Omcast supports cspan as a Public Service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. As the israelhamas war continues President Bidens nominee jack lu testified and answered questions about Irans Nuclear deal when he was treasury secretary in the Obama Administration. Some republican lawmakers allege he was not forthcoming about the deals financial implementation. Mr. Lew denied those allegations. Senator cardin the Senate ForeignRelations Committee will come to order. Todays hearing carries great importance for the United States, israel and the region. The attacks by hamas over 10 days ago marked the deadliest day for jews since the holocaust. Abducting elderly, burning people alive and killing babies in front of parents, it was not only barbaric. Hamas has started a war. Given the state of emergency that israel faces, the United States needs a confirmed u. S. Ambassador in jerusalem. We need somewhere to reenforce that the United States stands with israel in response to the unprecedented terrorist attack. We need someone to lead the selfless personnel who have been working nonstop at mission israel. We need an ambassador to work with our israeli partners and provide help. Secretary lew, we hold this nomination today. I am committed to getting you in place in israel as soon as possible. I thank senator rich so we could expedite this hearing and we both agree that speed is of the essence. Im going to ask the cooperation of our colleagues and ask that questions for the record be submitted by close of Business Today and make every effort to get those responses to you by this weekend. We have scheduled a business meeting for next week for a vote on this nomination. I ask the committees cooperation because of the urgency of confirming ambassador. Hamas has killed more than 1,000 innocent people. They have killed hostages and Still Holding others including american citizens. I cannot overstate the urgency for the United States to have a confirmed ambassador on the ground to help deliver u. S. Support for israel and deal with the hostage situation and humanitarian needs that we know exists and need an ambassador who can speak with authority and engage diplomatically in the region. Secretary lew experience and political ac can you men makes him qualified to serve as the u. S. Ambassador to israel. Snroo we need to make sure the other nations and other terrorist groups. [indiscernible shouting] we need a cease fire now. Senator cardin now is not the time to pay political games. And dont open new fronts. We need to be clear with everyone. From hezbollah in lebanon to the regime in iran and assad in syria and putin in russia, dont think about joining or expanding the war. To that end we need to confirm ambassadors to other critical posts in the region. It would allow secretary lew to work with counterparts to make sure americans are safe and our interests are represented to the fullest extent. There is no shortages of challenges facing you. I look forward to how you look forward to address them and congress to support that. We need your eyes and ears to understand what is going on in jerusalem and we need to keep you pushing on normalization agreements between israel and saudi arabia and make it clear and our friends in trouble, the United States has their back. We need you confirmed. Without objection, i will enter into the record letters of support from the American Jewish committee and ant thy Defamation League and i turn to our Ranking Member. Thank you, chairman. We are here to support israel by filling a vacancy in the position for ambassador to israel. We have an acting there inst stephanie and doing a great job. She is very helpful to me. And we do have things being done there on the ground. We need this thing filled. It needs to be filled with the right person. And i have some issues in that regard which we are going to talk about and clear the air today one way or another. 18 years ago israel took the step of dismantling israeli settlements in gaza. [indiscernible shouting] and handing the territory to the Palestinian Authority. This has been a disaster. Israel faces an unprecedented crisis on the scale of september 11 attacks against the United States. Gunmen killed families, killed babies and dragged hostages across the border to gaza. They were brutal and horrific. We mourn the loss of israelis and americans and people from numerous from other countries. It is imperative that israel has the freedom to act until they get the job done. This happened to us at the end of world war ii. Nazis had taken over germany and marching across europe and our allies made the decision that the organization, the nazis, could not exist any further. And we didnt just go to battle to defeat germany on the battlefield, we went to war to defeat, dismantle and eliminate the nazis. We did that and it was difficult. We he eliminated as a Political Force and cultural force. Israelis are attempting to do the same thing with hamas. [indiscernible shouting] senator cardin let me make it clear, we will not tolerate interruptions in our hearing. You see whats going to be happening. Those that have strong views, there is a place to express it and not to disrupt it. I will not tolerate it. We saw calls for a cease fire. And restore deterrents. What happened in gaza is linked to iran, that is so important. What happened in gaza is directly linked to iran. Cannot wish away the iranian threat with promises of unfrozen. The attacks in israel and attacks against our troops and diplomats are proof. Iran is the supporter of hamas. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter, iran has more resources to support terrorism today than it did in 2019. U. S. Sanctions enforcement in this administration have been lacking. Iran has earned the shocking 80 billion in oil revenue since the Biden Administration took office. Irans oil economy once hobbled at 250,000 barrels a day are selling two Million Barrels of Oil Every Day knowsly to china. We know where that money is going. Now whopping 6 billion in south korea are completely unacceptable and make americans less safe. These attacks occurred immediately after the Biden Administration unfroze the 6 billion and 75 million directly over my strenuous objections. On palestinian policy, the Biden Administration argued that restoring funding that i objected would give the Palestinian Authority the leverage to promote palestinian voices and reform organizations. Two years later, we have seen no reform, violence is at record levels. And many palestinians identify with terror groups to meet their aspirations. It is time for wholesale reevaluation of palestinian policy. So today we are here to help israel and look at the vacancies that exists and the nominee that has been put before us to help israel. Secretary lew i have reservations on your appointment. Not only will you need to support israel as it responds to these attacks but also as it contends with the enduring and iranian threat which i think is underlying the foundational issue here. I have reservations about your ability to do that. You played a key role in supporting Obama Nuclear and i have concerns about transparency on the transfers of cash to the regime. You insisted that the transfers of cash do not free up iranian resources for terrorism activities. I agree with that assessment and it is alleged that you lied or misled us this very committee on that i have three items i want to insert in the record and i will, mr. Chairman. Two of them are Opinion Pieces from the Washington Post and third one is a report by the permanent subcommittee on investigations which has been authored. Senator cardin without objection. They will be included. Im going to have questions for you about your activities in what i think was a back handed way of supporting iran. And with that, i yield back. Im here to support israel today and help every way i can. Its important to get the right person in this position. Senator cardin we will hear from secretary lew. You may proceed as you wish. Mr. Lew chairman cardin and Ranking Member and members of the committee. I am honored to appear as the president s nominee to serve as u. S. Ambassador to the state of israel. And im proud of the trust and confidence that they have shown in me. I look forward working closely with you and other members of congress to advance u. S. And israeli interests. Joining me today are my wife ruth and children. They supported this mission when the focus was to expand the Abraham Accords. And they remain supportive as israel is in the midst of war. As always, knowing they are behind me is at the core of my ability to serve. I cannot remember a time when israel struggled for security was not at the forefront. I came of age that had religious beliefs. When i was 12 we followed reports of the sixday war with daily newspapers and broadcast news. In 1973, the year i came to washington as a young man i learned of the yom kippur war at synagogue and i worried deeply about the survival of the state of israel. The horrific and murderous terrorist attacks just days ago shattered another holy day and learning that an attack on israel at a Prayer Service was an experience i hope never to repeat. At this moment, there is no Greater Mission than to be asked to strengthen the ties between the United States and israel to work towards peace in the region that has known so much war and destruction. The savage attacks demands the condemnation of the world and President Biden has made clear that the United States stands with israel in its efforts to defend itself. I will do my utmost to end the horrific attacks by hamas and ensure that israel has what it needs to defend itself and spare no effort to help american citizens that are captive to return home safely and i will work to root out heinous crimes. I will work to prevent other stay states and none state actors and coordinate with International Communities to address the humanitarian crisis that hostages are being used as human shields by hamas. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, i want to be clear, iran is a threat to regional stability and to israels existence. If confirmed i will uphold President Bidens commitment to deny iran a Nuclear Weapon and warning to the region that anyone who is thinking of taking advantage of the Current Crisis dont. I will work to strengthen israel security. Israel is our closest partner in the region and its security is paramount. The president has been clear u. S. Commitment to israel is iron clad demonstrated in part by our 38 billion memorandum of understanding. In the midst of war, our longterm strategic objectives must remain clear. If confirmed i will work to advance comprehensive and lasting peace and twostate solution to the palestinianisraeli conflict and promote integration and normalization and cooperation with israel as a fully recognized partner. I look forward to deepening economic and commercial relationships enhancing cooperation and Economic Security such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, transportation, smart agricultural technologies and clean energy. And israels economy grows and diversifies we must enhance our close cooperation on foreign investment. If confirmed, i will continue to oppose all efforts to isolate and delegitimize israel internationally and promote the global fight against antisemitism. I will firmly reject the boycott and sanctions movement while respecting the rights of all americans to free speech. I will work to reenforce all efforts to combatanty semitism including the hamas attacks on october 7. More broadly, if confirmed, i will work to further strengthen our 75yearold partnership with israel and deepen bonds between our people. Finally, as someone who has dedicated much of my life to Public Service, i thank the talented and committed Foreign Service officers, Civil Servants and foreign nationals who are doing an extraordinary job at a time of violence and war representing the United States and washington and abroad. Just watching this morning, standing beside the president knowing that her family and the families of all our people that are over there have been shaken by the last 10 days. I have personal appreciation for their dedication, courage and their Service Deserves the if admiration and respect of the American People. Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, thank you for the opportunity to testify here today. And i look forward to your questions. And 1948, president truman did something that the state department did not recommend that he do. He did that because of his belief that israel shared the same values where we had no other country that shared those values and that relationship has grown over that period of time. As you pointed including the memorandum of understanding the development of iron dome and shared intelligence information and technology. I would like to get your view as to that relationship, why it is special, what you have done in your public life to help strengthen the ties between israel and the United States. Mr. Lew i think the relationship between the United States and israel is special because we share values and the United States understands without the state of israel, its not just people of israel, jews around the world are not safe. So the relationship between the United States and israel is at the core of who i am and what i believe is important for us having an ally in the region that we can count on. My career has not for the most part in foreign policy, it has been integrated into many of the roles i played as the direct tore of o. M. B. , chief of staff and treasury. I was the o. M. B. Director who helped design the first m. O. U. Of Security Assistance to israel. I was the deputy secretary of state to help israel to become a member of the oecd which is developed nations of the world that israel wanted at a time when it was being marginalized and being thrown out. I was the o. M. B. Director who helped fund Missile Defense and not without concerns of cost and some concerns about the scope of our commitments. I have not shied away from expressing my views when the position of the United States and position of israel require government officials to do so and i am happy to discuss those matters, but i believe my reputation as someone who stands with israel is beyond question. I think the government of israel has made that clear and things they have said ever since my nomination. Senator cardin immediate need for the United States is to help israel deal with this war providing the support it needs dealing with hostage relief, dealing with the potential escalation and preventing that from happening. That is the immediate concern. Looking beyond that, you mentioned the Abraham Accords and normalization, one of hamas objectives was to derail the discussions that are taking place in the middle east with the most visible being between United States, israel and saudi arabia. So tell me a little about your view as to how you keep these normalization discussions alive during a time of war. Mr. Chairman, it is going to be a challenge until this war ends for people here or there to focus on the day after but i deepbly believe have do keep our eye on the strategic and negotiations between israel and saudi arabia, if it was in the International Interests two weeks ago, it is in the interest of israel and saudi arabia when this war ends and we are a critical part of that conversation. I have had extensive dealings with many of the governments in the region. I would pledge my support for making that conversation that can get back on track. It was a mission that i thought i was going to start with. I dearly pray we get to that mission soon. Risch risch iran did pull the trigger and got the people to rise up against israel knowing exactly what the consequences would be and then attempting and successfully turn the world against israel for responding as they did. You got that call just right. I think that thats what happened. Like you, i pray when this is over, we can continue on and number of us are leading with saudi officials to urge that. My problem goes back to your performance previously. And to quote from the Washington Post opinion piece that says lew must explain why in 2015 that he will help iran under the nuclear deal with iran and secretly tried to do that and turn dlars 5. 7 billion into u. S. Currency. Im going to pursue that line. You recall sitting in that chair in july of 2015 and stating quote, will continue