. >> ♪ i was born free i was born free ♪ ♪ fmr. vice pres. pence: thank you for that warm welcome. an honor to be here with so many friends of so many years. and fellow patriots, it is such a time as this that the republican jewish coalition annual leadership summit is more important than ever before. mr. pence: thank you for your years of leadership, strengthening the ties that bind america and our most cherished ally, israel. thank you for bringing us together today, this crucial moment in the history of israel, the region, and the world. october 7, israel endured the most brutal assault on jewish people since the holocaust. more than 1400 innocent men, women, and children lost their lives. hundreds more were kidnapped. held hostage still to this hour. in this dark hour, every american leader should speak with one voice and say to the world, america stands with israel. [applause] we stand with israel for the same reason the american people have always stood with israel. we stand with israel because her cause is our cause, her values are our values, her fight is our fight. we stan