TEL AVIV – Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli told Digital that the Trump administration will be more proactive than its predecessor in combating the surge in antisemitism following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack. 

Chikli noted that the incoming U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, upon confirmation, will assume a critical role in addressing the global rise of antisemitism.

“We observed Stefanik’s performance at the congressional hearing on campus antisemitism,” he stated, highlighting her future position within the Trump administration as crucial in confronting this issue at the UN. Chikli praised her as “A warrior against antisemitism, we are very happy with her appointment.”

In December 2023, Stefanik received widespread acclaim for her questioning of Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and MIT presidents at a congressional hearing regarding whether calls for genocide against Jews violated their institutional codes of conduct.

A year later, the U.S. House of Representatives released a Staff Report on Antisemitism, compiled by six congressional committees.

Chikli proposed four key actions to Digital to mitigate antisemitism: enforcing Title VI to prevent discrimination, withholding federal funding from institutions that boycott Israel or condone antisemitic actions, mandating disclosure of foreign contributions to universities, and revoking funding and tax exemptions for organizations promoting antisemitism or supporting terrorism.

“This report from the House Speaker demonstrates this [Trump] administration’s strong commitment to combating antisemitism,” Chikli said.

Stefanik has pledged to tackle antisemitism at the UN, which she described as a “den of antisemitism.”

“Even before Hamas’s October 7th terrorist attacks, the UN has consistently betrayed Israel and America, acting as an apologist for Iran and its terrorist proxies,” Stefanik stated in November following her nomination.

During her Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, she advocated for placing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) at the bottom of the list for receiving American funding.

In January 2024, then-President Joe Biden reduced funding to UNRWA after Israel presented evidence of agency staff involvement in the October 7th massacre. 

Chikli asserted that UNRWA functions as Hamas’s educational system, fueling antisemitism in Gaza and Palestinian-administered territories.

“It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a village to raise a terrorist. And if you put a child in UNRWA schools, you can be sure that he will graduate with the mindset of a terrorist,” Chikli told Digital.

“[Palestinian children] will learn to admire suicide bombers, Hamas Nukhba terrorists who butchered innocent people. They go to schools named after terrorists, with textbooks that include math problems about how many Israeli soldiers were attacked or how many stones were thrown at them,” he continued.

“That is why it is critical to make sure UNRWA is shut down,” he added. 

In October, the Israeli parliament banned UNRWA from operating within Israel, effective January 30th.

A spokesperson for the Israeli government told Digital that “the government and the international community have had 90 days to find alternatives to UNRWA.”

He declined to comment on whether the government was in contact with the Trump administration regarding contingency plans post-UNRWA.

In August, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini acknowledged the probable involvement of at least 19 UNRWA employees in the October 7th massacre, stating that “the evidence – if authenticated and corroborated – could indicate that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the attacks.”

He later confirmed the dismissal of at least nine UNRWA staff members following an internal investigation.

UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma told Digital that “we are committed to staying and delivering [aid] in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, until we cannot.”

“UNRWA has the most robust systems in place in comparison to other United Nations agencies when it comes to the adherence to the principle of neutrality with regards to our programs that we do and our staff,” she said. 

Asked whether the organization had a plan for continued operations after the Israeli ban, she responded, “We have not.”

Samerano’s son, Yonatan, was kidnapped and killed by a terrorist reportedly employed by UNRWA on October 7, 2023. A video of the terrorist dragging Yonatan’s body into a car went viral. 

“I will not let it go. I am pressuring the government very hard for the law, which passed in the Knesset, to be implemented,” Samerano told Digital. “I didn’t know UNRWA before, but then I investigated and found many documents that prove it’s involved in terror. That they were involved in taking hostages on Oct. 7 and holding kidnapped Israelis in their homes and buildings means there is no reason for this organization to continue to exist.”

“We must ensure that UNRWA will be replaced by another organization that will help the Gazans and make sure terror does not infiltrate them,” she continued. “People outside of Gaza and interested in real peace must teach a new curriculum that will create opportunities for Gazans, not terror.”

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon told Digital that Stefanik is “a staunch ally of Israel and of the Jewish people.”

“She leads with moral clarity and a strong commitment to justice and truth,” he said. “I am looking forward to working with her at the U.N., where the demonization and distortions about Israel are out of control.”