PHOTO: Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R-NY) greets the press at her campaign headquarters in New Hartford, N.Y.  (AP/Heather Ainsworth, File)

The event began with a prayer for the safe return of 140+ hostages held by Hamas and highlighted Tenney’s introduction of an act requiring U.S. legal documents to use the term ‘Judea and Samaria’ instead of ‘West Bank.’

By Joshua Klein | Breitbart News

As President Joe Biden and his Democratic colleagues urge Israel to capitulate to the terrorist group Hamas in its current conflict in Gaza, the Israel Heritage Foundation [has] honored Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York for her “unwavering support” of Israel and efforts to combat antisemitism.

At a dinner event hosted by the Israel Heritage Foundation (IHF) in New York City, Congresswoman Tenney was honored for her support of the local Jewish community as well as the Jewish state, receiving the Cup of Blessing award.

Founded in 1974 by Holocaust survivors, the IHF, under the leadership of Dr. Joseph Frager and Rabbi David Katz, works to strengthen Israel’s sovereignty and battle antisemitism.

The event, which began with a joint prayer for the safe return of the over 140 hostages still held by Hamas, including several Americans, highlighted the congresswoman’s recent introduction of the Judea and Samaria Act that “requires all U.S. legal documents to use the rightful term ‘Judea and Samaria’ to refer to this territory instead of the ‘West Bank.’”

“The Israeli people have an undeniable and indisputable historical and legal claim over Judea and Samaria, and at this critical moment in history, the United States must reaffirm this,” she insisted. 

Judea and Samaria are the original biblical names of the territory currently referred to as the West Bank (of the Jordan River), a term that became common after Jordan’s illegal occupation of the area in 1950, highlighting its geographic position rather than its historical names. After Arab terrorist groups attacked Israel for decades, Israel took control of Judea and Samaria in a defensive war in 1967.

While Jewish kingdoms ruled the areas for centuries, a continuous Jewish presence in Israel has endured for over 3,000 years. In fact, “Palestine” itself is a Roman term aimed to erase Jewish ties to the land, with the term “Palestinian” historically referring to Jews.

Tenney, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, then slammed the “misguided decision” by the Biden administration to revoke the Trump-Pompeo Doctrine, which recognized that Israelis have a right to live in Judea and Samaria, saying the decision “undermines our greatest ally in the Middle East.” 

Noting that the bill “reaffirms Israel’s rightful claim to its territory,” Tenney vowed that she remains “committed to defending the integrity of the Jewish state and fully supporting Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”

In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News, Rep. Tenney expressed her gratitude to the IHF and Rabbi Katz for bestowing the “tremendous honor,” 

“I will always stand with the Jewish community and the State of Israel because the truth is the only path to peace,” she said. “I will continue to speak out against the scourge of antisemitism that is resurging in America and will advocate for America’s greatest ally in the Middle East — the State of Israel.”

Noting that the US Jewish community is currently “facing unprecedented antisemitism,” the IHF executive director told Breitbart News that Congresswoman Tenney “understands very well that America is a country founded on freedom.”

Bryan E. Leib, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Fundamental Rights and one of the speakers who introduced the congresswoman at the event, spoke with Breitbart News, underscoring how Rep. Tenney “has been standing on the right side of history for her entire career.” ##