{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=BA67C11C-ABED-4110-AED7-2F997D9A4332", "McConnell: \u2018Israel\u2019s fight is the fight of the entire civilized world.\u2019", "2023-10-17", "2023", "2023-10", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today to a gathering of American Jewish leaders regarding support for Israel:\n\n\u201cThank you very much. And thank you for coming to Washington. Like everyone here, I am deeply saddened by the circumstances surrounding this gathering.\n\n\u201cI stand with the people of Israel, in their grief and their pain, as they face down existential evil. And I stand with you, and with Jewish communities around the world, as you face alarming new varieties of the insidious, age-old scourge of anti-Semitism.\n\n\u201cMy message to you today is about how the United States, and the entire civilized world, needs to respond.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re facing a moment that demands moral clarity. This is a time for choosing. And the choice is crystal clear.\n\n\u201cWe must stand with America\u2019s closest ally in the Middle East. With the people of Israel. With those held hostage by terrorists, and with their families.\n\n\u201cAnd we must condemn barbaric terrorists, their evil sponsors, and the legacy of hatred toward Jews that has stained world history for millennia.\n\n\u201cToday\u2019s gathering, and our mission in the coming days, is a powerful reminder that the burden of standing against terror, defending sovereignty, deterring authoritarian aggression, and condemning hate is not Israel\u2019s alone to bear.\n\n\u201cIsrael\u2019s fight is the fight of the entire civilized world.\n\n\u201cThis is America\u2019s cause, too. And it demands leadership.\n\n\u201cPeople with a platform need to start by establishing loud and clear who are the victims and who are the aggressors.\n\n\u201cWe need to push back on false \u2018both-sides\u2019 narratives you\u2019re hearing in the media.\n\n\u201cWe need to denounce anti-Semitic hate wherever it occurs.\n\n\u201cAnd we need to show the rest of the world by our words and our actions that there simply is no moral equivalence between terrorism and self-defense.\n\n\u201cOur country needs to lead by calling on countries with relations with Hamas to push immediately and forcefully to release the hostages.\n\n\u201cWe need to lead countries with influence in the region to deny safe haven to those who aid and abet terrorist violence.\n\n\u201cAnd we need to make it clear that America, Israel, and our allies will be watching closely how they answer this call.\n\n\u201cAmerica needs to re-establish credible deterrence against Iran. We need to show the regime that stakes its existence on pursuing the extinction of Israel and the United States that our resolve is rock-solid.\n\n\u201cThat means giving maximum support for Israel\u2019s counter-terrorism operations, as long as it takes. It also means getting back to investing in the sort of American strength that can protect our people, equip our allies, and lead the coalition to destroy the terrorists who threaten the entire civilized world.\n\n\u201cThis is what I\u2019ll be fighting for in the coming weeks as the Senate considers the resources we put into our own defense, and the additional assistance we need for Israel and other democracies facing authoritarian aggression \u2013 from Europe to the Pacific.\n\n\u201cSo as you embark on an essential mission, I want to thank you all for your leadership.\n\n\u201cMay God bless you and keep you safe. And may God bless Israel and the United States of America.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:43:12Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=BA67C11C-ABED-4110-AED7-2F997D9A4332"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9158740285784006, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}