Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), in a speech before the Israeli Parliament on May 19, condemned the terrorist group Hamas for the Oct. 7 attack that claimed 1,200 Israeli lives, and she called for the group’s elimination.
“Total victory starts—but only starts—with wiping those responsible for October 7th off the face of the earth. There can be no retrievable dignity for Hamas and its backers,” she said.
Her trip to Israel comes amid recent anti-Israel protests at multiple universities across the United States, with encampments of protesters on campuses in response to Israel’s military action against Hamas in Gaza.
In an unusually partisan speech before a foreign governing body, Ms. Stefanik criticized President Joe Biden’s policies toward Israel and praised former President Donald Trump for his support of the country
“There is no excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel—aid that was duly passed by the Congress,” Ms. Stefanik said. “There is no excuse to ease sanctions on Iran, paying a $6 billion ransom to the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, or to dither and hide while our friends fight for their lives. No excuse. Full stop.”
Despite his warning, President Biden previously signed the foreign aid package that includes about $26 billion in military assistance to Israel. Last week, the administration also planned for a new $1 billion sale of arms to Israel.
In her speech, the House GOP conference chair praised President Trump for his support of Israel during his presidency.
“For years, I have been a leading proponent and partner to President Trump in his historic support for Israeli independence and security,” she said.
Ms. Stefanik, a potential running mate for President Trump, cited several accomplishments under his term, including moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and the negotiation of the Abraham Accords, the first peace agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbors in 25 years. She indicated that the United States would return to that strategy soon.
“When the enemy is inside the gates of the United Nations, America must be the one to call it by its name and destroy it. President Trump understood that,” the New York congresswoman said. “But you know as well as I that the enemy is inside more than just the gates of the United Nations. It is also in powerful Western institutions in my country and beyond, where the virus, the vile virus of anti-Semitism is spreading. This is why total victory means not just physical self-defense but ideological self-defense.”
College Protests
As a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, Ms. Stefanik is one of the key players in pushing the investigation of anti-Semitism on campuses. Last year, a video of her questioning the presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania during a hearing on anti-Semitism went viral.In April, Ms. Stefanik and other New York GOP members of Congress demanded that Columbia University’s president resign, accusing her of allowing “a large unauthorized anti-Semitic riot” to engulf the campus and of failing to enforce school policies “to ensure students have a safe learning environment.”
“We must not let the extremism in so-called elite corners conceal the deep, abiding love for Israel among the American people,” Ms. Stefanik said in her speech. “Most Americans feel a strong connection to your people. They have opened their hearts to you in this dark hour.”
During her trip, Ms. Stefanik met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, other Israeli officials, and family members of the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks. She also toured the City of David archaeological site in Jerusalem.
