10.16.23

Sullivan Asks Alaskans To “Pray for the Safety of our Jewish Community in Alaska and Around the World’

'We recommit ourselves to ending anti-Semitism in all its forms, and to defeating terrorists with no regard for human life.’

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) asked Alaskans to recommit themselves to ending anti-Semitism and to pray for the safety of the Jewish community in Alaska and around the globe during virtual remarks in Anchorage last week. Hundreds of Alaskans gathered on Wednesday to show solidarity with Alaska’s Jewish community and to mourn the victims of the recent deadly terrorist attacks in Israel. The event was hosted by the Alaska Jewish Campus at the the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Centers. During his remarks, Senator Sullivan pledged to continue to work in the United States Senate to “ensure that Israel has whatever assistance it needs to defend itself and its people and to defeat Hamas.”

“We are here tonight to unequivocally stand with the citizens of Israel and Alaska's Jewish community,” Senator Sullivan said. “We must be steadfast in fully supporting Israel's right to defend itself, and to defeat and crush the Hamas terrorists who do not want peace, who only want the destruction of Israel, which they say all the time, and the death of more innocent civilians. That is the reality facing Israel right now. And we must stand with them.

“We must also send an unmistakable message to the terrorists in Iran not to try to widen this conflict through other proxies like Hezbollah. America will be watching Iran's every move. I want to conclude by thanking you again, Rabbi Greenberg and everybody in attendance tonight. This is such a testament to our state that so many are out to support our Jewish community, but also our critical alliance with Israel.

“We mourn together the more than a thousand innocent lives we’ve lost. We pray for the safety of those who’ve been taken hostage and those recovering from injuries. We recommit ourselves to ending anti-Semitism in all its forms, and to defeating terrorists who have no regard for innocent human life. And, we pray for the safety of our Jewish community in Alaska and around the world.”

To listen to Senator Sullivan’s full remarks, click here.

FULL REMARKS:

SENATOR SULLIVAN: Good evening, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to join you virtually today at this critically important gathering, demonstrating Alaskans’ solidarity with our state’s Jewish community, and with the people of Israel amidst an unspeakable tragedy and unspeakable evil.

We are here tonight to unequivocally stand with the citizens of Israel and Alaska's Jewish community.

I want to begin by thanking Rabbi Greenberg for his incredible leadership and for his tireless efforts to bring people together across Alaska in so many ways, and he has been doing this for years with his wonderful life wife as well.

In Alaska, we are so richly blessed with our incredible Jewish community. So many of you here tonight who contribute so much by way of fellowship and service to all Alaskans. I have always been amazed by the remarkable ties that exist between Alaska and Israel at the highest levels of the Israeli government through cooperation and training between our militaries, between our families, and between friends across thousands of miles.

My wife, Julie, and I, who is also listening in tonight, saw this this past year when we had the opportunity to visit Israel and the Abraham Accords countries who had made peace with Israel in the Middle East. We saw so much promise just a few months ago when we were there.

And now the world is confronted with such evil and barbarism. So many Israelis and Americans are going through unimaginable grief and pain and suffering and anger because so many friends and relatives and acquaintances and loved ones and family members have been among those killed or wounded or taken hostage in this vicious assault.

Over 1100 Israeli citizens have been killed. So, too, have many Americans. This impacts us all. As Rabbi Greenberg mentioned, after World War II, the horrors of the Holocaust galvanized all civilized people to a collective pledge and understanding: “Never Again.” And yet, we have just witnessed the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. It is unconscionable and underscores the difficult reality that anti-Semitism continues to plague our world.

We must fight against and condemn this scourge everywhere we see it. The murderous acts of violence we are now learning about and seeing against innocent men, women, and children. And yes, as Rabbi Greenberg said, even babies. It is almost too much to bear.

But the world needs to see it. The world needs to know the truth about what just happened and to understand the depravity of Hamas and other evil groups. It was pure evil. Pure evil.

There is no moral equivalence between a barbaric terrorist group committing these kinds of savage atrocities and a nation fighting to defend its very right to exist. Period.

As your U.S. Senator, I’ve been honored to work with so many here tonight as a relentless supporter of Israel, America’s closest friend and ally in the Middle East.

We must also continue to work our relentless efforts together against policies that seek to appease the Iranian terrorist regime, which very likely had a hand in this massacre. We must remain vigilant and united in this new era of authoritarian aggression led by dictators in Moscow, Beijing and Tehran.

I will be working with my colleagues in the Senate on both sides of the aisle to ensure that Israel has whatever assistance it needs to defend itself and its people and to defeat Hamas. That is military assistance, intelligence cooperation. I have already had a very good conversation with Ambassador Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, who many of you know, visited our great state this summer. We had a wonderful visit with him across our state.

The days ahead will be extremely difficult. Leaders of Israel will have to make very difficult decisions. We should pray for wisdom and courage for them. And, of course, pray for the IDF soldiers who will be undertaking an extremely difficult mission. We must be steadfast in fully supporting Israel's right to defend itself, and to defeat and crush the Hamas terrorists who do not want peace, who only want the destruction of Israel, which they say all the time, and the death of more innocent civilians.

That is the reality facing Israel right now. And we must stand with them.

We must also send an unmistakable message to the terrorists in Iran not to try to widen this conflict through other proxies like Hezbollah. America will be watching Iran's every move.

I want to conclude by thanking you again, Rabbi Greenberg, and everybody in attendance tonight. This is such a testament to our state that so many are out to support our Jewish community, but also our critical alliance with Israel.

We mourn together the more than a thousand innocent lives we’ve lost. We pray for the safety of those who’ve been taken hostage and those recovering from injuries. We recommit ourselves to ending anti-Semitism in all its forms, and to defeating terrorists who have no regard for innocent human life. And, we pray for the safety of our Jewish community in Alaska and around the world.

Let me just close with some words of comfort—a prayer for perseverance and God’s strength, from Psalm 71:

[12 O God, do not distance Yourself from me; my God, hasten to my assistance.
13 The adversaries of my soul will be shamed and will perish; enwrapped in humiliation and disgrace will be those who seek to harm me.
14 As for me, I shall constantly hope, and I shall add to all Your praise.
15 My mouth will recite Your righteousness, all the days Your salvation, for I do not know their number.
16 I shall come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God; I shall mention Your righteousness alone.]

Again, thank you, Rabbi Greenberg, and all the wonderful Alaskans who have gathered in solidarity tonight. God bless all of you.

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