LI Pols Decrying Violence In Israel, Gaza Warn About Commentary

ALBANY, NY — Long Island lawmakers are airing concerns over comments about the escalating violence between Palestine and Israel that has left over 100 people dead in recent days.

State Sen. Anna M. Kaplan (D-North Hills) said “the rise in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic rhetoric and actions that has exploded since this crisis began” and asked commentators to "understand how dangerous it is to fill our public square with misinformed hate speech against any group.”

“We all share a common humanity and every human being deserves to live in a peaceful and just world,” she added.

Kaplan said she felt it was her duty to speak out in support of Israel as the only Jewish religious refugee in the state Legislature, calling the rocket attacks on civilian areas in Israel “acts of terror that no country in the world would tolerate without a response, and Israel has a right and duty to protect itself and its citizens from such attacks.”

“That said, my heart breaks for the lives of those lost on both sides, and I’m deeply concerned about the escalation of violence we are seeing,” she said, adding that she hopes all sides of the conflict will find a path toward “meaningful dialogue that will peacefully resolve this situation as quickly as possible before more innocent blood is shed.”

Assemblyman Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove) described the loss of life in Israel and Gaza in recent days as “deplorable." He said it "comes as no surprise that some elected officials have responded to this tragedy by calling for the eradication of the State of Israel."

"Israel is America and New York’s staunchest ally. An attack on its right to exist is an attack on America’s and New York’s best interests,” he said.

Lavine said more than 1,000 missiles have been launched against Israel by Hamas militants who “control Gaza,” adding, "their objective is to terrorize the Israeli people.”

“History makes clear that the response of the government of Israel will cease as soon as Hamas decides that it is time to end its attack,” he said. “While almost all calling for the death of Israel will surely maintain that they have no hatred for Jews, we can no longer humor that ideation as they call for the termination of the nation state of the Jewish people. Such reprehensible rhetoric must be condemned.”

Israel has deployed ground troops following a wave of violence that has seen air strikes, rocket attacks and sectarian violence, The New York Times reported. Stateside politicians weighing in on the carnage have seen some backlash for their comments.

Representatives for Kaplan and Lavine would not identify the comments that sparked the statements, but instead spoke in generalities about the rhetoric in response to the ongoing conflict.

New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang publicly aired support for Israel, saying he was standing with the people of Israel and condemned Hamas as terrorists, upsetting some because he left out the Palestinians who were killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to The Times.

U.S. Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx) referred to the Israeli military as the "occupation" and called Yang's comment "utterly shameful" because it was made during the Muslim holy season of Ramadan, The Times reported.

Yang later walked his statements back, saying he "mourned for every Palestinian life taken before its time as I do for every Israeli."

Ocasio-Cortez took at a shot at President Joe Biden on Wednesday after he said that Israel had a right to defend itself against the attacks of Hamas, the New York Post reported. In a post on social media, she wrote that blanket statements without "little context or acknowledgement of what precipitated this cycle of violence — namely, the expulsions of Palestinians and attacks on Al Aqsa — dehumanize Palestinians & imply the US will look the other way at human rights violations. It's wrong."