With many Americans hesitant about using taxpayer money to give foreign aid to any country, not just Ukraine, Tal Heinrich told Newsmax on Wednesday the case for Israel is simple: It is on the front lines of the "fight of the civilized world against barbarism."
"We are very thankful for the American people, the U.S. Congress, and for the [Biden] administration for the support, the moral support and material support that we've had so far during this war that we didn't start and we didn't want," Heinrich, a spokeswoman for the Israeli government, told "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE." "We know that the American people, our best friends, know how to tell good from evil, right from wrong. And this is why they choose to support Israel, because it's not just Israel's war against Hamas.
"We just happen to be on the front lines of the fight of the civilized world against barbarism. ... We have to send the right message to terrorists, not just Hamas, but rather all around the world. They're watching us now. They're taking notes. And if we show leniency and if Israel does not achieve a total victory over Hamas, this is an open invitation for more terrorism, not just in our region but around the world."
The House in November passed a stand-alone $14.4 billion aid package for Israel after the Jewish state launched a war in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists that left more than 1,200 Israeli citizens dead and more than 200 others taken hostage. That bill, though, has languished in the Senate, which on Tuesday passed a $95.34 billion aid package that includes $61 billion to Ukraine and $14 billion to Israel. The U.S. budgets $3.8 billion annually in military assistance for Israel.
"We're in it for a total victory over Hamas, over the terrorists who invaded our country on Oct. 7," Heinrich said. "They raped our women. They stole our people, our babies. They butchered and burned entire families alive. We will not stop at anything that falls short of a total victory over Hamas, and you know it as our best friends. I know that the United States wouldn't have either.
"Keep in mind that Israel was attacked on Oct. 7 on a magnitude of something like 20 9/11s. We know that the United States wouldn't have compromised, either, so we are progressing on the ground in Gaza. We eliminated more than 20,000 terrorists if you bring it into account the ones that we killed, apprehended, or injured. ... We took out 18 out of their 24 battalions. We still have a lot of terror infrastructure to dismantle, many more terrorists to find. The Hamas leadership, we will get to them as well."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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