New Hampshire’s senior U.S. senator says Israel has gone too far in its military response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack, and evaded answering whether America’s ally is “behaving in a genocidal manner.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) made her comments during a wide-ranging interview with WMUR’s Adam Sexton, covering topics ranging from aid to Ukraine to the Democratic primary for governor.
When asked about the $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine recently approved by Congress, Shaheen—who serves on both the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees—said it was vital to American interests.
“It’s critical to send a message to both our allies and our adversaries that the United States can be counted on, that when we make a commitment, we live up to that commitment,” she told Sexton.
However, she was unwilling to say that America’s commitment includes a Ukrainian victory against Vladimir Putin or the Russian invaders.
“At a certain point, something has to happen. So what do you see as the end game in Ukraine?” Sexton asked.
“Well, we are supporting Ukraine. Ukraine has to decide what the end game is for Ukraine,” Shaheen said.
That’s a very different message from Biden’s original call for a Ukrainian victory, and it echoes the message from Washington that the Biden administration is looking for a way to declare a partial ‘victory’ in Ukraine and then reach a negotiated settlement with Russia.
But it was Shaheen’s statements regarding Israel that raised the most eyebrows.
Asked if she believes that Israel under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is engaging in a reasonable, proportionate response to last year’s terror attacks,” Shaheen said no.
“I don’t believe that Netanyahu is doing that,” Shaheen said, adding that Israel should not move into Rafah to destroy what remains of the Hamas military organization.
“The policy of the United States is that we do not want to see him go into Rafah. We have a million and a half Palestinians who are there with no place to go. There would be even more devastating losses for Palestinians, mostly women and children who were affected, and that’s not acceptable,” Shaheen said.
And while President Joe Biden and his administration reject the accusation that Israel is engaged in genocide as it wages war against Hamas in Gaza (“We don’t have any evidence of genocide being created”), Shaheen was unwilling to say the same.
“Do you agree with some people who say that Israel is behaving in a genocidal manner right now?” Sexton asked.
Rather than a yes-or-no answer, Shaheen replied, “I think Israel is responding to an attack on its homeland on Oct. 7. That was a terrorist attack, killed more Israelis in the country than anything since the Holocaust, just horrific. I saw some of that raw video footage taken by Hamas of the killing, raping of women, sexual violence, just totally unacceptable.
“Israel had a right to defend itself. And I think that was appropriate and they need to continue to be able to defend themselves against a terrorist organization, which is what Hamas is,” Shaheen said.
Shaheen said the U.S. should continue to push Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas that includes the release of the hostages held by the terrorist organization.
Asked if a two-state solution is still possible in the current environment, Shaheen said, “The only answer has to be a separate Palestinian state. The fact that we are where we are today is because that has not happened yet.”
Some of Shaheen’s Democratic colleagues in the Senate have a different view of the conflict.
“This is a just war against Hamas—terrorists who designed and instigated the 10/7 massacre,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) posted on X. As for restricting Israel’s response, Fetterman added, “I will never support any kind of conditions on Israel during this… Hamas is responsible for all of this.”
Richard Goldberg, senior advisor at the nonpartisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told NHJournal that Shaheen’s claim about the disproportionate Israeli response isn’t backed by the data.
“Israel has conducted an unprecedented campaign against a brutal terrorist organization that uses human shields with a remarkably low ratio of terrorist to civilian deaths. Any suggestion to the contrary is rooted in Hamas propaganda, not in facts. Data scientists have roundly rejected false Hamas casualty claims that most deaths have been women and children, Hamas purposefully won’t confirm its own losses, and we don’t have any way to know how many civilians have been killed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.”
“Israel has facilitated the evacuation of civilians from every major population center ahead of major military operations, and there’s no indication that would change for Rafah. Only Iran and its terror proxies benefit from holding Israel back from dismantling Hamas command and control in Gaza.”
Goldberg also said Shaheen’s rhetoric, coming from a high-ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, undermines efforts to get hostages released and bring about a surrender of Hamas.
“Every time an American official comes out against an Israeli operation in Rafah, Hamas feels more emboldened to reject hostage deals and Tehran feels more emboldened to escalate on every other front,” Goldberg said.
During the WMUR interview, Shaheen said she agrees with Gov. Chris Sununu that “antisemitism has been a part” of the motivation for protests on campuses in New Hampshire, and she praised how the police handled illegal protests at UNH and Dartmouth.
Shaheen also said she has no plans to endorse in the New Hampshire Democratic gubernatorial primary.
“I think it’s important to try and help both candidates. I’m a fan of both Cinde Warmington and Joyce Craig, and I’ve worked very closely with them over the years,” Shaheen said. “Either one of them would be an excellent governor.”
