On July 22, 2024, the Vandenberg Coalition convened leading experts to highlight the relationship between anti-Americanism and antisemitism, showing how the toxic spread of antisemitism is part of a larger effort—spurred on by America’s adversaries—to undermine U.S. national security interests and values, sow distrust among our citizens, and ultimately chip away at the very foundation of the United States.

On the heels of the 30th anniversary of the AMIA bombing—which prior to October 7 was the largest single slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust—Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of State Ludovic Hood, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) Behnam Ben Taleblu, co-founder of Horizon Advisory Emily de La Bruyère, and senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund Bret Schafer, discussed how our adversaries are exploiting the Israel-Hamas war to spread anti-American and anti-Western propaganda, the role antisemitism plays in this strategy, how antisemitism serves as a canary in the coal mine of cultural rot, and how we can inoculate ourselves against this foreign-inspired hatred. A transcript of Ludovic Hood’s keynote remarks is available here.

As the Trump administration debates the contours of a prospective new nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran, there has been much speculation on what that deal should entail. While the Islamic Republic of Iran is now at its weakest point in decades thanks to the strong actions of our ally Israel, a bad deal could turn the tide and strengthen the Iranian regime’s hand. That is why, in partnership with FDD Action, National Union for Democracy in Iran, Veterans on Duty, and Advancing American Freedom, the Vandenberg Coalition pulled together the most critical lessons from the failures of President Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It is our hope these lessons will help guide and inform the current administration’s approach.

The first Trump administration’s strong policies on Iran were put in place because of hard-won lessons from the failures of a bad nuclear deal. We cannot forget those lessons now.

Read these lessons and how a strong deal will preserve peace below and linked here.

As the world rightly focuses on the war in Ukraine, it is critical that we do not forget the crisis generated by America’s premature withdrawal from Afghanistan. There are currently thousands of Afghan National Army veterans who fought alongside U.S. troops being hunted by the Taliban on a daily basis. At the same time, Afghanistan’s women and girls continue to have their lives and livelihoods taken from them.

Introductory Remarks: Carrie Filipetti, Vandenberg Coalition Executive Director

Remarks: Amb. Kelley Eckels Currie, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues and Rep. Mike Waltz (FL-06)

Panel Discussion: Brig Gen (USAF, ret.) David Hicks (Operation Sacred Promise), MSgt (USAF, ret.) Travis Peterson (Moral Compass Federation), Cathy Cruzan (Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women), and Ilaha Eli Omar (Uplift Afghanistan) moderated by Amy K. Mitchell

America finds itself at a critical juncture. Iran’s regime continues to threaten the security of the United States and our allies, yet America’s current policies only encourage further aggression by Tehran. In its 45 years in power, Iran’s leadership has funded terrorist groups including Hamas and Hezbollah, brutalized its own people, taken Americans hostage, and plotted to assassinate Americans on U.S. soil. The Vandenberg Coalition and FDD Action partner together in this discussion urging U.S. policymakers to take the Iran threat seriously. Featuring Senior Director of Government Relations at FDD Action, Nick Stewart, Vice President of the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), Cameron Khansarinia, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), Behnam Ben Taleblu, and Vandenberg Coalition Chairman, Elliott Abrams – with opening remarks by Vandenberg Coalition Executive Director, Carrie Filipetti.