Message from Congressman Scott Fitzgerald

Good afternoon everyone!

I hope you had a great weekend. I’m headed back to Washington, DC tomorrow to resume legislative work. Before I’m back in DC though, I’d like to tell you about a trip I just returned from in Israel.

I spent a week in Israel meeting with military and community leaders, and civilians to learn more about the country’s history and their ongoing fight against Hamas terrorists and efforts to bring home the more than 100 hostages Hamas still holds captive from their attack on October 7th.

During the trip I was able to visit the city of Jerusalem to learn more about the city’s ancient and modern roots. The City of David was another highlight of the trip where I was able to see the historic pilgrimage road from the Siloam Tunnel to the Temple Mount – which has remained unchanged for the past 2,000 years, having been carved out using only chisels and hammers.

A particularly meaningful part of the trip though—especially on the heels of Easter—was having the opportunity to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – considered by many to be the holiest site for Christians in the world. This is the site where Jesus was crucified and the site of Jesus' empty tomb, where he was buried and resurrected.

The trip of course included many educational sessions on the current security status of Israel, especially in the wake of October 7th.

Among those sessions was a briefing from Brig. Gen. (Res.) Nitzan Nuriel, the former director of the Counter Terrorism Bureau at the Prime Minister’s Office. Nuriel discussed the threat from Gaza and Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, as well as the other threats Israel is facing right now from Iran and its proxies.

Speaking with Jon Goldberg-Polin

I also had the opportunity to hear from Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin, parents of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The Goldberg-Polin’s bravely told Hersh’s story of how he was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival on the morning of October 7th after his arm was blown off by a Hamas grenade. He has been held hostage for over 180 days in Gaza.

Nova Music Festival Victim Tribute 

We visited the site of the Nova Music Festival on our trip. The festival site is where 400 young people at a dance party were viciously murdered, attacked, and kidnapped by Hamas. It was a solemn experience and my heart goes out to all of the families impacted.

Devastated home in Kibbutz Nir Oz

We also visited Kibbutz Nir Oz, which was one of the most devastated communities on October 7, with 1 in 4 members being killed or kidnapped. The guides who walked our group through the ravaged communities had family members murdered and kidnapped by Hamas. This was truly one of the more tragic and gruesome scenes of our visit. These homes were ravaged and set on fire by Hamas, not to mention the human and emotional toll that ensued.

Devastated home in Kibbutz Nir Oz

After visiting and paying our respects at these devastated sites, we met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Prime Minister discussed Israel’s plans to defeat Hamas and bring the hostages home. He then took questions from the group, including one from me which you can watch here. I was encouraged to hear him agree to deliver a joint address to Congress—something that Speaker Johnson also said he supports.

All in all, the trip was incredibly eyeopening and educational. Israel is our best ally in a very dangerous region of the world and it’s clear to me that the United States must remain steadfast in our support of our ally as they seek to end the terrorism that has stolen so many lives.

- Scott

That's a wrap for this week's eNewsletter! Follow me on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on my work for the 5th District of Wisconsin.

Sincerely,

Scott Fitzgerald
Member of Congress