Jewish community and organizational leaders gathered recently at the home of Sarita Spiwak in Century City, California to meet and hear from Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The congresswoman, the first Cuban-American female elected to Congress, is the longest-serving Republican woman the House of Representatives.
As chair of the key committee that helps shape American foreign policy, Ros-Lehtinen has written and ushered into legislation many pieces of pro-Israel legislation. Her bills include the strengthening of the U.S.-Israel alliance; addressing radical Islam; preventing U.S. tax dollars from supporting Hamas and Hizbullah; and, most recently, legislation that increases sanctions against Iran.
In her talk, Ros-Lehtinen highlighted three major issues threatening Israel’s existence and U.S. interests: Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and their (along with Syria’s) sponsorship of violent Islamist groups; the Palestinian leadership’s dangerous dual track of seeking unilateral recognition of statehood at the UN while embracing anti-Israel extremists and refusing to make peace with Israel; and anti-Semitic and anti-Israel efforts at the UN and other international bodies.
Ros-Lehtinen’s appearance was sponsored by Community Research and Information Center (CRIC), a California PAC and Jewish Community Organization (JCO) that hosts and sponsors appearances by influential speakers and government officials. This event was chaired by Dr. Irving Lebovics, Stanley Treitel, Dr. Morry Waksberg, and Commissioner Howard Winkler.
For more information on upcoming community events, you can e-mail [email protected] or write to Community Research and Information Center, P.O. Box 480454, Los Angeles, CA 90048.