PROVIDENCE – On Sunday, February 23, roughly 215 people attended the Congressional Breakfast at the Dwares JCC. They arrived to enjoy some Jewish delicacies and to listen to the members of the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation speak. The event was made possible through the generous contributions from community leaders. The program started off with the Star Spangled Banner and Hatikvah, both beautifully performed by Yohji Braude. Yehuda Yaakov, the new Consul General of Israel to New England, offered some greetings.
Jeffrey Savit, CEO and President of the Jewish Alliance, welcomed everyone to what he hoped would become an annual breakfast to talk about topics important to the community. He shared that the event was a long-time dream of Marty Cooper, Community Relations Director. Savit encouraged everyone to take photos and post them to social media sites using the #RIcongbfastCRC. He thanked the state policy leaders, the breakfast delegation committee and the CRC, recognizing the latter as “one of the most impactful communities at the Alliance.” Savit then turned the mic over to Jeffrey Padwa, City Solicitor and the Chairman of the Board of the Jewish Seniors Agency, who carried out the duties of the moderator.
Senator Jack Reed opened up the forum by discussing the effort of John Kerry, the Secretary of State, to move the peace process forward. Acknowledging that these difficult decisions will ultimately have to be made by Israel and the Palestinians, Reed emphasized the importance of U.S. interference. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse praised Kerry for reviving the peace negotiations at a time when many condemned the effort as pointless. Congressman Jim Langevin also wished that Kerry would continue to play a strong role. Cicilline admitted that the process does feel different this time, “We have a right to being cautious and optimistic.”
Whitehouse led the conversation about preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He acknowledged that the international agreement on economic sanctions on Iran has crippled their economy. Langevin thought that there is reason to be hopeful since the Iranians are living up to the expectations of the temporary agreement. Cicilline stressed that we must be prepared to enact additional sanctions.
Reed explained that we could derail discussions by bringing Iran’s sanction legislation to a vote now. If the negotiations fail, we will move aggressively. Reed said, “We have to be able to assure ourselves and the world that we can monitor their overt nuclear activities so that we have sufficient time to mount an operation if necessary. And we have to make sure that they have no covert operations.” One way to achieve this is through non-restricted inspections of Iranian facilities without prior permission or notice.
Langevin said that, despite President Obama’s shifting focus, we will not abandon our allies in the Middle East. Their crisis has an impact on world energy prices and their terrorism poses a threat to the U.S., to our allies and to the security of Israel. Cicilline continued by saying that the relationship between the U.S. and Israel grows out of a shared set of values. He stated that we are responsible to do all we can to support the countries that are aspiring to be democracies.
Reed described our strategic interests worldwide as efforts to preempt any terrorist threats to the U.S. or to any of our allies and to control the weapons of mass destruction. He called for being supportive to those countries that share our ideals. Whitehouse recognized past dictators’ faulty strategy for what it was – using Israeli-Palestinian disputes as a distraction to make their people forget about the corruption. Now, leaders are realizing they need to accomplish stability.
Cicilline addressed Obama’s talks in Israel about entering another ten-year agreement, starting in 2018, to offer military aid to Israel. He believes the extension of foreign aid will be welcomed by most on the committee. Cicilline allowed that continued support has led to important elements, such as the Iron Dome [mobile system is designed to intercept rocket fire]. Whitehouse pointed out that it’s important to consider other countries in the area that need help, calling for aid to Egypt, Libya and Jordan. He stated, “It would be nearly as damaging to Israel to cut off foreign aid in the Middle East and protect Israel as it would be to cut off aid to Israel.”
The panelists named responsible gun safety legislation, growing the economy, raising the minimum wage, providing job training and extending unemployment benefits as some of their top domestic priorities.
At the end, they received tokens of appreciation, presented by students. In closing, Padwa announced CRC’s trip to Washington, D.C. on April 30 through May 1. Those interested should contact Mary Cooper at 401-421-4111, ext. 171, or mcooper@jewishallianceri.org.