Supporters of Israel joined NORPAC on Sunday to welcome and honor one of Israel’s strongest allies in Congress: Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, representative from the 27th district of Florida. In 1989, Ros-Lehtinen became the first Cuban American and the first Hispanic woman to serve in the U.S. Congress. She is currently one of the most senior Republican women in the U.S. House. As Chairman emeritus of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and current Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, Ros-Lehtinen has worked tirelessly to ensure the U.S.-Israel alliance continues to grow and strengthen.
In Teaneck, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen discussed a new bill that she and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) recently introduced. The bill, H.Con.Res.107, is a bipartisan resolution that denounces the despicable use of human shields by Hamas, while reaffirming Israel’s right to defend its territory and stop the rocket attacks on its citizens. Ros-Lehtinen has also introduced and co-sponsored countless other important bills to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship. She introduced the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act (H.R. 938), the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act (H.R. 4681), and the UN Transparency, Accountability, and Reform Act (H.R. 3155), just to name a few; and co-sponsored the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act (H.R.4411), the Iron Dome Support Act (H.R.1130), and the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act (H.R.850), of which she was an original co-sponsor.
At the event, Ros-Lehtinen also reiterated her firm position on the Iranian nuclear negotiations. From previous statements before a committee hearing on the destabilizing role of Iran in the Middle East, Ros-Lehtinen said, “Instead of offering concessions to the regime, the Administration should be pressing Iran to dismantle completely its nuclear program, abandon its support for Assad and its terrorist proxies [like Hezbollah and Hamas], and cease its provocations against the U.S. and our ally, the democratic Jewish State of Israel, or else we will impose even stricter sanctions that will bring Iran’s economy to its knees.”
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen has also authored and co-signed multiple letters to the President, urging him to consult Congress in the nuclear negotiations and to make the text of the nuclear deal public.
The bills she has sponsored and co-sponsored, her statements before congressional committees, and the letters she has authored and co-signed, are a testament to the meaningful commitment that Rep. Ros-Lehtinen has to the U.S.-Israel relationship. “The United States and Israel are more than allies; they are friends,” Rep. Ros-Lehtinen said. “Our two nations share democratic principles and values, and our mutual commitment will never waver.”
