By Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt delivered a Washington update Nov. 3 with a peek behind the scenes in Israel and Gaza.
“Hamas has to be eradicated,” she told the assembled chambers of commerce.
Britt said Hamas’ No. 1 goal is to “wipe Israel off the face of this planet,” the No. 2 goal is to “wipe the Jewish people off the face of this planet.”
“Folks, if they (Israel and Gaza) are ever going to have an opportunity for peace and prosperity, Hamas has to go,” the senator continued during her speech at the Pelham Civic Complex. “And for people who say that we need a ceasefire, I answer you with this. Would we have called for a ceasefire after Pearl Harbor? Would we have called for a ceasefire right after 9/11? The answer to that is no.”
Britt said every generation in U.S. history has been called to do hard things. Now, she said, is that time for this generation.
“What we’re being asked to do right now is stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel, to say that as a Christian and as an American, I stand with Israel,” she said.
Britt talked about what she sees as the need for sanctions and aid to Israel. She said that discussion cannot happen without also considering the national debt, which she said is $33 trillion.
“The service on our national debt will be more money than we actually spend on defense spending,” she said. “This is not only fiscally irresponsible; it is morally irresponsible to put this burden on the back of our kids and our kids’ kids. We have to do better.”
Britt said there are proposed aid packages that would link aid to Israel to also providing aid to Ukraine and Taiwan.
She said aid to Israel should be targeted on munitions.
“It needs to be tailored exactly to that. It has to be smart and it has to be judicious,” she said. “We all have to realize that an emboldened Russia is an emboldened China is an important Iran,” a relationship she called a nexus.
“So what the president (proposed) I think is completely unacceptable.”
Critical of Border Policy
Closer to home, Britt was critical of the border policy of President Joe Biden, saying that policy does nothing but facilitate migration.
“We have a crisis in this nation on our border,” she said. “I went (to the U.S.-Mexico border) three times in the first few months I was in office. What I saw was truly a humanitarian crisis and a national security crisis. It is open season for drug cartels, for human traffickers, for terrorists. I think right now when we see what’s happening in the Middle East, we know how important it is to have secure borders.”
The senator was asked about the friction “between D’s and R’s” looking for ways to work together.
“(It’s) about really working to build relationships, even with people who I don’t agree with,” she said. “It’s something I’ve been very intentional about.”
Britt cited her recent trip to Israel as an example.
“There were five Democrats, five Republicans,” she said. “I made a point to say, look, we don’t stand up here as Democrats or Republicans, we stand up here united as Americans.
“We have to remember that the more division that people see across the globe, the easier we are to attack,” Britt continued. “I do not apologize for standing very firmly in my beliefs, but I think that you can do that in a respectful way. Where there are places to work with people, I certainly have tried.”
The luncheon drew members of the Shelby County Chamber and the chambers of commerce of Homewood, Montevallo, Hoover Area, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills.
