The New York Young Republican Club fervently condemns Hamas’s reprehensible and unjustifiable attacks against Israel. Equally, we condemn members of Congress, such as the so-called “Jihad Squad,” who twist historical fact to malign Israel’s reputation and to question its very integrity as a sovereign state. We call upon local and national leaders to show solidarity with Israel and its right to self-defense.
Israel’s adversaries paused their attempts to hurt and destroy Israel when President Donald J. Trump stood in the Oval Office. Early in his presidency, President Trump reaffirmed the importance of Israeli-American ties by delivering on his campaign promise to move the American embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Trump Administration also reinstated sanctions on Iran in coordination with Israel and several other Gulf states, diminishing Iran’s ability to fund Hamas terrorists. President Trump and his foreign relations team even attempted to broker a peace deal between Israel and Palestine. While that peace deal did not go far, his administration achieved the unthinkable: the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan. As such, Israel and Arab leaders have been able to achieve more than many thought was possible by engaging with each other and providing a new strategic headache to Iran and its terror cells in Palestine and beyond.
Unfortunately, President Joe Biden unraveled much of the progress made in the Middle East during President Trump’s time in office. The Biden Administration has cozied up to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Biden has blamed Israel for undermining the stability and self-determination of the Palestinian people and restored and increased U.S. aid to Palestinians despite their disinterest in any meaningful attempt at conflict resolution. American money funded Hamas rockets, not aid for the Palestinian people, and the Biden Administration deserves condemnation for the Israeli blood on their hands.
While we commend the Biden Administration for (finally) condemning Hamas and supporting Israel’s right to self-defense, we unequivocally denounce its weak, “stand back” approach when it comes to Israel.
Hamas’s founding charter clearly lays out its ultimate goal, “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it.” As a terrorist organization that feeds off hatred and calls for eradicating the state of Israel, Hamas will not accept peace, nor should we expect it to do so. The New York Young Republican Club finds recent comments made by Senators Sanders and Warren and Representatives Omar, Tlaib, Presley, and Ocasio-Cortez accusing Israel of terrorism and blaming it for the violence unbelievable and inexcusable. There is no moral equivalency between the nation of Israel and a terrorist organization such as Hamas that uses civilian women and children as human shields and then cries foul when Israeli self-defense actions result in casualties among this population.
The New York Young Republican Club demands that Congress maintain its bipartisan record of providing security assistance to Israel. We also call for the cessation of all hostile activity from Gaza and demand that Hamas be held accountable for its crimes. We hope that the Biden Administration does not cave to the anti-Semitic and anti-Israel tendencies of the far-left members of his party.