INTERVIEW: Rep. Marlin Stutzman: The world “really needs to unite against” the “authoritarian-type of thought” to wipe out Israel

As Israel battles its new war against the Islamic dictatorship in Iran, one voice in Congress is calling on the world to “unite against” the “authoritarian-type of thought” demanding Israel’s complete destruction.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R., Ind.) told the Washington Reporter in an interview that America “wouldn’t stand” for a nuclear program ratcheting up in Cuba, and that Israel has “more patience with these crazy authoritarians in the Middle East than we would ever have.”

“We would never have that sort of patience. So kudos to Israel for trying to balance all that and make it work; [America] just wouldn't put up with it,” Stutzman said. “Look what we did after 9/11. There was a strong reaction to that. So I get tired of these journalists saying ‘it is just unnecessary for Israel to be attacking Iran.’”

“Well, if they had a nuclear bomb, that would be a disaster,” Stutzman continued. The other thing I would say too as well that it shouldn't be just Israel going after this nuclear program in Iran. It should be the Saudis. It should be the Turks. It should be other countries in the region too.”

“Because if Iran has a nuclear weapon, of course, they want to wipe out Israel, but they're also going to leverage Saudi and the Turks as well,” he warned.

Stutzman said the love for Israel runs deep in Indiana and in America’s Heartland, where there is “a spiritual connection as well to the Israeli homeland.”

“Whether it's Jerusalem, or even someday, maybe Christians can visit Damascus in Syria. But there's a spiritual connection from Indiana to Israel and to Jerusalem,” Stutzman said. “That's why we believe that it's the Jews that have a right to that land. We believe also that Judea and Samaria need to be respected as Israeli land.”

Stutzman pointed out that “they’ve used the ‘West Bank’ terminology to confuse people that it's not just the West Bank that they want in Israel.”

“It's half the country. And even with Gaza, they've allowed for Palestinians to live in Gaza, trying to create peace,” he continued. “And they've just shown over and over, because of Hamas and Qatar and now of course, Iran continues to facilitate unrest and attacks on Israel because they don’t want them there.”

Stutzman said that while he was last in Israel, he spoke with Israeli officials who told the congressman “that there's conversations going on already with the Syrian government.”

“I think that there's some unique circumstances there. Of course, Lebanon and with the help of others, has pushed Hezbollah out,” he said. “Al Sharaa told me that he's pushed the Iranians out for the most part, and has a plan to limit them being in the country.”

“We obviously know there's going to be militias, rogue militias, running around, creating havoc and taking Iranian money to do that because of their ideology,” he continued. “But there are a couple of factors I think that just have to be transparent. And one, that's Iran not having a nuclear program.”

Stutzman said there “needs to be a UAE model of education where all faiths, all backgrounds, are respected and rather than any sort of hatred, taught.”

“I’d add that we should look at Europe right now. Shame on a lot of these European leaders for backing off of their trade negotiations with Israel,” he said. “It's shameful and disgusting. The other thing too, that I thought was interesting is the fact that I don't know how many Israeli planes were flying over Iran with these attacks, but they don't have even an anti aircraft defense, missile defense system in Iran left, they’re really a paper tiger, and that's why they can't have a nuclear weapon.”

“In the long run, the world really needs to unite against this sort of authoritarian type of thought that wants to wipe out a country that has every right to be there,” Stutzman said.

Below is a transcript of our interview with Rep. Marlin Stutzman, lightly edited for clarity.

Washington Reporter:

Congressman Stutzman, you were just in Israel; how was that?

Rep. Marlin Stutzman:

We were there about two weeks ago.

Washington Reporter:

What was the occasion for that?

Rep. Marlin Stutzman:

Part of it was to visit the area down by Gaza, and see some of the leftover destruction and damage, and to see how Hamas attacked on the southern border. I've not been to Israel since 2016 so it was also helpful, after I was in Syria over the Easter weekend to follow up with some of my friends and folks in Israel, in the relation to Syria. And hopefully that goes a better direction than what obviously Iran is.

Washington Reporter:

When you were here on your most recent trip, did you ever have to run in and run into any bomb shelters? Did you have any of the Red Alert sirens go off?

Rep. Marlin Stutzman:

Yeah.

Washington Reporter:

Tell me about that.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman:

So we just got to our hotel in Jerusalem, and the sirens went off. So we all hit the bomb shelters there. And then we were in Tel Aviv, headed for Jerusalem, and the people we were with, they had the apps on their phone, and they got the warning on their apps. And so our driver, who was driving us, didn't want to take any chances, so we pulled over and found a bomb shelter. We all hung out there for 15 minutes, but the missile ended up going into Tel Aviv, and we were between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Washington Reporter:

How do you think America would respond to to an attack if this were happening to us? If this were happening in America, what would we be doing?

Rep. Marlin Stutzman:

That's a great question, because it irritates me when journalists ask ‘is this the right response from Israel to go in and attack Iran?’ Remember, they're being attacked every day from the south. Hamas’s attack on the southern border, which was a soft border because of Israel trying to keep peace, or make peace with the world, was a huge problem. And if you had to live every day with bombs raining down on you, you'd get tired of it too. But let's say there was a nuclear program in Cuba, we wouldn't stand for it. It wouldn't even be as far as where Iran is with their program. There's more patience with these crazy authoritarians in the Middle East than we would ever have. We would never have that sort of patience. So kudos to Israel for trying to balance all that and make it work, rather than with the United States, we just wouldn't put up with it. I mean, look what we did after 9/11, there was a strong reaction to that. So I get tired of these journalists saying ‘it is just unnecessary for Israel to be attacking Iran.’ Well, if they had a nuclear bomb, that would be a disaster. The other thing I would say too as well that it shouldn't be just Israel going after this nuclear program in Iran. It should be the Saudis. It should be the Turks. It should be other countries in the region too. Because if Iran has a nuclear weapon, of course, they want to wipe out Israel, but they're also going to leverage Saudi and the Turks as well.

Washington Reporter:

What's America's Heartland think about this?

Rep. Marlin Stutzman:

The love for Israel goes deep. And whether it's Christians or Jews, in Indiana, there's a deep love for Israel. There's a spiritual connection as well to the Israeli homeland. Whether it's Jerusalem, or even someday, maybe Christians can visit Damascus in Syria. But there's a spiritual connection from Indiana, anyway, to Israel and to Jerusalem. That's why we believe that it's the Jews that have a right to that land. We believe also that Judea and Samaria need to be respected as Israeli land. They've used the ‘West Bank’ terminology to confuse people that it's not just the West Bank that they want in Israel. It's half the country. And even with Gaza, they've allowed for Palestinians to live in Gaza, trying to create peace. And they've just shown over and over, because of Hamas and Qatar and now of course, Iran continues to facilitate unrest and attacks on Israel because they don’t want them there. We need to stand with Israel in such a strong way to show the rest of the world that Israelis deserve every right to that land and that they can live together in peace and harmony if the others just choose to do it.

Washington Reporter:

Do you feel like what we now see is a vindication of Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran?

Rep. Marlin Stutzman:

Yeah. President Trump is the strongest negotiator. He's the strongest diplomat that we've had in America since President Reagan, and his maximum pressure and diplomacy, I believe, is the right tactic for President Trump’s policy. It's a trust but verify relationship, and we know there's enough reports, whether it's the International Atomic Energy Agency or others, there's enough evidence from these and from other third parties showing that Iran is continuing to develop their nuclear program, and they don't need it for utility purposes. They've got plenty of gas and oil. The Trump doctrine shows he's willing to sit down and talk with anybody. I mean, he went to North Korea, for crying out loud. So he's trying to negotiate something with the Iranians, but they're not willing to put willing to put down their nuclear arms, their nuclear program, because we know ultimately, they hate Israel, they hate America, and until the regime is gone, we have got to always make sure that they don't have any capability of a nuclear weapon, because It's not only not good for Israel, it’s not good for the region.

Washington Reporter:

You've spent time in Syria with its new government. What do you think a weakened Iran would mean for the future of that country? And how can America help actualize the potential that you talk about very articulately when you go and visit it and talk to these people yourself?

Rep. Marlin Stutzman:

I think one thing that's really interesting from Ahmed al-Sharaa’s standpoint is that if he wanted to be a rogue nation, lifting the sanctions would not have as important to him, because he would have been getting his money from Iran. He would have been getting his money from Qatar. He could have been getting his money from China or Russia. The fact that he asked for the sanctions to be lifted, and also the things that he told us, as far as building relationships within the region, including Israel, and that he was open to joining the Abraham Accords, are all good signals that Al Sharaa is possibly an unexpected change to a new Syria. While I was in Israel, talking with Israeli officials, they shared with me openly that there's conversations going on already with the Syrian government. I think that there's some unique circumstances there. Of course, Lebanon and with the help of others, has pushed Hezbollah out. Al Sharaa told me that he's pushed the Iranians out for the most part, and has a plan to limit them being in the country. We obviously know there's going to be militias, rogue militias, running around, creating havoc and taking Iranian money to do that because of their ideology. But there are a couple of factors I think that just have to be transparent. And one, that's Iran not having a nuclear program. And two, I think we also need to look at the curriculums that are being taught in the schools around the Middle East. There can't be curriculums that teach hatred and ways to kill Israeli soldiers taught in schools to young children anywhere in the Middle East. There needs to be a UAE model of education where all faiths, all backgrounds, are respected and rather than any sort of hatred, taught. I’d add that we should look at Europe right now. Shame on a lot of these European leaders for backing off of their trade negotiations with Israel. It's shameful and disgusting. The other thing too, that I thought was interesting is the fact that I don't know how many planes were flying Israeli planes were flying over Iran with these attacks, but they don't have even an anti aircraft defense, missile defense system in Iran left, they’re really a paper tiger, and that's why they can't have a nuclear weapon. In the long run, the world really needs to unite against this sort of authoritarian type of thought that wants to wipe out a country that has every right to be there.

Washington Reporter:

Congressman, thanks for chatting and I’m looking forward to seeing you sooner rather than later.