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Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, earlier today, Members of Congress had the distinct honor of hearing from Binyamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the State of Israel. He is a leader of one of our most steadfast allies in an unprecedented time of strife for his country.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's message to Congress today was a snapshot into the reality that his nation is facing and what they have experienced since the morning of October 7. He spoke to the urgency of bringing our hostages home and received a standing ovation for that; the courage and bravery of his Israeli forces and citizens and received a standing ovation for that; and his vision to bring peace, prosperity, and security to the Middle East--again, standing room only.

Israel is a country at war, and, as the only democracy in the Middle East and a friend of freedom, Israel deserves the unwavering support of these United States. That is why it is incredibly disheartening to see that many of our Democratic colleagues were absolutely absent from the address--especially the Vice President. Her absence unleashed a completely unnecessary discussion about who would join the Speaker to preside over the joint address. For a time, her seat behind the podium was just simply up for grabs.

I extend my thanks to my colleague from Maryland, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for welcoming Prime Minister Netanyahu on behalf of the Senate, and that was Senator Ben Cardin.

But unfortunately public debate over the Vice President's absence is not the message that we should be sending to the world.

It seems some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have forgotten that 291 days ago, on October 7, 2023, Israel was the victim of an unprovoked terrorist attack. The attacking force, Hamas, killed 1,200 innocent Israelis, committed unspeakable acts of sexual violence, and took men and women and children as hostages. They also took Holocaust survivors. They even took an infant under 1 year old. Prime Minister Netanyahu mentioned that infant earlier today. That poor child, that poor baby, has now spent more of his life in Hamas captivity than in freedom.

To this day, nearly 10 months later, hostages still remain in captivity, including American citizens, and they are being used as human shields at the same time. I was incredibly moved to see some of the hostages and their families represented in the House Chamber today.

Hamas has proven itself to be a violent terrorist organization that continues to hide underneath schools and hospitals, intentionally putting civilians in harm's way. They have publicly called for the attacks of October 7 to be repeated again and again and again.

The bottom line is this: Hamas has made it clear it has no interest in seriously negotiating a cease-fire, and they would rather engage in barbaric and, honestly, cowardly acts of terror, joining forces with terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and the Houthis, which continue their bombardment in bombarding Israel in every single direction. Just last week, Hezbollah fired 65 rockets into Israel. The Houthis conducted a deadly drone attack on Israel's soil as well as a ballistic missile that was thankfully intercepted by Israel's air defense. It is clear that Israel needs our support now more than ever.

It is important that we take this moment to reflect on the longstanding ties that bind our country to Israel. The United States was the very first country to recognize the State of Israel. They have been our most stable and longest partner and ally in the Middle East. They have stood beside us in our Nation when we faced unprovoked acts of terror on our own soil. They have joined with us to develop ties with their neighbors through the Abraham Accords. They have been an essential ally in our efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program. This is a level of historic partnership that cannot be forgotten. Yet far too many in our country are willing to abandon our relationship with Israel, starting with this administration.

Israel is in a fight for their survival against a terrorist organization that is not bound by laws. We know what it is like to be attacked in our country, but we don't know what it is like to be geographically surrounded by our worst enemies.

Standing with Israel should not be an issue that divides us but, rather, one that unites us in defense of our longtime ally and friend.

It is vital that the American public and my Democratic colleagues who missed the Prime Minister's speech today acknowledge the differences between Israel and Hamas. Israel is a bastion of freedom and democracy in the Middle East who is engaged in a war they did not start, by an organization whose only goal--only goal--is to destroy Israel. In keeping with their stated goal, Hamas has unleashed horrific, illegal, and unthinkable acts of violence on people simply because they are Jewish or Israeli.

Hamas and their allies have made commanding use of the information space to sway public opinion here in our country, in the United States, in an attempt to make it appear that Israel is the aggressor in this conflict. My Republican colleagues, including those joining me here in these speeches today, know that claim is far from the truth.

As the Prime Minister mentioned today, misinformation has long been used to target Israel and the Jewish people, and we have seen it lead to chaos on our college campuses and acts of aggression of anti- Semitism I never thought I would see. We have protesters waving Hamas, Houthis, and Hezbollah flags on streets right here in the United States, including today, surrounding the Capitol. At Union Station, they are burning the American flag.

After those protesters were publicly applauded and will be--the ones today will be publicly applauded by the Supreme Leader of Iran, we now know that Iran is working behind the scenes to fan the flames of these protests.

We need to be honest with ourselves about what each side of this conflict wants. The actions of Hamas are indefensible, and protesters conveniently forget that there was a cease-fire in place on the morning of October 7.

I would say to these protesters: If the Iranian Supreme Leader thinks that you are on the right side of history, that is a pretty clear sign that you are not.

The reality is this: Both Israelis and Americans want the fighting to end. For that to happen, both sides of the conflict need to agree to stop. That means Israel, but it also means Hamas. And right now, we are missing that signal from Hamas.

As the Prime Minister mentioned in his speech today, Hamas could end this right now. Hamas must surrender, and Hamas must return the hostages.

Now more than ever, our Nation must reject terrorism and stand with our ally Israel. While the White House has left our relationship in limbo, Republicans will not let it falter. We will continue to push for true American leadership on the world stage that keeps our promises to our friends in their time of need, that strikes fear in our adversaries and those who wish to do our allies harm, and that returns the moral clarity that is deeply needed in moments like this.

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