Phil and Rochelle Goldschmiedt hosted a NORPAC pro-Israel event for Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) at their home in Teaneck.

Eliot Engel is the Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He has been a voice calling for bipartisan support on US-Israel relations for almost three decades in Congress, and has traveled to Israel with President Barack Obama.

During the event, Engel discussed his most recent work with Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA). He and Royce co-introduced H.R.1698, the Iran Ballistic Missiles and International Sanctions Enforcement Act, imposing non-nuclear sanctions on Tehran’s belligerent ballistic missile development program. The bill passed by near-unanimous consent.

Congressman Engel also discussed the move by President Trump not to re-certify the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal (“JCPOA”), which he originally voted against. Congress must now decide on the future of the agreement and many are still debating how to proceed. Engel noted that large parts of the damage from the deal are irreversible, such as the unfreezing of billions of dollars to Iran. Still, the Congressman expressed hope that future legislation could patch up areas not covered by the deal, such as Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for international terrorism.

Eliot Engel will be running for re-election for his 15th term in Congress in 2018.