As a Harvard Jewish student, I know Elise Stefanik is the right person to fight antisemitism at the UN
2025-01-21
Category: world

It was a question heard around the world. "Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard University’s rules of bullying and harassment? Yes or no?" Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s relatively simple question at the House Committee on Education &amp; the Workforce Committee hearing on antisemitism was not meant to be a trick question.  Yet, in a remarkable moment that exposed the antisemitic rot infecting America’s&nbsp;higher education, the then morally bankrupt university presidents of MIT, Penn and my alma mater Harvard testified that the calls for genocide of Jewish students could be acceptable "depending on the context." WHAT STEFANIK'S HOUSE TENURE REVEALS ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF UN AMBASSADOR SHE MAY BE Stefanik’s question was unfortunately not hypothetical. The bullying and harassment of Jewish students on American campuses has gone relatively unchecked as administrators give preference to those who chant "Death to America" and call for the genocide of the Jewish people and the state of Israel. I know because I have seen it firsthand as a Jewish student on Harvard University’s campus over the past year. Since the Hamas invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, there has been an explosion of antisemitism on "elite" American college campuses. At Harvard alone, a Jewish student was spat on, an Israeli student was asked to leave class because her nationality made classmates "uncomfortable," and another Israeli was assaulted at the business school.&nbsp;  I personally was taunted by a staff member with a machete and challenged to debate the Jewish involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, hostage posters were defaced almost daily, and professors published antisemitic cartoons without facing disciplinary action or accountability. TRUMP'S UN AMBASSADOR PICK ELISE STEFANIK COULD SAVE TAXPAYERS MILLIONS IF TAPS MUSK-RAMASWAMY 'DOGE' Jewish students were meant to grin and bear it, forced to feel unsafe at the learning establishment they had chosen to call home.&nbsp; Across campus, Harvard students illegally set up encampments, cheered thunderously when they replaced the American flag overlooking Harvard with that of Palestinians, screamed about globalizing the intifada, screamed at all hours of the day that "Palestine will be Arab," established their own rule of law on campus, and followed us Jews on our way to class.&nbsp;  Harvard refused to acknowledge these incidents publicly or failed to address them for months, and still did not discipline the perpetrators. As American values eroded on college campuses this last year, a steadfast, often lone, voice of moral clarity has emerged: Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. HERE'S HOW TRUMP CAN TAKE ON SURGING ANTISEMITISM IN AMERICA During my first congressional testimony, Stefanik quietly pulled me aside. "This is my contact info," she said," "if the Harvard Jewish community is ever in trouble, call me." Once again, Stefanik was not speaking hypothetically.  In the last year, the congresswoman has kept her door open for the American Jewish community and advanced legislation that would alleviate Jewish students' concerns on college campuses. As a fellow Harvard "Crimson" graduate, she has brought necessary global attention to the plague of antisemitism and anti-Israel hate that has embedded itself in once-acclaimed institutions of learning.&nbsp;&nbsp; From her direct questions at congressional hearings to her daily reminders she posts concerning the plight of the more than 100 hostages still being held hostage by Hamas, the congresswoman has proven herself to be a fighter, leader, and yes, a friend. UN HAS FAILED GAZA. IT’S TIME FOR A NEW ERA This is all to say President Trump’s decision to nominate Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations is a terrific one. Like Harvard, the U.N. has become a bastion of antisemitic and anti-Israel propaganda.  Under the shameful leadership of the Biden administration, the United Nations has passed more resolutions condemning Israel than Russia, North Korea, Iran and China… combined. Moreover, the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), a mouthpiece for Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists, has the international legitimacy to propagate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict indefinitely. Daily, unelected bureaucrats take American taxpayer money to denigrate and harm the United States’ greatest ally and a critical democracy in an otherwise volatile region. CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION&nbsp;&nbsp; Who better to take on the antisemites of the U.N. than the woman who has successfully taken on the antisemites of college campuses?  Who better to stand up for Israel at the U.N. than the woman who has been doing so for her entire legislative history? Who better to advance the interests of the American Jewish community than the woman who has made more time for us than any other elected official? CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP I urge Republicans and Democrats alike to confirm Stefanik, ensuring that her strong commitment to America and American values is heard loudly in the halls of the U.N. in promotion of President Trump’s America First peace through strength agenda. And to the United Nations, let me say this: a new sheriff is in town. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SHABBOS KESTENBAUM