Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik criticized President Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict, accusing him of weakening the U.S.-Israel alliance and putting Israel's security at risk. She attributed Biden's actions to declining poll numbers.
Amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik has emerged as a vocal critic of President Biden's administration, accusing it of "equivocal" support for Israel that stems from its "failing" poll numbers.
Stefanik, who recently addressed the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem, defended her criticism, stating that she was invited to discuss her work in combating antisemitism and her strong record of supporting the U.S.-Israel alliance.
"The world needs to know, and Israel needs to know, that the House Republican majority stands strongly with Israel," Stefanik said. "That this equivocation, this weak, failed leadership that we are seeing from Joe Biden, that's not where the American people are, that's not where the United States Congress is."
Stefanik emphasized that the focus of her speech was to convey the strong support of the American people and House Republicans for Israel. She cited the recent passage of legislation rebuking Biden for pausing a shipment of bombs to Israel as evidence of this support.
"You've had equivocation after equivocation from Democrats, led by Joe Biden, or whether it's Chuck Schumer calling for a new leader replacing Prime Minister Netanyahu, that is not the place – that is not the type of leadership we need to be seeing from the highest levels of the United States of America," Stefanik said.
She accused Biden of eroding the U.S.-Israel alliance and failing to provide Israel with the unequivocal support it needs to defend itself against Hamas. "Oct. 7 was the bloodiest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust," Stefanik said. "We want to make sure Israel has all the resources, no equivocation that it comes to eradicating Hamas."
Despite concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza, Stefanik defended Israel's actions, stating that Hamas uses civilians as shields while Israel demonstrates great respect for human rights.
"That's why the United States stands fully with Israel, and that's why they need to be a voice of truth, as those antisemitic propaganda are being shared around the world and being shared by perpetrators who support this terrorism," Stefanik said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
