Washington, DC – Today, 30 organizations sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for an investigation and accountability regarding reports in The New York Times, Haaretz, The Guardian and other outlets that Israel has engaged in covert influence operations aimed at influencing America’s democratic debate and maligning critics of the Israeli government.
The letter states “It is incumbent on our government to protect its citizens from efforts by foreign governments to inappropriately interfere in our democratic process by spreading disinformation, targeting U.S. elected officials, and seeking to intimidate members of U.S. civil society.” Among the dozens of signers include National Iranian American Council, Center for International Policy, DAWN and U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action. The letter notes that the U.S. has pushed back on similar influence operations undertaken by other countries, including Russia, and the Director of National Intelligence recently warned about influence operations conducted by Iran. However, there has apparently been no such effort to protect Americans from Israeli influence operations that are now well-documented.
NIAC President Jamal Abdi said the following regarding the significance of this letter: “What this letter asks for is very simple: that President Biden and his administration treat reports of inappropriate Israeli influence operations with the same seriousness that it has allegations of Russian and Iranian influence campaigns.” Abdi continued, “Unfortunately, what has been reported thus far could just be the tip of the iceberg. The administration must work to defend our democracy fully, and ensure that no foreign state has a green light to inappropriately target American citizens or manipulate our democratic process.”
“Foreign intervention in our democratic processes, regardless of its source, is a threat to our national sovereignty and must be thoroughly investigated and stopped,” said Raed Jarrar, Advocacy Director at DAWN. “It’s time for the Biden Administration to end its policy of exceptionalism towards Israel and hold all nations to the same standards. The administration must take decisive action to protect our democracy from all forms of foreign interference.”
“The United States has failed to protect Palestinian communities, putting them at risk of harm to continue emboldening Israel. As the Israeli government and its foreign agents attempt to undermine our collective efforts on Palestinian rights, we strongly urge for the federal government to impose sanctions to hold Israeli officials and institutions accountable for violating the law,” said Mohammed Khader, USCPR Action Policy Manager.
You can see the text of the letter below:
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