Lankford Reacts to Netanyahu’s Speech, Calls for Continued Support for Israel

View the video here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) shared a video reaction after the Joint Meeting of Congress with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lankford is co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Abraham Accords Caucus and co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism. Earlier this year, he made a trip to Israel where he visited towns that border the Gaza strip, toured Kibbutz Nir Oz, met with the survivors and families of the hostages of the October 7 massacre, visited the Nova Festival site and spent a day along the border with Lebanon. 

Transcript

Senator James Lankford here. Just stepped out of the Joint Session of Congress with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Really well done speech where he not only recognized hostages that have survived—that have been taken out of Gaza and rescued—families that have lost loved ones, he talked through the story of what happened on October the 7th in the horrific terrorist attack that it was. He recognized members of the Israeli Defense Forces who are fighting so bravely against terrorism. But he also reminded all of us in the chamber that Iran is coming after Israel, because Israel is what’s between them and the United States, that Iran truly does want to be able to take out the United States as they have been very active in acts of terrorism since 1979. That regime has been trying to find ways to be able to hurt the United States. And so they’re attacking Israel, knowing that’s a proxy for us as well.

So as we stand with Israel and with that democracy in the region, we’re actually pushing back against the terrorist acts that are coming out of Iran as well. There’s a lot that’s happening in that area with the Houthis attacking, not just random shipping in the Red Sea, but also attacking Israel, Iran launching missiles and drones directly at Israel, Hezbollah continuing to launch thousands of rockets from the north and Lebanon, and then obviously what’s happening in Gaza.

We all pray for a swift end to the fighting that’s in Gaza and for a release of all of those hostages and for peace to be in that area. But when you’re fighting against terrorists that literally believe civilians are the protection between them and the fight, it is a very difficult fight. 

So I continue to be able to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, thankful for the Prime Minister and his coming to the United States to be able to thank Americans personally for their support in staying with Israel. We continue to be able to pray for safety of all civilians and for peace to be in that region, for individuals to be able to live out their faith and to be able to live out their values both in Israel and in Gaza, and one day, hopefully in Iran, as well as the people of Iran live under the oppression of the Iranian regime.

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