Assembly lawmakers condemn Hamas attacks, three Milwaukee reps abstain

MADISON - Wisconsin lawmakers voted Thursday to condemn last week's surprise deadly attacks by Hamas militants on several Israeli towns, with three Milwaukee Democrats voting to abstain from the resolution.

Reps. Ryan Clancy, Darrin Madison and LaKeshia Myers abstained from voting on the resolution, which condemned the massive and coordinated attack that has killed more than 1,000 Israelis as of Thursday.

Israel has declared war in retaliation and has vowed a complete siege of Gaza, a narrow strip of Palestinian territory with over two million residents.

Israel's armed forces have been repeatedly bombarding Gaza for several days in retaliation for Saturday's stunning Hamas attack in Israeli territory that killed at least 1,300 and left behind a trail of atrocities U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called "depravity in the worst imaginable way.''

Following the Assembly vote, Madison said "I'm not interested in making a statement" about his abstention.

Madison later clarified in a statement Thursday evening that he abstained because the resolution called for 'unwavering support to Israeli sovereignty' without also calling for an end to the occupation of Palestine."

He also called for an immediate ceasefire and "work towards lasting peace."

“I mourn deeply for the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives and unequivocally condemn the war crimes committed by Hamas. The killing of innocent civilians is never acceptable," Madison said. "I believe that the responsible way out of this crisis is to acknowledge that both Palestine and Israel have the right to self-determination."

Clancy told the Journal Sentinel he condemns Hamas' attacks on Israeli civilians but did not support the resolution because it pledged "unwavering commitment to Israel's sovereignty" and characterized the attacks as "barbaric" and "evil."

"Using the terms barbaric and evil is not particularly helpful," he said. "A lot of the work that I've done in Israel and Palestine and in Gaza, even even decades ago was really focused on finding the humanity in each other. And that sort of language is just the opposite."

Clancy said if the resolution had included "an explicit acknowledgement that Palestine should exist" he would have supported it.

In a social media post following the passage of the resolution, Myers suggested Israel has also engaged in terrorism.

"Terrorism is deplorable. No matter who the perpetrators are. Terrorism cosplaying as democracy also doesn’t make it anything else; it’s still terrorism," she wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Some pro-Palestinian groups and advocates have pushed back on the idea that the attack was unprovoked.

Janan Najeeb, president of the Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition, told the Journal Sentinel earlier this week that Palestinians have been "constantly killed and oppressed" and said decades of oppression of Palestinians by Israel triggered the new war.

The resolution, which passed unanimously by voting members, said Hamas "attacked Israel without provocation, murdering innocent civilians and that Wisconsin lawmakers "stands in solidarity with the Israeli people and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to Israel's sovereignty and security."

"... the Israeli people have suffered a violent attack, clearly designed to maximize terror and harm to civilians, resulting in the largest mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust," the resolution, drafted by Democratic state Rep. Lisa Subeck of Madison, who is Jewish, said. "... this attack is yet another instance of the centuries-long persecution and anti-Semitism that Jewish people have suffered."

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson in a statement said "the murderous terrorist attack by Hamas cannot possibly be justified, and I completely support Israel’s right to defend itself and to protect its citizens."

"People everywhere deserve to live in peace. People everywhere deserve to be safe from hostilities," Johnson said.

In a statement released late Thursday, the Jewish Community Relations Council thanked Assembly lawmakers for the commitment of support.

"The Jewish Community of Milwaukee is forever thankful to those who voted to stand on the right side of history."

Tyler Katzenberger of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

Molly Beck can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Assembly lawmakers condemn Hamas attacks, three Milwaukee reps abstain