Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a joint
resolution from the Alabama legislature on April 9, expressing the
state’s “unequivocal support” for Israel in its war against Hamas.
Arthur Orr, a state senator, presented the
resolution, SJR 29, which details Alabama’s historical support for
Israel and honors the memory of those killed on Oct. 7 in an
“unwarranted and unjustified vicious assault.”
Anat Sultan-Dadon, Israel’s consul general
to the Southeastern United States who is based in Atlanta, said that as
Israel fights a genocidal terrorist group, “We are grateful to the
state of Alabama for its clear stand against terror and in support of
Israel.”
Sultan-Dadon stated that she was pleased
that the resolution included references to the “intentional and
systematic” torture and gender-based violence committed by Hamas against
Israelis, since “to a large extent we have seen international women’s
organizations stay silent in the face of these atrocities.”
The resolution
not only condemns Hamas, but also “all those who support their violent,
genocidal, and hateful acts—globally, in the United States and in the
State of Alabama.”
It also references attempts by Hamas to
“ethnically cleanse the land of Jews” and reaffirms “unequivocal support
for the State of Israel as a Jewish state,” recognizes that the Jewish
people are indigenous to the land, condemns all attacks on the people of
Israel and supports Israel “in lawful acts of self-defense.”
The resolution also opposes economic and
political isolation of Israel internationally, and “all efforts to
assault the legitimacy of Israel as the sovereign homeland of the Jewish
People.”
It concludes by rejecting the claim that
Jews are colonizers or occupiers in Israel, citing “testimony including
more than 3,000 years of archaeology and history.”
The statement is important, “because of
all the false narratives we hear about us, as if we are so-called
occupiers of the land,” Sultan-Dadon said, “and recognizes our historic
ties to our ancient homeland.”
Many legislators attended a March 5
screening of the raw footage from the Oct. 7 atrocities, which the
Israeli Consulate held in Montgomery. There have also been screenings in
Birmingham and Huntsville.
That night, the state Senate passed the
resolution unanimously, with all senators added to the bill as
co-sponsors. The bill then went to the House, where it was passed on
March 7, and officially enrolled on March 14. The passage in both
chambers was by voice vote.
The delay in publicizing the resolution
was due to an attempt to schedule a public signing ceremony with Ivey
and Sultan-Dadon, and to avoid anti-Israel protests like the ones that
have occurred at delegation meetings earlier in the year.
Sultan-Dadon said it was important to note
the overwhelming bipartisan support for the resolution—“a reflection of
the nature of the U.S.-Israel relationship, which have always been and
should always remain bipartisan.”
The war against Hamas is not just Israel’s fight; it’s part of the larger fight against Iran, she added.
“The fight for life, freedom and humanity
is the fight of the entire free world, in stark opposition to those who
glorify death and seek a radical Islamist world order,” she said.
John Buhler, co-chair of the interfaith
Alabama-Israel Task Force, said that the resolution “made
a strong and emphatic statement as an uproar of false accusations and
misleading narratives unjustly condemn Israel and assert a nauseating
false equivalence with the genocidal atrocities of Hamas.”
“It is vital to not remain silent and bear
witness to the truth when so many shout or repeat unfounded outrageous
claims, echoing Hamas, originally fueled by bigotry and Jew-hatred and
now twisted and cloaked in a facade of justice and nobility to infer
Israel is somehow to blame or at fault,” he added.
The resolution is the latest in a long series for the state.
Alabama was the first state to call for
the establishment of the Jewish homeland, in 1943, five years before
Israel’s rebirth. In 2019, Alabama was reportedly the first state to use
the language “eternal undivided capital of Israel,” referring to
Jerusalem.
“We commend Alabama for once again standing on the right side of history,” Sultan-Dadon said.
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