| Read Chairwoman Elise Stefanik’s full remarks as prepared below:
“The work of the RJC is more important than ever and I’m honored to be with you today in Las Vegas.
We come together at an extraordinarily challenging time where the world desperately needs sterling, clear, and morally strong American leadership.
Upon learning the news this past weekend, the American people were heartbroken and shattered to read the news of Hamas’ brutal and soulless killing of six hostages including American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Since Hamas’ October 7th terrorist attack, I have met with many hostage families including Hersh’s parents and Carmel Gat’s family members who tirelessly advocated for their loved ones.
I am so deeply sorry for the unimaginable anguish, sadness, and terror these families and all the hostages and their families have gone through these past months and especially this week.
Hamas is an evil terrorist organization who slaughtered women, children, and the elderly, kidnapped innocent civilians and brutally took them hostage, and has refused every single negotiated offer on the table for months to release these civilians.
Hamas must be eradicated from the face of the Earth and the United States must stand side by side with Israel with a focus on bringing every hostage home and defeating Hamas once and for all.
Make no mistake – this horrific execution of six civilian hostages, including an American citizen, happened on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ watch.
These barbaric Hamas terrorists are on the march BECAUSE OF Joe Biden and Kamala Harris failure of leadership – they turned their back on our most precious ally Israel.
Here are the facts:
- Joe Biden and Kamala Harris spent months working to block Israel from entering Rafah, where these 6 hostages were held and murdered.
- Joe Biden and Kamala Harris worked to pause weapons shipments to Israel that were duly passed by the U.S. Congress.
- Joe Biden and Kamala Harris gifted Iran $100 billion in sanctions relief, while illegitimately pressuring Israel to stand down in the face of Iran’s unprecedented attack from Iranian soil.
- Joe Biden and Kamala Harris threatened Israel not to respond in self-defense against Hezbollah’s escalating attacks in the north that have displaced over 80,000 Israelis.
At every turn, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have stood in Israel’s way.
And yet, after the murder of those 6 hostages last week, Kamala Harris had the audacity to suggest that Israel was responsible and to continue calling for a ceasefire.
We know what that really means. It’s a call for Israel to surrender to Hamas terrorists and Iran in exchange for nothing.
For everyone who cares about the safety and existence of the Jewish state, Kamala Harris’ disdain for Israel and alignment with radical Far-Left terrorist sympathizers should instantly disqualify her from any office – let alone President of the United States.
She is a disgrace and must never step foot in the Oval Office as Commander-in-chief.
Kamala Harris won’t merely withhold support for Israel. She will actively undermine its self-defense.
Kamala Harris won’t merely continue Biden’s weakness. She will deepen it.
The contrast between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump could not be clearer.
It is obvious to the world that if President Trump was in the White House, October 7th would never have happened.
It is an indisputable fact that President Trump had the strongest record of any American president when it comes to standing with Israel.
- President Trump moved the U.S. Embassy to its rightful place – Israel’s eternal capital of Jerusalem.
- President Trump negotiated the historic Abraham Accords, the greatest stride toward peace normalization in more than a quarter century.
- President Trump aligned U.S. Central Command with Israel, a change that fostered daily communications with the IDF, joint exercises, and crucial coordination with British and Arab partners that helped defend against the Iranian attack earlier this year.
- President Trump eliminated every dollar of US funding to UNRWA and called it out for what it is—a hive of antisemitism.
This is the same towering strength and unyielding leadership Donald Trump displays in every decision he makes —which is why I am proud to have been the first Member of Congress to endorse his 2024 campaign.
We say every election is the most important election in our lifetime. But this one really is.
The stakes have never been higher. We must defeat Kamala Harris and re-elect President Trump to save our nation, protect our Constitution, stand with Israel, and preserve Western civilization.
Israel and the Jewish people hold a very special place in my heart.
I grew up in Upstate NY and attended an all girls day school right next door to a synagogue. I had many very close Jewish friends as a child, as I do today.
From growing up attending bat and bar mitzvahs to joining families at their homes for Shabbat dinner to attending Shabbat dinner at Harvard Hillel, to celebrating britot for friends’ sons, to signing the ketubah at a friend’s wedding, my love and respect for the Jewish people is lifelong and deep.
I have been to Israel many times – even before I was a Member of Congress. My first trip to Israel was as an undergraduate when I was selected as a fellow for the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies for two weeks of national security studies.
And I have been many times since – returning as a Member of Congress on the House Intelligence Committee, and House Armed Services Committee, and most recently to deliver a speech to the Knesset and meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Each of these visits to Israel underscores to me the fundamental facts:
Israel is a miracle.
Israel is foundational to the United States and the American Dream.
Earlier this year, I had the humble honor of addressing Israeli leaders in the hallowed halls of their Knesset, 226 days after we witnessed the most vicious, brutal attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
I assured them that the vile antisemitism spewed on so-called “elite” campuses and even, yes, from the White House—do not reflect the views of the American people.
The American people stand firmly behind Israel and the Jewish people.
I see this in the small towns in my upstate New York district, and among college students I’ve met with and heard from.
Everyday Americans understand that Israel’s fight is not Israel’s alone—and that the same pro-Hamas terrorist sympathizer who chants of “Death to Israel” also chant “Death to America.”
These terrorists want to topple Israel, topple the U.S., and we must never yield. We must never surrender.
- That’s part of why I have sponsored and supported every measure to aid Israel that has come before the United States Congress. Every single one.
- It’s why as a senior Member on the House Armed Services Committee and Intelligence Committee, I secured billions of dollars for Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Iron Beam, anti-tunneling technology, counter-UAS systems, and further development of emerging technologies.
- It’s why I led the calls for the White House to speak out against the corrupt ICC.
- It’s why, for years, I have been a leading proponent and partner to President Trump in his historic support for Israeli independence and security.
- And it’s also why I’ve led the fight against antisemitism in our higher education institutions.
Last year, I demanded Congress host a public hearing to hold colleges and universities accountable for their moral failures.
How many of you saw that hearing with the university presidents?
Now former university presidents.
The world saw that hearing.
And I want to take you into that moment. My question was the last question of the hearing.
The most junior member of the committee yielded me her remaining three minutes. And I had asked questions earlier, going back and forth with the president of Harvard, now former president, and I wasn’t getting direct answers.
So when thinking through the last question, I wrote down in pencil and thought to myself, ‘how can I ask this in a straightforward, moral way to force them to answer correctly?’
And that question was: ‘Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s code of conduct on bullying and harassment?’
And one after the other, they answered, ‘It depends on the context.’
And the world heard.
Let me tell you: it does NOT depend on the context.
Within one week, it became the most viewed testimony in the history of the United States Congress with one billion views worldwide. It’s now in the multiple billions.
And that is because it exposed the moral rot at the highest levels of these so-called ‘elite’ universities.
Within 48 hours, the president of Penn was forced to resign. It took a month and a plagiarism scandal for the president of Harvard to resign. The Columbia president resigned this summer.
THREE DOWN SO MANY TO GO.
Over the years in Congress, I’ve been in a lot of high-profile committee hearings, but I’ve never witnessed the moral bankruptcy and depravity of witnesses like I did in that hearing.
That hearing set off an earthquake.
House Republicans have put colleges and universities on notice and we are continuing our investigation to ensure every Jewish and Israeli student, faculty member, and staff member is protected on campus.
The problem was never just about these university presidents or even these particular universities. It is a pervasive rot in American higher education.
Their disgraceful attempt to contextualize genocide of Jews is a symptom of decades of moral decay, intellectual laziness, and dangerous radical groupthink at so called “elite” institutions across society.
Replacing the wallpaper is not enough when there is a deep rot within the walls.
The Education and the Workforce Committee has dedicated investigators and resources to deliver transparency and accountability.
We’re looking at foreign donations to universities, the failure to protect Jewish students, the federal accreditation system, the assault on viewpoint diversity and free speech, the antisemitism inherent in woke DEI, the erosion in academic integrity, and the extent to which taxpayers have been forced to bankroll the political indoctrination of young Americans at these institutions.
I will continue to help lead this fight to combat the scourge of antisemitism across this country.
All of us in this room understand what we’re up against in this fight this November.
We are in a critical and historic moment for Israel, America, the Jewish people, and the world.
It’s a challenge in three-parts.
First, we must defend Jews in America from antisemitism and the terrorist sympathizers in the Far Left Democrat Party.
Second, we must defend Israel and Jews abroad in this, their most dangerous hour in modern history.
And third, to do both of those things, we must defeat Kamala Harris and elect President Donald J. Trump in November.
I am confident, with your work at the RJC and the help of everyone here today, that we will succeed in all three endeavors—though it will not be easy. It will be hard.
We must succeed because this is who America is and always has been.
We are a nation that lives up to the words of our founding father and first President George Washington who said in his letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Rhode Island.
‘May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.
‘May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all, in his own due time and way, everlastingly happy.’
Thank you, God bless Israel, and God bless the United States of America.” |
