At least a billion eyes watched the dramatic three minutes in which Republican New York Congresswoman Elise Stefani forced the presidents of America's leading universities to answer a rather simple question: "Does a call for the elimination of the Jewish people violate the rules of your academic institution?"
Video: Elise Stefanik's interview with Israel Hayom
"It depends on the context," the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and UPenn told the lawmaker when she asked them that question at the House committee hearing in Washington five months ago. Stefanik instinctively and rightly rejected their responses. "No," she told the professors, "calls for the murder of Jews are not context-dependent."
The clarity and determination displayed by Congresswoman Stefanik shook America's prestigious campuses and, among other things, forced two of the presidents to resign from their positions. The power Stefanik radiated, and the enormous snowball effect that began rolling due to her words, catapulted her as one of the most talked-about names as Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, searches for a running mate or future cabinet members. In a recent interview with Israel Hayom, Trump committed to having a pro-Israel running mate. Stefanik meets that definition by at least 100%
On Sunday, Stefanik arrived in Israel for a solidarity tour visit and visited communities affected by the recent conflict. However, she did not need to witness the difficult sights to stand as a wall in support of the State of Israel and the Jewish people while harshly criticizing President Joe Biden's attitude toward Israel. In an exclusive interview with Israel Hayom, she made it clear that one thing will not happen: If Trump is elected president, there will be no weapons embargo on Israel.
Q: Many Israelis are now disappointed with President Biden's line toward Israel, especially regarding the embargo he imposed two weeks ago. The question is, if Trump does win the elections in November and the war is still ongoing, what will his policy be regarding Israel, the war, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran? What will he say to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or another Israeli prime minister if he becomes president?
"Well, first of all, look at President Trump's record in terms of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, the historic Abraham Accords, the biggest great breakthrough for peace normalization in 25 years, as well as moving Israel to US Central Command, allowing the planning which was so critical to combating the Iranian strike against Israel with the hundreds of missiles that were sent. We know that President Trump has a strong effort when it comes to US support for Israel. And there is a stark difference. Look at Joe Biden's statement to withhold military aid that the US Congress passed overwhelmingly and I was one of the leaders in Congress to ensure that that aid was sent to the president's desk. There was no excuse for any American president to withhold that aid to our most precious ally in the region. Under President Trump that would have never happened."
Q: What do you think about President Biden not allowing entry into Rafah and not wanting, for example, Israel to encourage emigration from the Gaza Strip to other places in the world? Is it okay with you to allow Gazans to immigrate to other places, and this situation where Biden does not want us to operate in places where we know Hamas is still present?
"Israel needs all the operational flexibility to eradicate Hamas. This is a just war it was Hamas that committed terrorist atrocities against the Israeli people. So this moral equivocation, this equivocation on policy from the Biden administration, there is no room for it. And I'm here in Israel to send a message that the American people stand strongly with Israel to eradicate Hamas to protect Israel's right to exist to protect the national security of Israel."
The full interview will appear in Israel Hayom's weekend edition.
