In a bipartisan show of solidarity, US Senators and Congressmen from across the political spectrum expressed their absolute support for Israel and for it to be given full backing to defeat Hamas at an event on Tuesday to move forward with legislation to celebrate the US–Israel relationship by minting commemorative coins featuring former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. The event was arranged to be held exactly 30 days after the massacre of Israelis on October 7th.
At the event, Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said: “We are going to give Israel the time it needs, and we need to maintain support to protect the people of Israel. It is essential that Hamas be destroyed. It is pure evil.”
The event was held in the US Capitol with the participation of 12 senators and congressmen, as well as various ambassadors based in Washington DC from countries across the globe.
Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) also spoke about taking a strong stand with Israel. “There’s no way backing down is an option for Israel,” Senator Mullin said. “If they want me to join the fight with them, I will.”
Senator Mullin also said that those who support terrorist organizations in the US should be considered domestic terrorists.
There was strong support against a ceasefire, with Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) saying: “A ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup, rearm, and attack again.”
Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) said in his remarks that: “This is an existential moment for the Jewish people and State of Israel. Bipartisan support is being tested right now, so we have to do everything we can to fortify that support.”
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas.) compared Hamas’ actions to the Holocaust. “We are meeting in the aftermath of the worst one-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. It was carried out by Hamas terrorists every bit as committed to genocide as were the Nazis. The United States will not abandon Israel and I am confident that Israel's victory will be decisive.”
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said: “When you think about the attacks on October 7th, we all need to think about them as if they happened to our own family, because they did, and because it would be any of us if Hamas is allowed to advance and continue their reign of terror. Hamas is intent that this was only the first time, and there'll be a second and a third and a thousandth.”
The event was not just held to express solidarity with Israel and discuss effective ways of supporting the US–Israel relationship, but also to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel and the establishment of United States-Israel relations.
In addition, the event was called to achieve wide congressional support for the initiative to honor this historic milestone by passing the bipartisan, bicameral legislation directing the Treasury Department to mint a commemorative coin in honor of Golda Meir, Israel’s fourth prime minister and the first woman to lead the Jewish State.
Leading these efforts is chairman of the Golda Meir Commemorative Coin Committee, philanthropist and businessman Bobby Rechnitz, who spoke about Golda Meir’s legacy, but also the threats facing Israel and the U.S. today.
“Prime Minister Golda Meir was many things. She desperately sought peace, and abhorred war, she was prepared to be forgiving, but she also knew that Israel cannot shirk a war forced on it,” Rechnitz said. “Today, we commemorate thirty days since the greatest massacre of Jews since the end of the Holocaust. It was perpetrated by Hamas terrorists, but they were joined by ordinary Gazans.”
“Israel is a nation still in shock and facing massive and national trauma. The terrorism that Israel has experienced is being imported to these shores. It is on American streets and online. This house must find ways to give people the maximum space for freedom of speech, but not the freedom to advocate and plot mass murder.”