Click here or on the image above to watch Senator Capito’s floor speech.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, delivered remarks on the Senate floor reiterating Senate Republicans’ support for Israel, and criticized President Biden’s decision to withhold security assistance from Israel during its fight for survival.

Additionally, Senator Capito expressed her outrage at the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek warrants against leaders of Israel, and any attempts to imply equivalency between Israel’s actions and those of Hamas. She also condemned the rise of anti-Semitism across the country and the violence and intimidation toward Jewish communities.

Yesterday, during the weekly Senate Republican Leadership press conference, Senator Capito, who also serves as the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, discussed oversight findings from the EPW Committee that revealed a $50 million grant was awarded from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to “Climate Justice Alliance,” a group that engages in pro-Hamas, anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic activities. Watch her full remarks here.

Senator Capito’s floor remarks, as prepared for delivery, are included below:

“Mr/Madame President —

“Last week on May 14th, our friend and ally Israel celebrated its 76th Independence Day. As we all know, Israel was founded in the wake of the Holocaust to give the Jewish people a homeland, and allow them to return to an ancestral land they had been forcibly removed from.

“I’m proud that the United States was the first country to recognize Israel, and since then, we have been steadfast allies that support one another through times both prosperous and challenging.

“However, this year’s Israeli Independence Day came during a time of great turmoil, as Israel battles terrorist forces that have ruthlessly waged war against them since October 7th. We join them as they mourn the loss of twelve-hundred Israelis killed in the initial attack and pray for the safe return of hostages still kept in captivity by Hamas.

“In an alarming development, this longstanding U.S.-Israel relationship is now becoming unnecessarily strained by President Biden’s quest to appease those in his party who do not support the state of Israel, a bastion of democracy and freedom in the Middle East.

“The October 7th attack marked the most horrific attack Israel has suffered since its founding and the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

“So, how did it get to this point? The common refrain for those opposed to Israel has been to call for a ‘ceasefire now.’ We’ve seen it all across our college campuses. And, we saw President Biden clap along to these demands—yet again—as he delivered a commencement address just last weekend.

“But, what’s even more mind-boggling is who these protestors are demanding a ceasefire from. I haven’t heard a single campus protest group call for Hamas to lay down its arms, or call for Hamas to release the hostages.

“Why? Because they want Israel to stop fighting. Because they want Israel to stop defending itself. Because they want Israel to lose.

“We cannot forget the fact that a ceasefire was in place on October 7th, and that ceasefire was broken by Hamas as they deliberately attacked innocent civilians in the most brutal and barbaric ways.

“Let’s also not forget that some of these communities — the border towns in Israel that were attacked by Hamas — were some of the most ardent supporters in Israel for the Palestinian people.  They were some of the biggest advocates for peace.

“Yet, despite the reality, here in the U.S. our colleges have become embroiled in controversy over this and played host to anti-Israel, anti-Semitic protests that ultimately stopped Jewish students from attending class, and even led a Rabbi at Columbia University to recommend Jewish students return home for their safety.

“These protestors demand that Israel drop their weapons, yet refuse to acknowledge that Hamas is the instigator in this war.

“But, we now know what Hamas’ entire plan was to minimize any chance of peace in the region. To attack Israel’s most peace-promoting citizens in the most brutal of fashions, especially and most harrowingly toward Israeli women. To undermine the incredible progress that had been made possible through President Trump’s Abraham Accords. To stop an emerging normalization deal with Saudi Arabia. And, to conduct an attack on Israel so horrific that Israel had no other choice but to respond.

“In what world would we ever expect a country to be attacked in such a brutal fashion and not fight to defend itself?

“It’s important to note that this chaos and instability benefits one bad actor above all else – the Iranian Regime. Without Iran’s help, both financially and militarily, Hamas would not have been able to execute their terrorist attacks on Israel.

“Iran has further supported Hamas’s efforts by launching over 300 projectiles at Israel on April 13th, and lest we forget, it was an Iranian-made drone that killed three American soldiers in Jordan on January 29th.

“We must recognize the deep ties between Hamas and Iran, and their common goal of destroying Israel and bringing harm to the United States and our citizens. Calls for a ceasefire only embolden Hamas and their stated aim to repeat the October 7th attacks a second, third, and fourth time. Israel must defend itself, and they must root out the evil that is Hamas.

“Earlier this week, we learned that the International Criminal Court would seek arrest warrants for leaders of Hamas and Israel for war crimes. It is simply shocking that the ICC would seek to establish a delusional level of equivalency between the actions of Israel and Hamas.

“I have seen the footage of the attacks on Israeli and American citizens on October 7th, and it is clear that Hamas is the real criminal involved in this conflict.

“Hamas continues to show no regard for its own people– spending billions of dollars on more than 300 miles of tunnel systems, but refusing to allow Palestinian citizens to shelter there, and continuing to use hospitals, schools, and places of worship for military purposes, knowingly placing civilians in harm’s way.

“While Israel was founded on the principle of promoting development for the benefit of all its inhabitants, Hamas’ only mission is to destroy Israel. The differences between their founding principles, their leadership, and their actions could not be any more different, and it is abhorrent that the ICC would attempt to argue otherwise.

“In these times of instability, you would hope that the President of the United States would display strength. Instead, President Biden has decided to play politics by placing a hold on security assistance that Congress approved for Israel. This is just the latest foreign policy blunder from an administration plagued by weakness on the international stage.

“Shortly after this policy of withholding weapons was announced, Hamas stepped away from negotiations on the safe return of hostages. Seems like a pretty big ‘coincidence’ to me. Hamas is still holding American hostages captive and President Biden should be doing everything within his power to bring them home safely. Instead, he is publicly withholding weapons from our ally and giving their adversary cover.

“When President Biden took office, he pledged ‘ironclad’ support for Israel. But now, he is publicly backing down from his promise, projecting to our allies and our adversaries that U.S. promises can be subject to political pressure.

“To further underscore this administration’s lack of responsibility, my EPW Committee came across something deeply disturbing this week in our ongoing oversight of President Biden’s ‘so-called’ Inflation Reduction Act.

“You may wonder what EPW or the IRA have to do with Israel and their battle against terrorists, but we discovered that the ‘Climate Justice Alliance,’ a group that received $50 million from the Biden administration, openly denies Israel’s right to exist and actively supports the horrific actions of Hamas. They even promote graphics that glorify bulldozers used by Hamas on October 7th.

“It’s despicable that the EPA is sending millions of dollars through the IRA to a group that perpetrates hatred and violence under the guise of ‘fighting climate change.’ And that this administration would allow U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund such anti-Semitic activity.

“There is no doubt that the last seven months have been an incredibly difficult time for the people of Israel, and Jewish Americans here at home. Never in my life would I have expected to see the anti-Semitic discourse in our country right now, and the violence and intimidation toward Jewish communities.

“Together, we must condemn the rise of anti-Semitism, and make clear that this hatred has no home in our country and our world. My Republican colleagues and I will continue to display our unwavering support for Israel and push for the assistance they need to ensure their survival and victory in this fight, as allies do in times of need.

“With that, I yield the floor.”

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