FULL TRANSCRIPT
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Thank you for having me here! First, I want to give a special shout out to the whole Christians United for Israel team who have put this fabulous summit together. Can we give them a round of applause?
I’m Morgan Ortagus, many of you may know me from Fox News or from when I served as the Spokesperson for the State Department under President Trump and Secretary Mike Pompeo. We spent so much of our time thinking about how we could protect Israel and defeat our enemies like the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Chinese Communist Party.
Now I am heartened to know that in this room of all rooms, I am truly preaching to the choir here when I say that America’s relationship with Israel is a special one. All of you here – and it really shows in your work and advocacy – you truly know the importance of this sacred bond. And as someone who has been in public service for half my life now, I want you to know that it really does make a difference to know that people like you have our backs when we go to bat for Israel at the State Department, at the United Nations, and throughout our government. You make it possible for the Jewish people, my people, to defend our lives and our homeland.
And just as you all have had our backs in public service, America needs to have Israel’s back today more than ever. And that’s exactly what I want to talk to you about today. Because the truth is there are powerful forces here in America that want our leaders our abandon Israel. More than that, they want to destroy Israel, and we all know that they won’t stop until they KILL every last Jew.
On October 7th, the terrorists were gleeful as they raped women and girls, killed parents in front of their children, beheaded and burned babies alive. They were gleeful because they thought they had brought Israel to its knees. Well, I have a message for the terrorists: AM YISRAEL CHAI! The people of Israel LIVE!
If there’s one thing we should have learned from history it is to believe our enemies when they tell us their plans. Hitler and the Nazis did not mince words when they drew up their plans for the Final Solution. Hamas and their allies make no secret of their plans to carry out another October 7 again and again and again. We will NOT let that happen!
If it were not for our fathers and grandfathers storming the beaches of Normandy, Hitler’s dreams might have all come true. Once again, the United States has a decision to make: will we stand BACK and watch evil endure, or will we stand UP against this new menace that seeks the end of the Jewish people? I hope you agree that we must FIGHT!
Some Members of Congress have bowed to the mobs and are willing to abandon our closest ally in the Middle East. We’ve watched neighbors, friends, and students in college be indoctrinated to believe lies about Jews and about the State of Israel. I want to tell you their plans so that we know how to stop them.
The proof is in their own words. For years, they have promoted BDS - boycotts, divestment, and sanctions - against Israel, a standard they would never dare apply to even the world’s most oppressive regimes. They call for an immediate end to America’s military assistance to Israel–literally while we watch Israel face barrages of indiscriminate rocket attacks and as Hezbollah threatens a war on its north. These activists don’t care that millions of civilians - and thousands of Americans - would be exposed to these terror attacks. And they even call for the arrest of IDF leaders, parroting the outrageous claims of the International Criminal Court and other kangaroo courts.
They are the same ones demanding that we lift the sanctions on Tehran, even as the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei pledges to destroy Israel. He says they are a cancer and will wipe them off the map, while they build up their nuclear program. The silence of these activists about the Iranian regime’s crimes should tell you everything you need to know: those who stand against Israel stand with the TERRORISTS in TEHRAN.
We must defeat BDS in our schools and universities. We must defeat BDS in our statehouses. We must defeat BDS in Congress. And we must defeat BDS in the White House!
This type of hatred for Israel isn’t news to anyone in this audience. We see it in our streets. We see it in the extra security in front of our community synagogues. We see it on our college campuses, and in the empty seats of Jewish students who were forced to flee for safety. We see it in the stories of our kids and grandkids, who dealt with violent encampments that were claimed to protest “occupation” by occupying campus squares and keeping Jews out. And we see it in the leaders of our Ivy League universities, who can’t even bring themselves to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews. Can you believe today in America– TODAY– parents of Jewish children have to make the choice about where to send their sons and daughters to college based on where they can live peacefully and be openly Jewish?! That is NOT an America I am willing to tolerate. We can and must fight back.
And less than a week ago, we saw it on Capitol Hill, where violent anti-Israel protesters attacked Capitol Police officers before desecrating and burning the American flag – the very symbol of their right to freely express their views. Others proudly carried Hamas flags – a genocidal terrorist organization – and had the most heinous displays that reminded me of Nazi Germany. All of this was just outside our seat of government at Union Station, one of the first places visitors from across the country and around the world come to see our Congress.
And I have to say, as a Jewish mother, these acts of hate are hitting me hard. When I was State Department spokesperson, I was visibly pregnant with my daughter Adina, who is the light of my life. The thought that terrorists would eagerly kill Adina makes me sick. But now, I know that the problem runs even deeper. I’m ashamed to say, some of my fellow Americans would be willful abettors of those same fanatics.
This is sadly what America has become in some corners. But it doesn’t have to be this way, and it certainly doesn’t have to continue this way. During this time of testing, we all have a choice between despair or determination. I know that for myself and all of you that choice is clear: PLEASE never stop fighting evil and proudly defending our Jewish brothers and sisters. As Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin once said to Senator Joe Biden, “I am not a Jew with trembling knees!”
Last week, I had the honor of attending Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress. And although he said a number of memorable things, what struck me the most was his statement that the enemies of Israel are the enemies of America. And the protesters had no idea, but they were making his exact point just outside the half of Congress. Israel’s battles are truly America’s battles in so many ways–and that is truer in this threat environment than at any time in recent history.
Just think about Iran. Tehran’s government is just as committed to killing America’s leaders as they are with those of Israel. Just days after the assassination attempt against former President Trump, we learned from the Intelligence Community that the Iranian Regime is actively plotting to kill our former president during this campaign season. Let me say that again: the Islamic Republic of Iran is actively trying to kill our former president. They have spent years trying to target my former colleagues and friends – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Brian Hook, and others – who bravely served this country and worked to protect us all from terrorists.
But that’s only the beginning. Iran and its proxies have attacked America’s soldiers and interests over 170 times since last November, including just last week. They target our men and women in uniform, leaving them with lifelong injuries. In January, 3 soldiers were KILLED in Jordan by an Iranian-made drone. And just days ago, one of Iran’s terrorist proxies – the Houthis in Yemen – attacked Tel Aviv with a sophisticated drone strike, nearly hitting the U.S. Embassy Branch Office. By the grace of God, our diplomats are safe, but it could have easily been a different story.
But Iran also knows it cannot accomplish its grand vision of a Jew-free world on its own. And give them credit: They also know the greatest threats to America and Israel are ultimately those from within. So that’s really what their goal is: poisoning our politics and infiltrating our public squares. Our intelligence officials have said that not only is the Iranian regime is DIRECTLY funding anti-Israel protests here in America, they are behind a foreign influence campaign to interfere in our elections in November! Raise your hand if you guessed this!
And Iran’s capabilities are no joke, either. It’s very likely that our next president will have to contend with a nuclear-capable Iran. In the last few years, Iran has been bringing us to the brink of war. Our leaders have run out the clock; there is no more time to avoid hard truths. Appeasement doesn’t prevent conflict; it sets the conditions for conflict.
Now as we stand up against this evil regime we also have to stand with the Iranian people and recognize that they are not our enemy. They are the greatest victims of this vicious regime and have an opportunity to be our best asset and ally in reshaping the Middle East.
Iran is not the only area where Israel’s battles are America’s battles. That’s just as true at the United Nations, where our two countries are often left voting alone against the rest of the world. The rest either target us with libelous attacks, or quietly stand by in the face of those efforts.
Nowhere has this been truer than at the UN’s sham “Human Rights Council,” which has literally condemned Israel more than every other country in the world–combined. It puts Israel into a category of its own, holding it to a completely different standard than any other nation. It has limitless special investigators charged with investigating every aspect of Israel’s conduct–all while considering no violations by Hamas. The same people who talk about microaggressions and systemic racism won’t call the UN out for what it is: a body of pure anti-Semitic hatred that fosters and systemic discrimination against Israel and the Jewish people.
Sadly, it’s no better at the Security Council, where Israel faces relentless pressure to stand down while Palestinian terrorism is minimized if not ignored. As of late, America under this Administration has fallen short of its duty to defend Israel there, bending to international pressure and calling for ceasefires that only benefit Hamas.
But we have to remember that if we don’t defend Israel’s right of self-defense, no one else will. That means using our veto to block resolutions that undercut Israel’s rights and its ability to prosecute the war on its terms. And it means not allowing the moral confusion of others to dictate America’s approach to Israel–and electing leadership to Washington that would rather be right alone than wrong together. Diplomacy is not and MUST NOT be a popularity contest. Raise your hand if you’d rather America be RIGHT and ALONE than WRONG and in a MOB.
And on the topic of leadership. We are blessed to have some real leaders of courage in our Congress– including Senator Joni Ernst who you just heard from. She is working hard on so many initiatives to protect Israel, including one to cut off Iran’s funding of terrorist proxies and deprive the regime of oil revenues. We are all indebted to her efforts to stop the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah from attacking Israel – and her commitment to making sure Tehran knows that, even if the White House won’t, America will treat proxy attacks as an attack from Iran itself. That’s the kind of leadership we need from Capitol Hill.
The good news for all of us here is that we know there’s another way that works. We know because we lived it and saw it with our own eyes just a few years ago with the Abraham Accords and so much more. Blessed are the peacemakers. The road to peace is hard but worthy of all of our best efforts. But I can tell you, that won’t happen with weak leadership in Washington. That’s why the work of Christians United for Israel is so important. If we want to protect our Judeo-Christian values and strengthen America’s relationship with Israel, then it starts with all of you. It starts with rediscovering our moral center.
If our enemies will not rest in their attacks on America and Israel, then we too cannot rest in our defenses. We must never shy in the face of evil. And we must never abandon our ally, Israel.
And I am confident that with your help, we will do just that and meet this time of testing with the courage it requires.
Thank you, and may God protect Israel, and may God Bless America!