Bipartisan Senate Delegation Shows Unity in Support for Israel
Senators vow to provide Israel with the "most generous package” possible to defend itself
A bipartisan delegation of the US Senate led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer arrived in Tel Aviv to show a united front of support for Israel in this war. In a statement on Saturday, the delegation emphasized that the Senate is committed to creating the “most generous package” possible for Israel’s needs to defend itself, adding that they are not waiting for the House to do so.
After meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ministers Yoav Gallant, Ron Dermer, Benny Gantz, and Gadi Eisenkot, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, the delegation heard the testimonies of the families of the American hostages. Then they spoke to the press in Tel Aviv and delivered a message of bipartisan unity on America’s mission to stand with Israel.
Majority Leader Schumer was accompanied by Senators Bill Cassidy, Jacky Rosen, Mitt Romney, and Mark Kelly.
Schumer summarized their message by saying, “We have your back. You are not alone.” He added that the delegation had “good and productive” meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders where they discussed Israel’s need to defend itself and complete both tasks it has outlined for this war, which are to eliminate Hamas’ infrastructure in Gaza and secure the safe return of the over 150 hostages.
He proceeded to explain the three purposes of the delegation: To send a message of support to Israel, meet with its leaders to define its needs in terms of military aid, intelligence, and humanitarian assistance, and lastly, he added, to show that “support for Israel is bipartisan.”
The importance of freeing all the hostages was highlighted by Schumer, who said that upon the delegation’s return to Washington, “We will talk to the president to make sure we do everything to bring them back.”
After meeting with the families of the missing Americans and hearing their testimony, he compared Hamas’ crimes to the crimes committed by the Nazis during the Holocaust. He described what he saw as the “vicious inhuman nastiness of Hamas.”
We cannot let this evil continue. We must hold ourselves to a higher standard.
“We cannot let this evil continue,” he asserted, adding that it must be done while minimizing the civilian casualties in Gaza. “We must hold ourselves to a higher standard,” he added.
Before Saturday’s press conference began, all the Senators from the delegation were rushed into the bomb shelter after Hamas fired rockets at Tel Aviv. Referring to that experience, Schumer stressed that they got to live the unfortunate reality that Israelis experience often by running into bomb shelters to protect themselves from Hamas’ rockets.
Senator Rosen said that it is the world’s duty not to look away and to acknowledge that Hamas’ atrocities are real. “Never again—it means right now,” she added.
Rosen stressed that decisive action against terrorism must be taken, and America supports Israel in that task. “You have our commitment to defend yourself from terrorism whether is from Hamas, Hizbullah, or any other Iranian proxy,” she continued.
Senator Mitt Romney referred to the Palestinian civilians being killed in Gaza, adding that their pictures will be all around social media. However, he attributed those deaths to Hamas and not to Israel by saying that Hamas uses its civilians as human shields and that Hamas parades the civilian deaths. “Israeli and Palestinian lives taken are all the result of Hamas,” he stated.
There is a war against free countries, democracies, and freedom. Iran, Russia, and China want to overthrow democracy.
To the isolationists in America, Romney said that this should concern them as well. “There is a war against free countries, democracies, and freedom. Iran, Russia, and China want to overthrow democracy,” he said.
Senator Bill Cassidy asserted that by launching the attack last Saturday, Hamas invited an Israeli response. He highlighted Israeli efforts not to kill civilians in Gaza by warning residents of Gaza before any airstrikes and instructing them on evacuation routes.
