WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) delivered remarks on the Senate floor about the importance of separating funding for Israel. Coach Tuberville reiterated his support for Israel and called on Democrats to prioritize Israel’s fight against terrorism over hiring 80,000 new IRS bureaucrats to shakedown American small businesses.
Read excerpts from the speech below or watch here.
“I join my colleagues on the floor to support our ally, Israel. On October the seventh, Israel was suddenly and deliberately attacked by Hamas terrorists. The terrorists targeted innocent people – not military targets. That’s very important. They killed thousands of civilians, including dozens of Americans. They filmed their own atrocities and put videos on the internet. They were very proud of what they were doing. It is absolutely disgraceful.
“The United States has supported Israel from the very beginning. The first leader in the world to recognize Israel was Harry Truman. Administrations from both parties have strongly supported Israel. But now the Biden Administration is trying to ride the fence. Joe Biden knows that his voting base does not like Israel. The left dislikes Israel. In their woke ideology, they say Palestinians are oppressed by Israel. It’s just not true. Since the war broke out in October, liberals in Congress and around the country have expressed sympathy for Hamas. It’s been especially bad on college campuses. I’m not even going to repeat some of the things that have been said by Democrat members of Congress.
“Joe Biden has also continued to practice appeasement of Iran. When Joe Biden took office, Iran was dead broke. They had access to just a few billion dollars in foreign currencies. Today, they have ten times that much money. This is because of loosened sanctions and because of oil sales by Iran. Iran is the number one sponsor of terrorism in the world. Iran provides funding for Hamas and for Hezbollah. Joe Biden is helping Iran to get rich. There is no question that sanctions relief for Iran will end up in the hands of terrorists. Joe Biden wants to ride the fence, but we can’t ride the fence on this one, not for our ally. This is a battle between good and evil. This is about an ally of the United States of America fighting terrorists who kill innocent women and children. And let’s remember the terrorists killed Americans too. Hamas would love to kill more Americans, and they will kill more Americans if they get the chance.
“So, Israel needs to wage a war of extermination against Hamas. I’m supporting this legislation to provide fourteen billion in aid to Israel. Unlike the Democrats’ requests for foreign aid, this is paid for. We pay for it by canceling out the Democrats’ plan to supersize the IRS. Are they more important than Israel? Last year, the Democrats cut the IRS a check for eighty billion dollars. They’re planning to hire eighty thousand new IRS agents. They want to double the size IRS. They want to shake down the American people for every last dime. The wealthy, they’ll be just fine. The wealthy have tax lawyers and accountants. It’s families and small businesses who will pay this price. A report from the joint tax committee says that the Democrats’ bill last year raised taxes on almost every tax bracket.
“So, last month, every Senator went on record on this bill to support Israel. Every Republican voted for it. Every Democrat voted against it. Now, it’s clear for all the American people to see who supports Israel. Pretty simple: who has other priorities? Democrats blocked this bill today – they are just doubling down. Democrats care a lot more about the IRS bureaucrats shaking down small businesses than they do about supporting our ally Israel in their fight against terrorism. It’s time for the Democrats to stop riding the fence. Stop trying to play both sides and let’s support our ally Israel and ensure that the terrorists are defeated.”
BACKGROUND:
Senator Tuberville stands unequivocally with Israel and is horrified by the rise of antisemitism among Democrats, and especially on college campuses. As a former educator and coach, he believes that teachers and professors have a tremendous responsibility to provide moral clarity to students on the difference between right and wrong. Coach Tuberville believes that the Hamas-backed terror attacks on innocent Israeli and American citizens are morally repugnant.
Senator Tuberville delivered a floor speech supporting Israel following the attacks.
In the wake of the terror attacks, Coach Tuberville joined legislation to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel. Coach Tuberville also wrote an op-ed and sent a letter on the importance of separating Israel aid from Ukraine aid.
Coach Tuberville joined 31 other Republican senators in urging the Biden Administration to address growing antisemitism toward Jewish children in K-12 schools across the country. He also joined his Republican colleagues in raising concerns with the Biden Administration over the resurgence of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement on college campuses to economically harm Israel and threaten Israel’s right to exist as a nation.
Coach cosponsored the Revoke Iranian Funding Act to freeze the $6 billion in funding the Biden Administration released to Iran at the bank in Qatar where it is currently being held. This would ensure these dollars are not used by Iran to promote terrorism against Israel or any other nation.
Coach also cosponsored the Emergency Resupply for IRON DOME Act of 2023, a bill to authorize the Executive Branch to redirect U.S. foreign assistance away from Hamas-controlled Gaza and instead to help Israel replenish its Iron Dome, which has been highly effective in intercepting rockets and saving lives.
Coach also joined legislation to cut U.S. funds to the antisemitic United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The UNRWA has a history of employing individuals affiliated with Hamas, an Iranian-backed, U.S.- designated terrorist organization. Additionally, UNRWA schools have been used to store Hamas weapons and promote antisemitic education in their textbooks.
Coach also joined his colleagues in calling on President Joe Biden to enforce existing law and revoke the visas of foreign nationals who endorse or espouse activity in support of Hamas or other Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).
Coach also joined at least thirty of his colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden asking him to prioritize rescuing American hostages that were taken by Hamas during its attacks on Israel and to support Israel’s efforts to wipe out Hamas.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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