FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, September 20th, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC – Today House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik addressed the Israeli American Council (IAC) Summit to discuss her efforts to defend Israel and the Jewish people both at home and abroad, including combating antisemitism in higher education and ensuring Israel has the resources to protect itself.

Watch her full speech here.

View her full remarks to the summit below:

“I want to first begin and thank Dr. Miriam Adelson, Elan Carr, and the Israeli American Council for inviting me to be with you today at this historic event.

First off, how great was President Trump yesterday? I was honored like all of you to spend time with him last night as he shared his historic record of strength for Israel and the Jewish people.  And we know at this moment right now the world desperately needs the sterling, clear, and morally strong leadership that President Trump brings to the world stage–the exact opposite from the weak, feckless, and failed Biden-Harris Administration over the past 4 years. 

And let me tell you just this week, their failures came into sharp focus in New York at the U.N. General Assembly. We know that the U.N. is a den of antisemitism that has only gotten worse under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ watch. Ever since the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7th, the U.N. continuously betrays Israel acting as apologists for the terrorists of Hamas and Iran. This included U.N. women disgracefully deleting its condemnation of Hamas for sexual violence succumbing to pressure from antisemitic, pro-Hamas mobs. It included the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs revising the death toll in Gaza down by 50 percent because it relied on false information provided by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health. And most egregiously, it included, UNRWA, perhaps the most revealing of all, which had a Hamas data center underneath its Gaza headquarters, having nearly two dozen of its staff members directly involved in the October 7th terrorist attacks with another 100 with terrorist ties. That’s why we need to defund UNRWA immediately. And, of course, it included the absurdly misnamed ‘Human Rights Council,’ composed of some of the world’s worst human rights abusers, having a standing antisemitic agenda item related to Israel, and adopting a resolution stating that Israel should be held responsible for war crimes while failing to condemn the atrocities and barbarism committed by Hamas. Even Secretary-General Guterres could not bring himself to condemn Hamas after the recent murder of six hostages, including American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin. And finally, this antisemitic influence came to a head on Wednesday of this week as the U.N. voted 124-14 to strip Israel of the right to self-defense against Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. Unfortunately, this comes as no surprise when you examine the failed policies of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris that have emboldened our adversaries and advanced anti-American, anti-Israel, and anti-freedom sentiments around the world. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris spent months working to block Israel from entering Rafah where the 6 hostages were recently murdered. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris worked to pause weapons shipments to Israel that were passed by the United States Congress which Kamala Harris just bragged this week in her embarrassing first interview as a presidential candidate. 

And we know that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris gifted Iran 100 billion dollars 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. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris also chose to abstain from voting on critical U.N. Security Council resolutions which failed to condemn Hamas or tie the release of hostages to any ceasefire deal, vindicated the use of terrorism, and put the onus on Israel for stopping a war that it didn’t start in the first place. 

At each and every turn, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have stood in Israel’s way, and they have turned their back on Israel and the Jewish people. For everyone who cares about the safety and existence of the Jewish state, Kamala Harris’ disdain for Israel and alignment with radical Far Left Hamas 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. 

Because as bad as Joe Biden is, Kamala Harris is worse. Kamala Harris won’t merely withhold support for Israel. She will actively undermine Israel’s self-defense. Kamala Harris won’t merely continue Joe Biden’s weakness. She will deepen that weakness. And the contrast between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump could not be clearer. It is an indisputable fact that President Trump had the strongest record of any American president when it comes to standing with Israel. 

The list of his accomplishments is lengthy. President Trump moved the U.S. Embassy to its rightful place: Israel’s eternal capital of Jerusalem. President Trump, of course, 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 unprecedented Iranian attack earlier this year. President Trump eliminated every dollar of U.S. funding to UNRWA and called it out for what it is: a hive of antisemitism. And it is quite obvious to the world that if President Trump were in the White House today, what happened at the U.N. this week would never have happened because October 7th would never have happened under President Trump’s watch. We have all seen the towering strength and unyielding leadership that President Donald J. Trump displays in every decision he makes which is why I am so proud to be the first Member of Congress who endorsed his 2024 presidential campaign that he is going to win.

And I know we say every two years for congressional races, every four years for the presidential, that this is the most important election in our lifetime, but this one really is. And people understand that not only in this country but around the world. That’s because the stakes have never been higher for America and for Israel. We must defeat Kamala Harris and re-elect President Trump to save our nation, to protect our Constitution, to stand with Israel, and to preserve Western civilization. That’s truly what’s at stake. 

Israel and the Jewish people hold a very special place in my heart. I grew up in Upstate New York. I 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 it is deep. And I have been to Israel many times many 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. 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. And each and every one 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, as I mentioned, I ha d the humbling honor of addressing Israeli leaders in the hallowed halls of their Knesset after we witnessed the most vicious, brutal attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. And I assured them that the vile antisemitism spewed on so-called ‘elite’ campuses–and even, yes, from this White House under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris—those views do not reflect the views of the American people. Let me be clear. 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 sympathizers who chant, ‘Death to Israel’ also chant, ‘Death to America.’ These terrorists want to topple Israel, topple the U.S., and we must never yield. And we will 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 Committees, I’m proud to have secured billions of dollars for Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Iron Beam, anti-tunneling technology, counter-UAS systems, and further development of emerging technologies. And 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. Let me ask you, how many of you saw that hearing with the university presidents? I said university presidents, they’re now former university presidents. And let me tell you. It’s not just you in this room; 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 was not getting direct answers. So when thinking through the last question, which I wrote down in pencil to myself, I thought, ‘How can I ask this in a straightforward, moral way to force them to answer correctly?’ And that question was this: ‘does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s code of conduct on bullying and harassment?’ And one after the other, and the other, they answered, ‘It depends on the context.’ That’s right, 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. I got more to go. It took a month and a plagiarism scandal for the president of Harvard to resign. The Columbia president resigned this past summer. The Cornell president was so worried to come in front of the committee that they preemptively resigned. And then the Rutgers president resigned this week. Five down so many to go.

I’ll tell you over the years, I’ve been in a lot of high-profile committee hearings, impeachment hearings, but I’ve never witnessed the moral bankruptcy and depravity of witnesses like I did in that hearing.  And I’ll tell you 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. We will be releasing that report soon, so stay tuned. We know the problem was never just about these university presidents or even these particular ‘elite’ universities.There is a pervasive rot in our American higher education. Their disgraceful attempt to contextualize genocide of Jews is a symptom of decades of moral decay, intellectual laziness, and dangerous, radical Left groupthink at so called ‘elite’ institutions across society. And we know 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. And let me go down that list. We’re looking at donations to universities–foreign dollars flowing into these universities–the failure to protect Jewish students, the federal accreditation system. And I love that last night, President Trump said, ‘Day one, if you fail to protect Jewish students, your accreditation is gone.’ We’re looking at the assault on viewpoint diversity and free speech, the antisemitism inherent in woke DEI, the erosion of academic integrity, and the extent to which taxpayers have been forced to bankroll the political indoctrination of young Americans at these institutions. And for those pro-Hamas organizers on those encampments, if you are on a foreign visa, you’re going to be deported. 

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 are up against in this fight this November. We are in a critical and historic moment for Israel, America, the Jewish people, and the world. 

And it’s a challenge in three-parts. First, we must defend Jews in America from antisemitism and the terrorist sympathizers that have taken over the 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.

And I am confident, with your work at the Israeli American Council and the help of everyone here today, that we will succeed in all three endeavors. Though it will not be easy, 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–and I think this should be taught in every school in America– he 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 very much, God bless Israel, and God bless the United States of America. Let’s get this done this November. Thank you very much.”