Wisconsin Lawmakers Vote to Condemn Deadly Attack in Israel

Thursday, October 19th, 2023 -- 1:00 PM

(Jessie Opoien, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) 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.

According to Jessie Opoien with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 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.

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 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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