Elise Stefanik Vows To Fight 'Anti-Semitic Rot' at United Nations
Elise Stefanik, President Donald Trump's nominee for United Nations ambassador, vowed to fight the "anti-Semitic rot within the United Nations" and argued that Israel has a "biblical right" to the West Bank during her Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman from New York, said she will focus on combating anti-Israel bias and defunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency—the Hamas-linked organization that delivers aid in Gaza—if confirmed as ambassador.
"Our tax dollars should not be complicit in propping up entities that are counter to American interest, anti-Semitic, or engaging in fraud, corruption or terrorism," said Stefanik during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
She criticized UNRWA over its terrorist ties, noting that "Hamas leader Sinwar [was] carrying an UNRWA teacher's passport" when Israeli soldiers killed him and that there were "individuals within UNRWA who participated in the terrorist attack against Israel on October 7."
"We should never tolerate any U.S. taxpayer funds going towards terrorism," she said. "So I fully support the President's commitment to defunding [UNRWA], and I'm proud to have voted for that in the Congress."
UN Ambassador-designate Elise Stefanik: "We should NEVER tolerate any U.S. taxpayer funds going towards terrorism" — like UNRWA (to which President Trump halted funding via executive order yesterday). pic.twitter.com/SRCiqkE04v
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 21, 2025
Stefanik gained national prominence after grilling college administrators about campus anti-Semitism at a House hearing in 2023, during which several university presidents refused to say that calls for genocide against Jews violated their schools’ anti-discrimination policies. The hearing led to the ouster of former Harvard president Claudine Gay.
Stefanik said she would deliver similar results at the U.N. Fighting anti-Semitism is "something that I am deeply committed to doing in this role," she said.
"If you look at the anti-Semitic rot within the United Nations, there are more resolutions targeting Israel than any other country, any other crisis combined," said Stefanik. "We need to be a voice of moral clarity on the U.N. Security Council and at the United Nations at large for the world to hear the importance of standing with Israel. And I intend to do that."
UN Ambassador-designate Elise Stefanik: "If you look at the anti-Semitic rot within the United Nations, there are more resolutions targeting Israel than any other country, any other crisis combined... We need to be a voice of moral clarity on the UN Security Council." pic.twitter.com/ce3eaI149q
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 21, 2025
While Stefanik is expected to be confirmed without strong opposition from Democrats, some of them did spar with her over her support for the Jewish state.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.) pressed Stefanik over whether she believes Israel has a "biblical right to the entire West Bank." When Stefanik responded "yes," Van Hollen argued that her view would make it "very difficult" to bring "peace and stability to the Middle East."
VAN HOLLEN: Do you share the view that Israel has a biblical right to the entire West Bank?
STEFANIK: Yes pic.twitter.com/q4KQQoINwx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 21, 2025
He also pushed Stefanik on whether she believed Palestinians have a "right to self-determination."
"I support human rights for all, and I think it's a disgrace that Hamas and Hezbollah have stripped human rights of the Palestinian people," said Stefanik. "And we need to ensure that we are standing up for human rights, and Israel is standing up for human rights. It is a beacon of human rights in the region."
Stefanik said she supports taking stronger action against Iran, calling for "snapback sanctions" and a "maximum pressure campaign" against the state and its global terrorism network.
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