Washington, D.C.—Following a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing to consider the nomination of Jeremy Carl to be Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) announced that he will oppose Mr. Carl’s nomination and released the following statement:
“After reviewing his record and participating in today’s hearing, I do not believe that Jeremy Carl is the right person to represent our nation’s best interests in international forums, and I find his anti-Israel views and insensitive remarks about the Jewish people unbecoming of the position for which he has been nominated.”
At the hearing, Curtis raised serious concerns with the nominee’s prior comments regarding the Holocaust and emphasized that a core responsibility of the role is countering systemic antisemitism and anti-Israel bias at the United Nations and other multilateral institutions. Furthermore, he underscored the need to support America’s allies—particularly those like Israel and Taiwan, who are consistently mistreated by foreign adversaries within international organizations.
The full transcript of the exchange is below, and the video file can be downloaded here.
Full transcript:
Senator Curtis: Mr. Carl, I heard in your testimony something very similar to this, but core among U.S. interests at international organizations is the protection of U.S. sovereignty and our national security. And I’m sure that we agree on this. What I didn’t hear, and what is important to me—high among these interests is the protection of our allies, namely Israel and Taiwan, both of which are consistently mistreated in these international organizations.
As Assistant Secretary for International Organizations, I view one of your core responsibilities to counter the systemic antisemitism and anti-Israel bias in international organizations. Israel rarely asks for direct military intervention from the United States, but it does ask for diplomatic support and help. So, in your podcast of October 2024, you said, “the United States spends too much time and energy on Israel, often to the detriment of our own national interests.” So, share with me specifically what is in the U.S. interests that has been harmed by sustained American support of Israel.
Jeremy Carl: Senator, thank you for that question. It’s a good one. I think in the context of this particular role, actually we are Israel’s closest ally. So, I think in the UN context, I wish the UN would stop being antisemitic all the time. And so therefore we could stop have, you know, there’s a million other problems, like the Rohingya.
Curtis: Hold that thought, because I kind of want to come back to that. But let me just clarify. Do you think it’s all one directional? And what I mean by that is it’s all U.S. going to help Israel. And do you recognize the intelligence, the military innovations, and things like that that come back to the United States?
Carl: I’m so glad you mentioned that, Senator Curtis. As mentioned before, I spent ten years under one of the greatest friends of Israel that U.S. diplomatic corps has ever had in Secretary Schultz. Charlie Kirk was also probably second to no one in America.
Curtis: Let me just rein you in here because that’s not going in the direction to my [question.] Let me ask this—do you view diplomatic support as important or critical, or does that fall in the “too much time and energy?”
Carl: Senator, thank you for that question. I think diplomatic support of Israel in the UN context is absolutely critical.
Curtis: Are there other allies, for whom you believe the United States spends too much time and energy?
Carl: Senator, it would depend. Thank you for the question on the situation, but in the UN context, I want to be very clear that we have to be by Israel’s side because nobody else is going to be by Israel’s side. And you see the effects of the systemic antisemitism that is rife throughout the UN system. It’s one of the reasons that we withdraw from several major UN organizations.
Curtis: Do you see how difficult it is for you when approached by these other countries, and you hear that line from them—for you to defend what you just said when you’ve made these other comments—how do you say to some of these other foreign nations diplomats when they echo that same thinking that you have echoed, that they’re wrong?
OK, so let me give you a specific on the same podcast. The host—and I understand this is the host, not you—he criticized Jews for claiming “special victim status” because of the Holocaust. He said that the State of Israel is not a victim, but instead a perpetrator. And said, how long are you going to rest on the Holocaust? Because based on how you are treating the Palestinians now. That was the host, but this was your response, “right, right. Yeah, no, I mean, I think that’s true.” So, given that, when asked by other diplomats who do come with these agendas that you referred to in your remarks, how do you push back on that when you didn’t push back on that moderator?
Carl: Sure. Senator, first of all, thank you for the question, and I would have to review the podcasting question that you mentioned. I would have to review the podcast in question—I do a lot of podcasts that I’m not familiar with.
Curtis: I have given you your exact words.
Carl: I know, I’m sure that they’re accurate. I’m sure that they’re accurate.
Curtis: Trust me, those diplomats also know your exact words. So, let me ask you this question: do you believe that it is remotely acceptable to compare the Holocaust to the war launched after October 7th?
Carl: Absolutely not. Senator.
Curtis: Okay, well, I’m out of time. I think you can sense for my questions, my concerns. You have not been nominated to some random position, to a post where you get a second chance on these issues. But you’re the principal manager of the U.S. multilateral policy. Anti-Israel bias in international organizations is part of—and you know this—is a broader strategy to undermine the United States and our legitimacy. I don’t know that I’ve been convinced that you understand the threat posed to the West and the narrative. I regret that I’m out of time.