Stefanik receives top Jewish award days after announcing New York governor bid at Manhattan gala

Rep. Elise Stefanik on Monday night accepted the World Jewish Congress' highest honor, vowing to continue fighting antisemitism and defending what she called "the very Western values that have shaped America" just days after announcing her bid for New York governor.

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' highest honor and recognizes individuals who embody Herzl's vision for a secure and self-reliant Jewish people.

"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's vision - not only of a Jewish homeland, but of a Jewish people strong, self-reliant, and respected among the nations."

"It is deeply humbling to receive the Theodor Herzl Award from the World Jewish Congress - 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 of free nations."

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Stefanik described her fight against antisemitism in Congress and on college campuses, recalling her viral 2023 hearing with the presidents of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania.

"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 'yes.' But one after another after another said, 'it depends on the context.' And the world heard. Let me be clear. It does NOT depend on the context."

She said that exchange "set off a global reckoning and delivered accountability in higher education that we are still just beginning."

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Turning to New York, Stefanik said the state "is not just a city and state in crisis - it is the epicenter of the battle for the very Western values that have shaped America."

"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 - the beloved home to more Jews than anywhere outside of Israel - where antisemitic incidents hit an all-time high last year, the highest count in the nation."

"My friends, Theodor Herzl's story is not ancient history," she said. "That is the spirit I see in this room tonight - the spirit that built Israel, the spirit that has always animated the Jewish people, and the spirit that will save New York."

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The award comes a day after billionaire philanthropist Miriam Adelson voiced support for Rep. Elise Stefanik's New York gubernatorial bid during the Zionist Organization of America's Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner.

Stefanik, chairwoman of the House Republican Leadership, was honored with the Zionist Organization of America's Mortimer Zuckerman Maccabee Warrior Award for her efforts to combat antisemitism.

Introducing her at the gala, Adelson lauded Stefanik for confronting university leaders over antisemitism and invoked her late husband Sheldon Adelson's insistence on moral conviction.

Adelson described Stefanik as "a great leader," crediting her for defending "the Jewish people, Israel and the Free World."

Stefanik launched her long-anticipated Republican campaign for New York governor on Friday, entering the 2026 race as she challenges Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hochul's office for a comment.

Stefanik, who once criticized President Donald Trump during his first presidential run, has since become one of his staunchest defenders in Congress.

Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.