In a recent Senate confirmation hearing held on October 18th, former Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew faced intense questioning from Republican lawmakers.
The hearing was a crucial step in the process for his potential appointment as the U.S. Ambassador to Jerusalem.
“It’s not a pure economic question. It’s a question of who are we dealing with,” Lew told Senate lawmakers.
“It’s not a tradeoff between guns and butter. Guns come first,” he added. “You are dealing with an evil, malign government that funds its evil and malign activities first.”
Jacob Lew, who has a Jewish heritage, was a key figure in the negotiations surrounding the 2015 Iran nuclear deal during the Obama administration.
During the hearing, he found himself engaged in heated discussions with several Republican senators who challenged his record.
“When Iran gets access to food and medicine for its people, that’s food and medicine it otherwise would not have. I can’t say that there’s no leakage,” Lew continued.
“To the extent that there’s leakage, it won’t change the thrust of what they do. Sadly, supporting terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah – that’s not very expensive. … Under maximum pressure, (Iran) still was doing their malign activities,” he said.
The senators’ opinions on his confirmation were sharply divided. Some argued that Israel urgently needed his appointment due to the ongoing crisis with Hamas, while others held him personally responsible for providing substantial funds to a recognized state sponsor of terrorism.
Lew, despite his role in the Iran deal, made it clear that he views the Iranian government as “evil” and “malign” and believes they prioritize funding for terrorist-related activities over other priorities.
Members of the Foreign Relations Committee questioned whether the White House had the means to prevent Iran from using recently unfrozen funds, approximately $6 billion, for nefarious purposes.
Of note, around one month before the Hamas incursion into Israel, the Biden administration finalized a prisoner swap deal with Iran, which included a substantial amount of frozen Iranian funds. Some lawmakers expressed concerns that this money might be diverted to support terrorist activities. This led to speculations regarding the possibility of Hamas being a beneficiary of these funds.
Senator Ted Cruz accused Lew of being involved in channeling over $100 billion to the Iranian regime and criticized the Biden administration for providing additional substantial funds to the Iranian government.
The confirmation of Jacob Lew as the U.S. Ambassador to Jerusalem remains a contentious and significant issue for lawmakers.
