Cover Photo: Congressman Nick LaLota (Credit – Matt Meduri)
Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY-01) released a strong statement of support for Israel following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress. LaLota emphasized the shared values between the United States and Israel and called for decisive action against terrorist threats.
LaLota’s reaffirmation for his support for Israel comes just after Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) failed to attend Netanyahu’s address to Congress the day she became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
“Israel and the United States are nations founded upon religious freedom and deterring conflict and I am proud to reaffirm my support for Israel’s existence and right to defend itself,” said Congressman LaLota. “Nine months ago, Israel was dragged into an existential fight against Hamas terrorists. Now, the world must finally unite forces to confront evil head-on. The grave situation requires the Biden-Harris Administration to stop being so equivocal and demonstrate strength to achieve peace”.
Congressman LaLota, a Navy Veteran, who served three deployments previously, has been a vocal advocate for national defense and the security of U.S. allies. He currently serves on the Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees, where he continues to champion issues related to national and allied defense.
LaLota attended a roundtable discussion with One Israel Fund, an organization dedicated to supporting over 200 projects annually in Israel. These projects span various areas, including medical, educational, recreational, and preventive security, addressing communal and social welfare needs.
Congressman LaLota has actively supported several bills aimed at bolstering the U.S.-Israel relationship and addressing terrorist threats. Key legislative actions he has supported include that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable as U.S. policy. Legislation that urges the European Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization, condemning support for Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations at higher education institutions. He supported a bill to address the creation of hostile environments for Jewish students, faculty, and staff and to impose sanctions on foreign support for terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, requiring the Secretary of State to review and report annually on the curriculum used by the Palestinian Authority.
He also voted to pass and impose sanctions on the importation or facilitation of petroleum products from Iran and supporting Israel’s defense against Iran and its proxies, reimburse U.S. military operations in response to recent attacks, and replenish defense systems like the Iron Dome. This would also enhance the procurement of advanced weapons, which provides flexibility for transferring defense articles to Israel from U.S. stockpiles and prohibits funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) due to its pro-Hamas stance.
