Far-left activists are going to extraordinary lengths to intimidate anyone who doesn’t agree with their pro-Hamas, anti-Israel beliefs – and they are getting bolder. Pro-Palestine protesters recently attempted to climb the fence at the White House. They blocked the roads in Orange County, preventing travelers on the way to John Wayne Airport and, most recently, blocked the roads of morning commuters in our nation’s capital.
As Israel fights for its right to exist against terrorists determined to wipe it from the map, here in America, groups like the Council on Islamic-American Relations (CAIR) have made their purpose clear. Far from an organization dedicated to “Islamic-American Relations,” CAIR openly supported the terrorist campaign of annihilation and the mass rape, torture, and murder of Israeli civilians including women and children led by Hamas.
Hamas’ only goal is to eliminate every Israeli man, woman, and child. I spoke on the House floor last week to highlight 26-year-old Noa Argamani who is still held hostage in Gaza. Her mother, who is suffering from stage four brain cancer, is running out of time to see her daughter again in her final days.
CAIR and a variety of pro-Hamas organizations have begun a campaign of targeting Congressional offices with their antisemitic, pro-Hamas propaganda. At my District office, a group calling itself “Lawyers Against Genocide,” shared flyers on social media calling for people to target my office, and live streamed themselves vandalizing my office door and hallways with CAIR sponsored signs and pounding on the door, screaming threatening messages at my staff including, “you think these walls are impenetrable, but they won’t stand for long.” I will do whatever is necessary to keep my staff safe, but I cannot be intimidated into silence.
Radical, destructive “protests” will never stop Americans from supporting our ally Israel as it defends its people from terrorists. That is why it is particularly disappointing and unacceptable that so many members voted against $17.6 billion in funding to assist our greatest ally in the Middle East as they fight for their right to exist.
The bill replenished the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Iron Beam missile and rocket defense systems, which are the last line of defense as Hamas rains down barrages of missiles on civilian communities. It also would have provided for the procurement of advanced weapon systems and increased funding for U.S. forces in the region and our embassy. This legislation failed because politics got in the way of good policy. The failure of this bill only empowers those in this country like CAIR who hate Israel.
It is essential to work here in the United States to uncover antisemitism and take decisive action to stop its spread. This week, I joined my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee to seek documents and information from the Treasury Department regarding pro-Palestinian charities that may have ties to Hamas and other terrorist organizations, in order to determine whether these organizations where able to evade anti-terror laws to achieve tax exempt status.
My legislation, the DETERRENT Act, which passed the House of Representatives in December, will crack down on foreign funding of universities, exposing foreign donors and recipient campuses to much needed transparency, and allowing parents and students to know whether foreign gifts at their campuses are helping fuel the rise in campus antisemitism.
While this funding legislation may have failed, our fight to support Israel has not. We must have absolute moral clarity and resolve. Hamas must be eliminated. Every single hostage must be returned. History will remember those who choose to stay silent. In Congress, I will continue working to ensure Israel has everything it needs to defend itself from the antisemitic and genocidal threat it faces.
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