should
never be given to entities working to overthrow strong allies like Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We have great allies around the world,
but Israel is our strongest, and a beacon of freedom in a region filled with
radical Islamic extremists and state sponsored terrorism. Today, I join with
Sen. Ted Cruz in calling for a U.S. Department of State investigation into
this important matter.”
As specified in the letter, a recent article in the Israeli newspaper
Haaretz reports that a U.S. taxpayer-funded non-profit organization called
OneVoice is actively working with a campaign operation called Victory 2015
(V15) in an effort to influence the upcoming elections in Israel on March
17, 2015.
As a result, Sen. Cruz and Rep. Zeldin request answers to the following
eight questions:
1.How much funding has the U.S. Government provided to OneVoice, PeaceWorks
Network Foundation, and any connected initiatives, projects or subsidiaries?
2.Who approved providing such funds?
3.What is the oversight and accounting process for how these funds are being
spent?
4.How often and on what dates has such funding been provided?
5.What were the specific reasons and terms for providing funds, and how are
these funds specifically being spent?
6.Can the Department of State guarantee that none of these funds have been
or will be used in the endeavor detailed above, namely the partnership with
V15, or any similar effort to exert undue influence over the Israeli
political process?
7.Was there any knowledge from the State Department or other U.S. government
officials of the partnership with V15 prior to providing funds to OneVoice?
8.Does OneVoice’s work with V15 violate its 501(c)(3) status (or the status
of the PeaceWorks Network Foundation) as a tax-exempt organization and
should such status be revoked?
In the letter, Cruz and Zeldin write, “Of course private American citizens
are free to engage in political activities according to their inclinations,
but given the overtly partisan nature of this particular case, we are deeply
concerned by the relationship that also exists between OneVoice and the U.S.
Department of State.”
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