Speaking before 400 guests at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, Stefanik received the Theodor Herzl Award from Ronald Lauder, the businessman and former U.S. ambassador to Austria under President Ronald Reagan. Established in 2012, the award is considered the World Jewish Congress\u2019 highest honor and recognizes individuals who embody Herzl\u2019s vision for a secure and self-reliant Jewish people.<\/p>\n
“I want to thank my friend Ambassador Ronald Lauder for his steadfast leadership and his extraordinary commitment to the cause of Jewish unity and security,” Stefanik said. “Under his leadership, the World Jewish Congress has carried forward Theodor Herzl\u2019s vision \u2014 not only of a Jewish homeland, but of a Jewish people strong, self-reliant, and respected among the nations.”<\/p>\n
“It is deeply humbling to receive the Theodor Herzl Award from the World Jewish Congress \u2014 an organization that, for generations, has stood as the diplomatic voice and moral conscience of the Jewish people across the globe,” she continued. “You have defended Jewish communities in every corner of the world, fought antisemitism in every form, and strengthened the unbreakable bonds between Israel and the global community<\/a> of free nations.”<\/p>\n KEY TRUMP ALLY JUMPS INTO NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S RACE DAYS AFTER SHOCKING MAMDANI MAYORAL VICTORY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Rep. Elise Stefanik accepted the World Jewish Congress\u2019 Theodor Herzl Award from Ronald Lauder at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan on Nov. 10, 2025. (Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Stefanik described her fight against antisemitism in Congress and on college campuses<\/a>, recalling her viral 2023 hearing with the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s code of conduct?” she recalled asking what she said was a moral question, not a political one. “I expected them to say \u2018yes.\u2019 But one after another after another said, \u2018it depends on the context.\u2019 And the world heard. Let me be clear. It does NOT depend on the context.”<\/p>\n She said that exchange “set off a global reckoning and delivered accountability in higher education that we are still just beginning.”<\/p>\n STEFANIK DECRIES HOCHUL AS ‘WORST GOVERNOR IN AMERICA’ IN FIERY 2026 CAMPAIGN LAUNCH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Rep. Elise Stefanik delivered remarks after receiving the World Jewish Congress\u2019 highest honor on Nov. 10, 2025, pledging to continue fighting antisemitism and defending Western values. (Tierney L. Cross\/Bloomberg via Getty Images\u00a0)<\/p>\n Turning to New York, Stefanik said the state “is not just a city and state in crisis \u2014 it is the epicenter of the battle for the very Western values that have shaped America.”<\/p>\n “Eighty years after Kristallnacht, we must not stay silent. I will continue to call out Antisemitism. Bigotry. Jew-hatred. Anti-Americanism,” she said. “This moral fight is particularly important in New York \u2014 the beloved home to more Jews than anywhere outside of Israel \u2014 where antisemitic incidents<\/a> hit an all-time high last year, the highest count in the nation.”<\/p>\n “My friends, Theodor Herzl\u2019s story is not ancient history,” she said. “That is the spirit I see in this room tonight \u2014 the spirit that built Israel, the spirit that has always animated the Jewish people, and the spirit that will save New York.”<\/p>\n STEFANIK TO RELEASE NEW BOOK ON COLLEGE ANTISEMITISM AS SHE EYES BID FOR NY GOVERNOR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Miriam Adelson appeared to throw her support behind Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is running for New York governor, on Nov. 9, 2025, during the Zionist Organization of America\u2019s Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner in New York. (Dominic Gwinn\/Middle East Images\/AFP via Getty Images and Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n The award comes a day after billionaire philanthropist Miriam Adelson voiced support<\/a> for Rep. Elise Stefanik\u2019s New York gubernatorial bid during the Zionist Organization of America\u2019s Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner.<\/p>\n Stefanik, chairwoman of the House Republican Leadership, was honored with the Zionist Organization of America\u2019s Mortimer Zuckerman Maccabee Warrior Award for her efforts to combat antisemitism.<\/p>\n Introducing her at the gala, Adelson lauded Stefanik for confronting university leaders over antisemitism and invoked her late husband Sheldon Adelson\u2019s insistence on moral conviction.<\/p>\n Adelson described Stefanik as “a great leader,” crediting her for defending “the Jewish people, Israel and the Free World.”<\/p>\n Stefanik launched her long-anticipated Republican campaign for New York governor on Friday, entering the 2026 race as she challenges Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fox News Digital has reached out to Hochul\u2019s office for a comment.<\/p>\n![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762853668_241_stefanik-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Stefanik](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762853670_848_stefanik_.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Elise](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762853671_278_elise-stefanik-and-miriam-adelson.jpg\")
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