Iowa’s Hinson, Ernst press feds to crack down on ‘pro-Hamas’ activity

DES MOINES — Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson are pressing multiple federal agencies to protect Jewish Americans from discrimination, their offices said Thursday.

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Starting Oct. 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel that killed 1,400 people, through Oct. 23, antisemitic incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault in the U.S. increased by 388 percent over the same period last year, according to preliminary data from the Anti-Defamation League.

Ernst helped lead a group of U.S. senators in demanding the federal education department ensure Jewish and Israeli students are not subject to discrimination, Ernst’s office said.

And Hinson joined 34 Republicans on a letter calling on the federal justice department to investigate pro-Hamas groups and protect Jewish communities from a surge in antisemitic threats, she told reporters during a conference call Thursday.

“I have been disturbed to witness pro-Hamas demonstrations and a rise in antisemitic rhetoric in the United States, even in Cedar Rapids,” Hinson said.

Demonstrators gathered Saturday in downtown Cedar Rapids in solidarity with Palestine, calling for a cease fire and an end to U.S. aid to Israel and criticizing U.S. leaders' response to the Israel-Hamas war.

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About 60 people participated in chants, a vigil honoring lives lost in Gaza and listened to local speakers.

In the two weeks since the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its assault on Israel, killing 1,400 people and taking 200 hostages, more than 4,000 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 13,000 injured since the Israel-Hamas war began, according to Palestinian authorities.

Demonstrators argued Israel’s blockade and airstrikes launched in the wake of a brutal incursion into southern Israel by the Hamas militant group that controls Gaza “isn’t a defense, it’s an offense” — meting out collective punishment on Palestinians, killing hundreds and trapping millions in a war zone cut off from vital resources.

Ariel Levin, of Iowa City, is a member of the Jewish Voice for Peace, which labels itself as a grassroots, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews who stand in “solidarity with Palestinian freedom struggle.”

“As American Jews we refuse to let our grief and our fear be a weapon used to justify the murder of more Palestinians, and to justify the action of … an apartheid system that threatens the lives and well-being of Palestinians for the past 75 years,” Levin said.

An organizer of Saturday’s protest march and vigil in Cedar Rapids, said their opposition is to the Israeli government and condemnation of their colonialist practices that have led to the “displacement, torture and murder of countless Palestinians,” and was not a condemnation of the Jewish people.

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“Speaking against the actions of Israel is not antisemitism; it is anti-Zionism,” organizer Mariam “Mimi” Daoud said in a news release sent to media outlets. “ … We unapologetically stand with Palestine and stand for the liberation of the Palestinian people. We believe that the current climate in Gaza falls on the shoulders of the Israeli government, and no one else.”

Daoud led demonstrators in chants of “resistance is justified when people are occupied.”

Group now chanting “resistance is justified when people are occupied.” pic.twitter.com/oWsRSPlvH4

— Tom Barton (@tjbarton83) October 21, 2023

Hinson responded on social media, posting: “Hamas terrorists murdered Israeli families, raped women & dragged their bodies through the streets, killed 30 Americans & are still holding more hostage.”

Hamas terrorists murdered Israeli families, raped women & dragged their bodies through the streets, killed 30 Americans & are still holding more hostage.

This is good vs. evil. There is no justification.

We must call out those who apologize for Hamas & espouse anti-Semitism. https://t.co/kqh3L0hpS4

— Ashley Hinson (@RepAshleyHinson) October 23, 2023

“Slaughtering entire families isn’t ‘resistance’,” Hinson wrote in another post. “Murdering babies and raping women isn’t ‘resistance.’ Terrorism isn’t ‘resistance.’”

Slaughtering entire families isn’t “resistance.”

Murdering babies and raping women isn’t “resistance.”

Terrorism isn’t “resistance.”

I stand with Israel. https://t.co/ochnJA92IV

— Ashley Hinson (@RepAshleyHinson) October 23, 2023

Hinson, talking to reporters, said “freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our nation, but coordinated activities supporting Hamas and intimidating and endangering other citizens have no place in our lawful society.”

Daoud, in a video posted to social media site X, formerly Twitter, said Saturday’s event was intended to mourn lives lost in Palestine, and that condemnation of rallies in support of Palestine ignores atrocities committed by Israeli forces against the Palestinian people over the decades.

lowa Rep. Ashley Hinson had some interesting thoughts about Cedar Rapids mourning the loss of Palestinian lives. This is my response. #StandWithPalestine #StandWithPalestine #FreePalestinehttps://t.co/Pp45DJWz2p

— Mimi Daoud (@mimidaoud101) October 25, 2023

“The killing of over 4,500 Palestinians will never be justified with the attempt of finding Hamas soldiers,” Daoud said in the video, noting Israel had helped the creation of Hamas as a counter to Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) during 1980s.

Ernst’s letter, with Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, cites examples of antisemitism on college campuses since the Oct. 7 attacks.

“We are significantly concerned that your Department is not ensuring American universities are fostering a safe learning environment for all students after the terrorist organization Hamas’ violent attack on civilians, including Americans and Israeli citizens,” says the letter to the U.S. Department of Education. “Therefore, we write to urgently understand what the Department of Education is doing to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and ensure Jewish or Israeli college and university students are not subjected to discrimination based on race, color or national origin.”

Ernst’s office noted that she has signed off on proposed legislation from South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican candidate for president, that would cut federal funding to any college or university that “excuses or encourages anti-Semitism.”

Iowa donating protective equipment to Israel

Iowa will donate to Israel more than 200 pallets of what Gov. Kim Reynolds said is excess personal protective equipment from the state’s stockpile, according to a social media post from Reynolds’ official office account.

“Iowa is donating nearly 208 pallets of excess PPE from our state stockpile to a nonprofit that will be sent to Israel,” the post says. “We will continue to pray for Israel and their safety!”

The social media post did not include any further details about the equipment being donated. The Gazette has reached out to the governor’s office for more information.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com