Trump's pick for UN ambassador hailed by Israeli minister as 'warrior against antisemitism’
TEL AVIV - The Trump administration will do more than its predecessor to combat the tidal wave of Jew-hatred unleashed by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli told Fox News Digital.
Chikli noted that, when confirmed, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, former Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., will enter into one of the epicenters of the global assault on the Jewish people and their state.
"We saw Stefanik at the hearing on campus antisemitism in Congress," he said, noting that once confirmed as a senior member of the Trump administration she will be "stationed in one of the most hostile arenas: the U.N." Chikli added that she's "A warrior against antisemitism, we are very happy with her appointment."
STEFANIK TOUTS GRILLING COLLEGE ADMINISTRATORS IN SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARING
In December 2023, Stefanik was widely praised during a congressional hearing on the explosion of antisemitism at American universities. She asked the presidents of Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology if calling for genocide against Jews violated their codes of conduct.
A year later, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled the U.S. House of Representatives Staff Report on Antisemitism, compiled by six congressional committees.
Chikli told Fox News Digital four actionable measures to curb the phenomenon: "Enforcing strict compliance with Title VI to prohibit discrimination and address antisemitism on campus; withholding federal funding to institutions that boycott Israel or tolerate antisemitic behavior; requiring universities to disclose foreign contributions and tightening government oversight; and revoking funding and tax exemptions for groups and universities that propagate antisemitism or support terror-related activities."
"This report from the speaker of the House shows that this [Trump] administration is highly committed to countering antisemitism," Chikli said.
In her new role, Stefanik has also promised to fight Jew-hatred at Turtle Bay, which she described as a "den of antisemitism."
"Even before the barbaric terrorist attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7, the U.N. has continuously betrayed Israel and betrayed America, acting as an apologist for Iran and their terrorist proxies," Stefanik said in November after her nomination.
During her Senate confirmation on Tuesday, she said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a conduit for international aid to the Palestinians, should be "at the bottom of the list" of organizations to receive American funding.
In January 2024, then-President Joe Biden halted funding to UNRWA after Israel released evidence that the agency's staff participated in the Oct. 7 massacre.
According to Chikli, UNRWA effectively serves as Hamas's educational system, which in turn makes it the engine fueling antisemitism throughout Gaza and Palestinian-administered territories in the West Bank, known by Israelis as Judea and Samaria.
"It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a village to raise a terrorist. And if you put a child in UNRWA schools, you can be sure that he will graduate with the mindset of a terrorist," Chikli told Fox News Digital.
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"[Palestinian children] will learn to admire suicide bombers, Hamas Nukhba terrorists who butchered innocent people. They go to schools named after terrorists, with textbooks that include math problems about how many Israeli soldiers were attacked or how many stones were thrown at them," he continued.
"That is why it is critical to make sure UNRWA is shut down," he added.
In October, the Israeli parliament banned UNRWA from operating in the Jewish state. The law takes effect on Jan. 30.
A spokesperson for Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid told Fox News Digital that "the government and the international community has had 90 days to find alternatives to UNRWA."
He declined to say whether Lapid was in contact with the Trump administration to discuss "day after" plans once UNRWA ceases operations.
In August, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini confirmed the probable involvement of at least 19 UNRWA employees in the Oct.7 massacre, saying that "the evidence – if authenticated and corroborated – could indicate that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the attacks."
He later confirmed that at least nine UNRWA staffers were fired after an internal probe.
UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma told Fox News Digital that "we are committed to staying and delivering [aid] in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, until we cannot."
"UNRWA has the most robust systems in place in comparison to other United Nations agencies when it comes to the adherence to the principle of neutrality with regards to our programs that we do and our staff," she said.
Asked whether the organization has put together a plan for ongoing operations once the Israeli ban kicks in, she said, "We have not."
Ayelet Samerano’s son, Yonatan, was kidnapped by a terrorist who also reportedly worked for UNRWA on Oct. 7, 2023. A video of the terrorist dragging Yonatan's lifeless body into a car went viral.
"I will not let it go. I am pressuring the government very hard for the law, which passed in the Knesset, to be implemented," Samerano told Fox News Digital. "I didn’t know UNRWA before, but then I investigated and found many documents that prove it's involved in terror. That they were involved in taking hostages on Oct. 7 and holding kidnapped Israelis in their homes and buildings means there is no reason for this organization to continue to exist."
"We must ensure that UNRWA will be replaced by another organization that will help the Gazans and make sure terror does not infiltrate them," she continued. "People outside of Gaza and interested in real peace must teach a new curriculum that will create opportunities for Gazans, not terror."
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon told Fox News Digital that Stefanik is "a staunch ally of Israel and of the Jewish people."
"She leads with moral clarity and a strong commitment to justice and truth," he said. "I am looking forward to working with her at the U.N., where the demonization and distortions about Israel are out of control."