Rep. Mike Lawler said Sunday on Newsmax that he agrees aid to Israel must be set up separately, not combined with other funding issues in President Joe Biden's $105 billion proposal, adding that it's "disturbing" to see people turning their backs on Israel "the moment they defended themselves."
"The reality is the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist attack was intended to begin the process of wiping Israel off the face of the earth," the New York Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "That's what they believe fundamentally, that Israel does not have a right to exist. I believe they do, and I believe they have a right to defend themselves.
"If this was the United States under attack, we would be doing everything we can to eliminate these terrorists, and I think we need to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel."
In his Oval Office address earlier this month, Biden announced a $105 billion funding bill to Congress. It includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel, $9.15 billion for humanitarian efforts for Palestinian, Israeli, and Ukrainian civilians, $13.6 billion for border security, and $7.4 billion for the Indo-Pacific region, which includes Taiwan, according to a New York Times breakdown of the request.
Lawler, though, said the United States must ensure Israel has the resources financially and militarily to eliminate Hamas.
"Obviously, we want to get them as much aid and support passed through the House as quickly as possible," he added.
Meanwhile, new House Speaker Mike Johnson is "representing the views of a lot of members of my conference" who want to see the aid for Israel separated from the rest of Biden's aid package, said Lawler.
"They want to see it separated so we can move expeditiously on aid to Israel while going through the process of getting Ukraine more aid, but having more information and direction from this administration on the plan in Ukraine," he continued.
Lawler also spoke out against the growing incidents of antisemitism, including with the huge pro-Palestinian protest Saturday in New York City's Brooklyn, where the largest Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish communities live.
"You know it's intended to intimidate," said Lawler. "There's no question about that."
He noted that he's introduced legislation throughout the year to combat antisemitism, particularly on the nation's college campuses.
The Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act came "after that vile CUNY law school graduation speech," said Lawler, and would work to strip federal tax dollars from any institution of higher learning that promotes antisemitism on its campuses.
In addition, he said he introduced the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would require the Department of Education to enforce anti-discrimination laws on college campuses.
"We need to crack down on it," Lawler said. "People have a right to free speech, but we certainly don't have to fund it or embrace it [if] it is rooted in vile antisemitism."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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