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The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has strongly condemned Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)’s repeated hostility to Israel, and supports the comments of Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington CEO Ron Halber who said that the Senator has "lost his way with support for Israel. He’s become the leading senator agitating against Israel in the United States Senate.” Sen. Van Hollen's spokesman responded with an attack on Halber personally, stating incorrectly that Halber was an “apologist for the Netanyahu government.”
Sen. Van Hollen's record on Israel is shameful. He has introduced a bill to deny U.S. weapons to Israel. He has defended the UN system that delivered international aid directly to the terrorists in Gaza and said that Israel was lying about Hamas stealing aid shipments. He has repeatedly, egregiously, and falsely accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza and has repeated the lying propaganda of Hamas regarding the number of civilians killed, falsely charging Israel with purposefully killing women and children. He has opposed Israeli proposals to clear civilians out of harm's way in Gaza. American Muslim Brotherhood affiliated groups praised Van Hollen for “moral clarity” after he falsely said the U.S. was complicit in Israel's intent to starve Gaza.
Even before the atrocities of the jihadist attack on Israel on October 7th, Van Hollen was hostile to Israel. He organized a letter to President Biden seeking to stop a reciprocal visa arrangement allowing Israelis to enter the U.S. more easily, for example. He advocated for additional aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA), even when U.S. law prohibited the aid because of continued payments made to Arab terrorists who murder Jews.
Since the atrocities of October 7th, Van Hollen has doubled down on support for the corrupt PA. He voted multiple times to deny Israel weapons it needed in the midst of war initiated by the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hamas. When the antisemitic attacks on U.S. campuses were in progress, he blocked a resolution condemning the pro-Muslim Hamas protesters. He opposed the U.S. bombing of Islamic Iran, wrongly predicting numerous American casualties, and has been a cheerleader for negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran that can only be called appeasement. Van Hollen has been a cheerleader for establishing a Palestinian Arab terror state, despite obvious indications the new state would be anti-American and an ally of Iran.
A cursory review of press releases featured on Van Hollen’s website reveals a serious absence of balance. Since Oct. 7, Sen. Van Hollen has issued nearly 30 statements whose primary subject was attacking Israel, and just three condemning Hamas. He has inappropriately interfered in Israel's domestic politics and has not accepted the democratic judgment of Israel's voters to choose their own leaders.
He was largely supported by Jewish voters in Maryland, but recently a public letter of reprimand from nearly 80 Maryland rabbis from across the state and denominational affiliations expressing deep concern about Van Hollen and his pronouncements. In the rabbis’ words, they are “aghast” at Van Hollen’s anti-Israel rhetoric.
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said:
"Senator Van Hollen has become a nightmare for his Jewish and pro-Israel constituents. There is no blood-libel of Israel that he will not repeat and spread. Van Hollen weaponizes the comments of a tiny number of Israel-hating Jews to claim there is a 'diversity of views held by the Jewish community of Maryland,' His personal attack on JCRC CEO Ron Halber for being an 'apologist for the Netanyahu government' is absurd. Mr. Halber and ZOA do not agree on many things, but this attack by Sen. Van Hollen is unwarranted and completely false.
"This is not an isolated incident. Van Hollen holds Israel in contempt and seemingly does not care about his pro-Israel constituents. He has acted as a spokesman for Israel's enemies repeatedly. His antipathy toward Israel and its democratically elected leaders must end."
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