After winning the November election, President-elect Trump offered Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) the post of United States ambassador to the United Nations. On November 10, Stefanik confirmed to the NY Post that she had accepted the offer. Trump officially announced the nomination on November 11.
Stefanik appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Tuesday, where she pledged to combat antisemitism, support Israel, and counter Chinese influence. She criticized UNRWA, accusing it of being infiltrated by Hamas, and called for more stringent oversight of its funding.
During her Senate confirmation hearing, Rep. Stefanik endorsed Israeli claims of biblical rights over all of Judea and Samaria. She was confronted about her support for a position that aligns her with the Israeli religious Zionist right, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. During her questioning by Democratic Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, he asked, “You told me that, yes, you shared that view. Is that your view today?” Stefanik responded, “Yes.”
Trump’s ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has expressed similar views on Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, declaring during a 2017 visit to Israel that “there’s no such thing as a West Bank.” Huckabee has also dismissed the notion of a “Palestinian” identity, stating, “There’s no such thing as a Palestinian.”
Stefanik will likely turn out to be the most pro-Jewish and pro-Israel UN envoy. In May 2024, Rep. Stefanik delivered a speech at the Knesset, calling for “wiping” those responsible for the October 7 atrocities “off the face of the Earth.” She has been an outspoken critic of the United Nations, accusing the organization of fostering “antisemitic rot.” In September 2024, she condemned the UN for its “extreme antisemitism and moral depravity” and urged President Joe Biden to “unequivocally support Israel’s right to defend itself against both brutal terrorists and biased international organizations.” In October 2024, she called for a “complete reassessment of US funding of the United Nations” after the Palestinian Authority sought to expel Israel from the UN due to alleged human rights abuses in Gaza.
During a 2023 hearing on antisemitism by the House Education and Workforce Committee, Rep. Stefanik questioned the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania, whether “calling for the genocide of Jewish people” constituted bullying or harassment on their campuses.
Stefanik labeled the slogan “From the River to the Sea” and the calls for an intifada as genocidal. The presidents’ responses, which did not address whether such slogans violated campus codes of conduct, led to backlash from a group of Congress members who signed an open letter calling for their resignation.
As a result, University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill resigned the following week. Stefanik tweeted, “One down. Two to go.” In response to the hearing, the House committee announced an investigation into the learning environments and disciplinary policies at Harvard, Penn, and MIT over antisemitism. Stefanik further criticized Harvard’s handling of antisemitism by condemning the appointment of Derek Penslar to the university’s Antisemitism Task Force, calling the Jewish Studies professor, a critic of Israel, “known for his despicable antisemitic views.”
While Stefanik’s position places her at odds with longstanding international consensus and multiple UN Security Council resolutions regarding the Israeli settlements, it aligns closely with the position of the Trump administration which supports Israeli sovereignty over disputed territories, marking a sharp departure from previous State Dept. norms.
Stefanik’s statement about Israel’s rights to the Biblical lands came just hours after Trump had lifted US sanctions on Jewish settler groups and individuals accused of violence against “Palestinians.” Shortly thereafter, the IDF launched Operation Iron Wall against terrorist enclaves in Jenin in northern Samaria.
