Wisconsin lawmakers pass bipartisan bill condemning Hamas attacks on Israeli towns

MADISON – Wisconsin lawmakers voted Tuesday to condemn this month's deadly attacks by Hamas militants on several Israeli towns, with a unanimous vote in the state Senate.

The resolution condemned the massive and coordinated attack that killed more than 1,400 Israelis earlier this month. Israel has declared war in retaliation and has vowed a complete siege of Gaza, a narrow strip of Palestinian territory with more than 2 million residents.

Israel's armed forces have been bombarding Gaza in retaliation for the stunning Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israeli territory that killed at least 1,400 and left behind a trail of atrocities U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called "depravity in the worst imaginable way."

Sen. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, authored the resolution with Democratic state Rep. Lisa Subeck of Madison, who is Jewish. Knodl noted during discussion on the resolution that his district has a significant Jewish population.

Knodl and former state Sen. Alberta Darling, who held the seat before him, were the authors of a bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers that requires Holocaust education at least once during middle school and once during high school.

"That was recognizing at that time …the Jewish community and their experiences over many generations," Knodl said, adding that he plans to introduce additional legislation to expand education.

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Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said he was glad the Senate passed the resolution condemning the Hamas attacks, but noted "this has also been an excruciating time for Palestinians along with their friends and families."

"It is insufficent to condemn violence from some while ignoring the weaponization of grief by others," Larson said, urging the U.S. to "join the calls for ceasefire and pursue a lasting peace in the region."

The resolution 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, and Republican state Sen. Dan Knodl of Germantown said. "... this attack is yet another instance of the centuries-long persecution and anti-Semitism that Jewish people have suffered."

The Assembly voted last week to pass the same resolution. It passed the Assembly unanimously among voting members; three Milwaukee Democrats abstained.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin passes bipartisan bill condemning Hamas attacks on Israel