Skip to main content

Rep. Steel Speaks in Support of Israel

May 20, 2021

Washington, D.C. – Today Rep. Michelle Steel (CA-48) spoke on the House Floor in support of Israel, the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East. Since May 10th, thousands of rockets have been launched at Israel by the terrorist group Hamas. Earlier this week, Rep. Steel voted to bring The Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act of 2021 to the floor for a vote. This legislation would sanction financial backers of Hamas. House Democrats refused to consider the legislation. This morning, Rep. Steel voted to provide emergency funding for the Israeli Cooperative Programs to ensure that Israel has the systems it needs to defend itself against continued attacks. House Democrats blocked the legislation.  

Rep. Steel’s remarks as prepared can be seen below. The full video can be viewed here.

“As I speak, Israel is under attack by the terrorist group Hamas, with thousands of rockets launched at Israel since May 10.

Israel has a right to defend itself.

The United States would never allow rockets to be launched by our enemies at civilians in Huntington Beach, California, or Washington D.C., and Israel cannot allow rockets to be launched at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

I was proud to join more than three quarters of my fellow Members of Congress in April to support full funding for security assistance to Israel.

As we said in that letter, “Congress is committed to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge and its ability to defend itself, by itself, against persistent threats.”

Today, it is even more important to stand up and say we stand side by side with our ally.

I will continue to work to help Israel defend itself from Hamas and other threats, and to cut off the support to Hamas that allows it to kill and injure civilians.”

###