Mike Lawler Versus Mondaire Jones On The Topics of Israel, Antisemitism & Ukraine

New York's 17th Congressional District – The race between Republican incumbent Mike Lawer and Democratic Mondaire Jones for New York’s 17th Congressional district has national implications as a swing district that could determine control of the House of Representatives. Both sides have accused the other of being on the extreme of their respective parties, and both tout their own ability to cross party lines and focus on the needs of the lower Hudson Valley.

We spoke to the candidates on Oct. 26: Lawler for about 45 minutes in person at the Halston Media offices; Jones for 30 minutes by telephone later that day. The first part of the interview was published HERE. The interview continues below on the topics of Israel, antisemitism and Ukraine. 

Halston Media: We have a large Jewish community in our coverage area. How do you feel about Israel’s conduct of the war, and the line between criticizing Israel as a political actor, antisemitism, and accusations of Israel committing genocide?

Jones: Well, I’ve been a long-standing supporter of Israel in terms of its existence and its right to defend itself, and I have been widely recognized as being a staunch supporter of Israel prior to this campaign. So you can look at Jewish Insider, you can look at Politico, all the articles that speak to this. There’s no question about it. My opponent, in the 11th hour, would suggest otherwise, but that’s born of desperation, and it speaks volumes that he only has started to suggest as much in recent weeks, and not at any prior moment in the course of the campaign. So let me start with that. He’s made an aspersion recently that … has been rejected by everyone who has looked at this.

So look, I’m always going to vote to provide security assistance to Israel in the way that my voting record speaks to having done already. And I’m really proud of the fact that I’ve stood up to extremists in my own party who would falsely accuse Israel of committing genocide.

Obviously, the way that Israel conducts the war matters. And I would like to see the loss of innocent life minimized. We have to make sure that Israel is able to obtain the release of the more than 100 hostages still being held by Hamas, including some American hostages. We have to make sure that Israel defeats Hamas and all other terrorist organizations that would do harm to Israel once and for all. And I reject the efforts of people on the far left to hold Israel to a different standard than they would hold any other nation acting in self-defense.

I want to get to a place where we see a two-state solution through the defeat of Hamas and robust diplomacy—because certainly Palestinians deserve to live in dignity and in prosperity.

Halston Media: Do you have any concerns with the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition that declares it’s antisemitic to accuse Israel of genocide, which has caused some consternation among free speech advocates?

Jones: My record is that of always standing up to antisemitism in all its forms. I wish my opponent had that record. You know when Donald Trump said Jewish people would be to blame if he were to lose the election in November, Mike Lawler defended those comments on multiple occasions. So he is not credible as a messenger on this subject. He is not sincerely a leader in the fight against antisemitism. He is seeking, instead, to just score political points. In the [2024] 16th congressional district primary, I stood up for the Jewish community and endorsed George Latimer over Jamal Bowman and caught hell from the far left. I don’t regret it at all.

Halston Media: What is your position on the current conduct of Ukraine policy, and what would you do to either continue it or change it?

Jones: Well, what I would do is more forcefully support Ukraine than Mike Lawler and the Republicans in Congress have been. If Ukraine loses this war, you’ll be able to draw a direct line between that loss and the delay that Mike Lawler and the Republicans in Congress participated in for months in terms of appropriating aid to our ally in that region. I have traveled the world as the only House member on a Senate delegation to rally support among our allies for Ukraine and their efforts to beat back the ambitions of Vladimir Putin, who will not stop at Ukraine. And this is in our national interest. Russia is an enemy of the United States, and we cannot afford for Russia to grow more powerful.

Russia is also supporting our enemies, and for that reason, we cannot allow Russia to grow more powerful.

Halston Media: How would you deal with Iran?

Jones: Well, the terrorist proxies of Iran have to all be defeated, and we have to recognize here in the United States that Iran is the greatest threat to Israel that exists. We have to be for continuing to provide security assistance, financial [assistance] and in terms of our intelligence that we share with Israel. And we have to use sanctions and diplomacy in order to undermine Iran’s efforts to develop a nuclear weapon, as well, as you know, create chaos in the region.

Halston Media's Interview with Mike Lawler

Halston Media: Where do you and your party stand on Ukraine policy?

Lawler: The vast majority of Republicans and members of Congress support Ukraine because we recognize the threat that is posed from the unholy alliance between Russia, China, and Iran in particular, and you can add North Korea in there as well…If Ukraine falls, that would be catastrophic for Europe, especially Eastern Europe and former Soviet satellite states. It would also cause a major problem in that nobody will ever trust the United States again when it comes to giving up nuclear weapons. Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons with the understanding that the United States would support them in the event of an invasion.

Ideally, Russia would be completely out of Ukraine. But given the current circumstances, I think that’s going to be very difficult. So the question is, can you get back to pre-invasion, where they still have Crimea?…There’s really been no effort to negotiate a settlement. And I think that’s the point President Trump was making in the debate with the Vice President.

Halston Media: You’ve been a leader in combating antisemitism, but some have disagreed with the definition of antisemitism in your bill, saying it’s opposed to free speech by defining anyone who says that Israel is committing genocide as being antisemitic. Is Israel committing genocide? And how do you respond to the critics of the definition?

Lawler: No, Israel is not committing genocide. The only oppressor of the Palestinian people is Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority. Hamas uses innocent Palestinians as human shields. They have blocked humanitarian aid and relief from getting to the people directly. And again, they’re a terrorist organization that created this crisis in the first place by violating the ceasefire that was in place on October 6. So no, Israel is not committing a genocide. It is defending itself against attacks from Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and others.

In addition, the bill itself does not curtail free speech. It does not ban the Bible, as some have tried to intimate, it does not criminalize free speech, and it does not prevent people from expressing their views. What it does do is, No. 1, codify into law an executive order that has already been in place since 2019; No. 2, it requires the Department of Education to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and its contemporary examples for the purpose of defining what antisemitism is, with respect to Title 6 of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. These universities and colleges have allowed antisemitism to go unabated on their campuses for years. This is not something new, it didn’t just start on October 7. It has been going on for a long time. What the bill says and what the contemporary examples say is not that you can’t criticize Israel, you can. You can criticize Israel, just as you do every other country, including the United States. We criticize our government every day. But if your purpose in criticizing or the reason why you’re criticizing the State of Israel is simply because it’s a Jewish state, then, yeah, that is antisemitism. When you’re saying that you are an anti-Zionist? Yeah, that is rooted in antisemitism, period. And you don’t see those same people having any problem whatsoever with an Arab state. But seemingly they have a problem with a Jewish state. The bottom line is, it does not preclude free speech. In fact, free speech protections are written into the bill. In addition, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has free speech protections. It is specific to enforcing Title 6 of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and holding the universities accountable for upholding Title 6. It does not prevent anybody from saying anything. But if you’re going to take federal dollars at these universities and institutions, you are bound by Title 6, period.

We have a growing demographic of people of Middle Eastern descent in our area; what are those constituents saying to you about Israel?

Lawler: I’ve met with many directly. I’ve gone to mosques and spoken with constituents of Arab descent. You know, obviously they have expressed concerns about the conflict. They recognize that Hamas is a terrorist organization, but they feel, many of them do, that there should be an arms embargo, that there should be restrictions put on Israel. I don’t agree with them on those positions that some of them may hold.

At the end of the day, I want to see the Palestinian people free. I want to see a normalization of relations between Israel and Arab-majority countries. It’s why I passed the Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords Act. I want to see the threats emanating from Iran and its terror proxies extinguished, which is why I passed the Ship Act and the Iran China Energy Sanctions Act to go after the illicit oil trade between China and Iran that is funding terrorism in the Middle East to the tune of $200 billion in the last three and a half years because Kamala Harris and Joe Biden lifted sanctions on Iran and tried to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal.

We obviously have a very difficult situation. You still have American hostages being held, Israeli hostages being held. And as I’ve said many times, the fastest way for this conflict to come to an end, the fastest way for there to be a ceasefire, is for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages. In the absence of that, this conflict is not going to just come to an end because people wish it to. You have to recognize the continued threats that Israel is under from Iran and its proxies.

There should be, ultimately, a long-term, two-state solution. The rebuilding in Gaza and to a degree in the West Bank, should be Arab-led. It should not be led by Israel or the United States. Israel should not be in control of Gaza. But in order to get there, there has to be a normalization of relations between Arab majority states and Israel, and an acceptance that Israel has a right to exist, and that really requires Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel.