"We Stand With Israel"- The President's Speech On the Terrorist Attacks in Israel

Tom Bonier Joins Us Tonight at 7pm ET To Talk Strong Dem Performance Since Dobbs - Still Time To RSVP

Friends, a few things today:

Political/Electoral Discussion with Tom Bonier Tonight at 7pm ET - We have a great event tonight - I’m getting back together with data guru Tom Bonier for a look at the electoral environment after the Dobbs decision. Tom and I worked closely together in 2022, and his data and analysis was critical in developing our collective take that it would be a close, competitive election and not a red wave. RSVP here. Excited for this one.

We will also of course offer some initial thoughts on the events of the past few weeks and what it might mean for US politics going forward. A recording of our discussion will be here on the site if you can’t make it live. Be sure to review my updated summary of the election data I’m most interested in right now.

The President’s Speech On the Terror Attacks in Israel - Yesterday, the President gave his first extended set of remarks on Hamas’ barbaric attacks on Israel. His remarks have been widely praised. Many have called it the finest hour and finest speech of his Presidency. Do watch. The remarks are only about 10 minutes long. The video is below and you can find a transcript here.

An excerpt:

The brutality of Hamas — this bloodthirstiness — brings to mind the worst — the worst rampages of ISIS.
 
This is terrorism.
 
But sadly, for the Jewish people, it’s not new.
 
This attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by a millennia of antisemitism and genocide of the Jewish people.
 
So, in this moment, we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel.  We stand with Israel.  And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack.
 
There is no justification for terrorism.  There is no excuse.
 
Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination.  Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people.

As Congress returns there are a few things we need to do now:

• Pass a single military aid package for Ukraine and Israel

• Break the Tuberville blockade, fully staff the Pentagon

• Approve stalled Middle East Ambassadors and other State Dept officials, including the new Ambassador to Israel

• More forcefully call out the Republican Party for its years of appeasement and encouragement of Putin that has mightily contributed to the chaos and carnage we are seeing across the world today. For all their outrage right now what remains true is that a big chunk of the Republican Party is in an open alliance with the two countries who made this attack on Israel possible. We need to be clear here - Iran is fighting on Putin’s side in Ukraine, and cutting military aid to Ukraine helps Russia, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. Funding Ukraine helps Israel. Cutting Ukraine funding helps Israel’s enemies.

Here’s an interview with a senior Hamas official on the Russian channel RT Arabic where he details the planning of the attack and thanks Russia, Iran and others for their support. Here’s what he says about Russia, using the translation provided: “Russia is happy that America is getting embroiled in Palestine. It alleviates the pressure on the Russians in Ukraine. One war eases the pressure in another war. So we are not alone on the battlefield.”

Putin has still not condemned the attack on Israel; he’s hosted Hamas many times in Moscow these past few years; hosted/supported the Palestinian leader Abbas yesterday. Russian and Iran are global allies working to undermine the West and the American-led global order. Ukraine is one front in this conflict. Israel is now another (this paragraph has been updated from its original posting).

The clear message here - funding Ukraine helps Israel. Full stop.

All my love to the people of Israel - Simon