Rep. Elise Stefanik decried “antisemitic rot” at the United Nations and called for the international body’s Palestinian aid agency to be defunded at her Senate confirmation hearing to become the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
She also defended a campaign ad that was criticized for promoting the antisemitic “great replacement” theory. And she rejected allegations that Elon Musk had performed a Nazi salute at a rally following President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Questions about Israel — and accusations that the U.N. is biased against it — were a central theme of the confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Stefanik, a close Trump ally and Republican congresswoman from upstate New York, is a member of congressional leadership and attracted international attention in December 2023 for asking three elite university leaders’ about whether their schools prohibit calls for genocide against Jews. Video of the leaders’ answers sparked widespread outrage, leading two of them to step down.
Stefanik mentioned the hearing in her opening statement. “On the [House] Education Committee, I have been the leader in combating antisemitism in higher education,” she said. “This hearing with university presidents was heard around the world and viewed billions of times because it exposed the antisemitic rot in colleges and universities and was a watershed moment in American higher education.”
She later said a similar “rot” existed at the United Nations. Israel and its defenders, including the United States, have long accused the U.N. of disproportionately criticizing Israel.
“If you look at the antisemitic rot within the United Nations, there are more resolutions targeting Israel than any other country, any other crisis combined,” she said, noting that a U.N.-affiliated women’s organization did not condemn sexual violence that took place during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. “We need to be a voice of moral clarity on the U.N. Security Council and at the United Nations at large for the world to hear the importance of standing with Israel.”
Stefanik’s statements could position her to be a successor of sorts to Nikki Haley, who served as U.N. ambassador at the beginning of Trump’s first term in office and gained fans among pro-Israel activists for her outspoken defense of Israel. In Tuesday’s hearing, Stefanik also recalled her past vote to defund UNRWA, a U.N. Palestinian aid agency that provides social services across Gaza and the West Bank, and that Israel has accused of having ties to Hamas.
“We should never tolerate any U.S. taxpayer funds going towards terrorism,” she said. “I was one of the members that voted to defund UNRWA. I was one of the leaders standing for that important appropriations vote. … I fully support the president’s commitment to defunding.”
Democratic senators noted areas of agreement with Stefanik but also challenged her at times on accusations of antisemitism in her own party and ideological camp. Sen. Tim Kaine raised a past Stefanik campaign ad that said Democrats want to “overthrow our current electorate” by permitting undocumented immigrants to come into the country. Critics said the ad echoed the “great replacement” theory, a right-wing conspiracy theory alleging that Jews are using mass immigration to orchestrate the replacement of Western nations’ white populations.
Kaine did not ask a question about the ad, saying he “can separate campaign rhetoric from government rhetoric.” But Stefanik defended it, saying, “I stand strongly for border security and that was what the tweet you referenced was related to.” She and Kaine sparred about whether Democratic senators supported open borders, but she did not refer to the charge of promoting antisemitism.
Sen. Chris Murphy asked Stefanik for her reaction to allegations that Elon Musk, the billionaire and senior Trump adviser, had performed a Nazi salute at a rally on Monday. Stefanik responded, “Elon Musk did not do those salutes,” and praised Musk as an entrepreneur who “loves to cheer” for Trump.
In response to another question, she declined to say directly whether Palestinian deserve self-determination, though she said, “Of course they deserve human rights.” She also confirmed that she believes Israel has a biblical right to the entire West Bank.
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