When word of the horrors committed by Hamas against the people of Israel reached New Hampshire a year ago, Granite State political leaders were united in their response: Condemnation of the terrorists and support for the Jewish state.
When Granite Staters gather at the State House Monday night, however, the political environment will be very different. While Gov. Chris Sununu has declared it a “Day of Observance to Honor Victims of Terrorist Attacks on Israel,” many progressives will continue nearly a year of protests against what they call the “apartheid state” of Israel and the “genocide” they claim it’s inflicting on Palestinians.
And while few elected Democrats in New Hampshire are joining in the antisemitic chants of “From the river to the sea,” many have spent the year since the Hamas attack either criticizing Israel’s political leadership, questioning U.S. military aid to Jerusalem, or opposing Israel’s response.
“New Hampshire stands hand-in-hand with the people of Israel as we mark the one-year anniversary of the unprovoked, brutal attacks against innocent Israelis and horrific loss of life. Today and every day, our support of Israel is unwavering,” Sununu said in his proclamation.
But “unwavering” hardly describes the public statements of prominent Democrats.
For example, on Oct, 9, 2023, just two days after the bloody Hamas attack, progressive U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) was already publicly calling on Israel to “de-escalate” its response.
Other Democrats, like U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) would soon join Markey in pressuring Israel to restrict its response to the slaughter committed at the hands of Hamas.
In May, Shaheen was attacking Israel for going too far in its response. She denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “not being reasonable” by waging a ground war in Gaza to eliminate Hamas and she publicly demanded that Israel not go into Rafah.
Two days later, Israel did just that.
Shaheen was hardly alone among Granite State Democrats in turning her criticism toward Israel.
In November, when Congress passed a bipartisan resolution condemning U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for using the “river to the sea” slogan on the House floor, Rep. Annie Kuster voted against it, siding with her longtime political ally instead.
And last spring when anti-Israel activists were protesting on college campuses, including calls for an end to the nation of Israel, Kuster acknowledged she and her fellow Democrats were “holding back” on criticizing the protests due to partisan concerns.
“It just has become this confrontation. And in certain states like Michigan, there are big Arab American populations, big Jewish populations, it’s roiling all kinds of groups,” Kuster said in May.
Granite State Republicans did not share those sentiments.
“One hundred percent, this is pure antisemitism,” Sununu said of the protests. “This is pure hatred. It is.”
Meanwhile, Democrat-run cities like Dover, Hanover, and Lebanon passed ceasefire resolutions urging Israel to end its military action and allow Hamas to remain in power in Gaza. And Democrat state representatives like Alissandra Murray (D-Manchester) were declaring Israel guilty of “genocide”
The Democratic stance that Israel is the problem still holds sway.
In a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday night, Vice President Kamala Harris said she will continue pressuring Israel to end its military campaign, despite the massive defeats it’s inflicting on Hezbollah and Hamas.
“The work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles, which include the need for humanitarian aid, the need for this war to end, the need for a deal to be done, which would release the hostages and create a cease-fire,” Harris said.
Not every New Hampshire Democrat is on board with presenting Israel as the source of the problem. U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas publicly denounced the “river to the sea” chant as “a rallying cry for the destruction of the State of Israel and genocide of the Jewish people.” He’s also broken with his own party to cast pro-Israel votes since the Oct. 7 attack.
The anti-Israel sentiment inside the Democratic Party base is undeniable. Even Democratic congressional candidate Maggie Goodlander, who’s been endorsed by the pro-Israel AIPAC, declined to give a direct answer when asked what she would say to refute her fellow party members accusing Israel of genocide.
“When it comes to questions about whether a nation state has committed a war crime, these are judgments that are made by prosecutors and investigators, not by congressional candidates,” Goodlander answered.
Tracy Richmond, Board Chair of the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire, has condemned the anti-Israel (and sometimes antisemitic) statements and actions she’s seen in the Granite State during the past year. She’s urged the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth College to protect Jewish students who, in the past 12 months, have been targets of harassment on college campuses.
Asked about her thoughts on the eve of the Oct. 7 anniversary, Richmond focused on the support Israel continues to receive from many people, in New Hampshire and around the world.
“It’s hard to fathom that we are now at the one-year mark of the massacre of 1,400 innocent citizens in Israel,” Richmond told NHJournal. “Not a day goes by that the Jewish community all over the world isn’t mourning the loss of our loved ones and praying for the safe return of our hostages still being held in Gaza.
“As our community comes together in prayer and hope we are thankful for all the love, support and continued focus on the safety of our beloved state of Israel.”
