Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) addressed members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem on Sunday, stating that President Joe Biden had “no excuse” for halting a shipment of bombs during the conflict against the Hamas terror group.
Earlier this month, Biden confirmed that the U.S. had blocked a shipment of bombs and would halt shipments of artillery if Israel persisted in advancing against the last Hamas stronghold in Rafah, near the Egyptian border.
The decision sparked significant backlash, particularly among Republicans. The Jerusalem Post reported:
“There is ‘no excuse’ for an American president to block aid to Israel,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York’s 21st congressional district, said during a meeting of the Knesset Caucus for Jewish and Pro-Israel Students on Campuses Around the World on Sunday. “I have been clear at home and I will be clear here: There is no excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel – aid that was duly passed by Congress, or 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,” Stefanik stated. According to Stefanik, the fight against Hamas was one of “good versus evil, civilization versus barbarism, and humanity versus depravity.” She asserted that the majority of American citizens supported Israel.
Late last year, Stefanik questioned the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a congressional hearing about antisemitism on their campuses.
All gave unsatisfactory answers, triggering public outrage, and the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania resigned shortly thereafter.
