Iowa House passes resolution supporting Israel

DES MOINES — The Iowa House of Representatives passed a resolution Thursday declaring its support for Israel and its continued campaign in Gaza against Hamas, drawing protest from activists calling for a cease-fire in the ongoing war.

The resolution passed by a voice vote in the House without a record of how each lawmaker voted.

Republicans and many Democrats appeared to support the resolution, while a few “no” votes rang out from House Democrats. People who rallied against the vote Thursday also shouted from the gallery before being removed by Iowa State Patrol officers.

The pro-Palestinian activists said lawmakers should have called for a cease-fire rather than pass the resolution signaling unconditional support to Israel.

The resolution says it is “affirming the State of Iowa’s support for the State of Israel and condemning the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.”

In the resolution, lawmakers said they recognize Israel’s “right to act decisively and unilaterally in self-defense” and to oppose any calls for a cease-fire.

The resolutions further affirms Israel’s right to “pursue, without interference or condemnation, the elimination of Hamas and any other affiliated terrorist groups until Hamas and all such groups are permanently neutralized.”

Bipartisan support

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House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, told reporters Thursday the resolution was a continuation of the state of Iowa’s long-running support for Israel as an ally of the United States. He said the resolution had significant bipartisan support.

“When it comes to any terrorist organization, we’re going to stand with our ally, what we have in Israel, so I don’t think that today, the action that we took was any different than we historically would have taken in my time in the Legislature," Grassley said.

"No one wants to see any level of death and destruction that's going on overseas, but an unprovoked attack that we saw happen a couple months ago, also as an ally of that country, that's not something that we can just ignore," he added.

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Rep. Sami Scheetz, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids and the only Arab American in the Iowa House, said at a Thursday news conference that the majority Republicans did not ask for input from him or other Democrats on the resolution’s language.

Scheetz, who voted against the resolution, said he condemns “all violence against the Israeli and Palestinian people” as well as antisemitism and anti-Arab rhetoric, but that continuing violence in the region would not resolve the conflict.

“This is not justice that will lead to a lasting peace. This is chaos and destruction,” he said. “It has become clear that there is no military solution that will bring stability to Gaza. That's why I voted no on the Republican resolution this morning and continue to call for a cease-fire.”

More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its campaign against Hamas after the Oct. 7 attacks in the country. Around 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed in that attack.

House Democratic leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights did not say how she voted on the resolution.

“My members have every ability to have a conversation on their own outside this room of what needs to happen,” she told reporters Wednesday. “But what I'll tell you is the Israel-Hamas situation will not be solved through the Iowa Legislature, and it's not really under our purview.”

Activists opposed

About two dozen people gathered in the Capitol rotunda Thursday morning ahead of the vote, calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, leading chants and impromptu speeches condemning Israel's actions and Iowa legislators.

Dani Misyuk, a Jewish member of Iowa City Action for Palestine, said the conflict and the reactions to it are deeply personal.

“My religion and culture is being used to justify genocide, and I’m here to say that is not OK with me personally,” Misyuk said. " … We have Palestinian people here in Iowa, and they have family there, or they're affected here, too, and we have to stand up for them and with them."

Stripping aid from students deemed supportive of terrorists

Two Republican lawmakers proposed a bill Thursday that would block students from receiving financial aid, and cancel student groups’ registrations, if they endorse or promote terrorism or any group designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

The bill would give the Iowa Attorney General authority to determine whether a statement or action constitutes support for terrorism.

Rep. Taylor Collins of Mediapolis, one of the bill’s sponsors, said it was inspired by people supporting Hamas after the Oct. 7 attacks. Rep. Austin Harris of Moulton was the other sponsor of the bill

Collins said a statement that features the slogan “from the river to the sea” could be considered support for terrorism under the bill. The University of Iowa Democrats received backlash from the state party last year for posting a statement with the slogan, which some anti-hate groups consider to be antisemitic.

“I have a lot of confidence in the Attorney General’s Office in discerning free speech from actual support of terrorism, and it should be a conversation as the bill moves through the process,” Collins said.

Comments: cmccullough@qctimes.com