Mark Meadows (R-NC), who has served as the Representative from the 11th District of North Carolina since 2013, was hosted in Englewood by Drs. Daniel Feuer and David Wisotsky. In Congress, Rep. Meadows has continued to demonstrate his commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship.
As a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, Meadows is especially aware of the many threats facing Israel every day. Targeting one of these threats, Rep. Meadows introduced the bipartisan Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act (H.R.4411) in April. This legislation aims to cripple the terrorist organization’s foreign assets with sanctions— including its international narcotics operations and its propaganda arm, al-Manar TV—and directs Hezbollah to be designated as a transnational criminal organization and a drug Kingpin, which would provide law enforcement with additional tools to combat its terrorist activities.
During the six weeks prior to NORPAC’s advocacy at the 2014 Mission to Washington, the bill had only 24 co-sponsors in the House and no counterpart in the Senate; in the six weeks following the Mission, it enjoyed over 300 House co-sponsors, as well as a counterpart in the Senate (S.2329). Five days before the event—on July 22—Meadows’ bill passed in the House 404-0, and already has 49 co-sponsors in the Senate.
At the event, Meadows addressed attendees about his unique involvement with the smartphone app Red Alert: Israel—which warns Israeli users in real-time of incoming rockets. While there has been a Hebrew version of this app for some time, no English version existed until a recent meeting between Rep. Meadows and Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer. After seeing the frequency of attacks on Dermer’s phone, Meadows wanted to develop a version that would give non- Hebrew speakers a better understanding of the constant terrorism and air raid sirens that force people into bomb shelters in less than a minute.
In only one term, Rep. Meadows has tremendously helped to improve the U.S.-Israel relationship. His innovative ideas for new legislation and technology have undeniably enhanced the solidarity between Americans and Israelis; and these are only a few of the many ways he is working to achieve this important goal.
Congressman Mark Meadows is running for re-election in 2014. 18 August 7, 2014 • 11 Av 5774
