From L-R, Vermont Reps. Matt Birong, Will Greer, Gina Galfetti, James Gregoire and Sarah “Sarita” Austin in Ofakim, Israel
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Five Vermont state lawmakers visited Israel last week on a trip sponsored by the Israeli government, even as Vermont’s congressional delegation and a United Nations commission accused the country of committing genocide.
Reps. Sarah “Sarita” Austin (D-Colchester), Matt Birong (D-Vergennes), Gina Galfetti (R-Barre), Will Greer (D-Bennington) and James Gregoire (R-Fairfield) were among 250 state legislators from across the United States to participate in a conference organized by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called “50 States, One Israel” that ran September 15-18.
During the junket, Israel’s top government officials called on state lawmakers to pass laws barring boycotts, divestments or sanctions against the Jewish state, among other policy discussions.
Conference participants also were invited to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem, travel to the border region near the Gaza Strip and plant trees in the southern city of Ofakim. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs covered state lawmakers’ expenses including air travel, lodging, ground transportation and meals.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as the biggest delegation of legislators that has ever visited Israel.
“We cherish the fact that we have the constancy of American support despite the attempts to erode it, and we’ll continue to work to make sure that that continues on both sides of the aisle,” Netanyahu said during his remarks to attendees.
The conference took place as the Israeli military launched its ground invasion of Gaza City and an independent United Nations commission released a report concluding that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The day after the report’s release, all three members of Vermont’s federal congressional delegation referred to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as genocide, marking the first time the entire delegation had used the term to describe the conflict.
“America has a moral responsibility to own our complicity in this genocide and to use our power to stop it,” Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), whose grandfather died in the Holocaust, wrote in an op-ed.
In August 2023, Balint participated in a trip to Israel paid for by the influential pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) alongside 23 other Democratic House members. Balint said at the time that the trip was an opportunity to bring her concerns about Netanyahu’s political coalition directly to its leaders.
Gregoire described this September’s trip as a rare opportunity to learn firsthand about the region’s history and ongoing conflict while acknowledging that the Israeli government would present a curated agenda.
“We wouldn’t have had those opportunities, any of us, to ask those questions if we stayed at our houses,” he said.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry invited five lawmakers from each state to attend the conference. The Vermont delegation and other conference attendees traveled to the border region with Gaza and talked with Israelis about their friendships with Palestinians, Gregoire said.
Attendees also planted 50 trees, one for each state, and visited the site of the Nova Music Festival, which was targeted by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023. Officials estimate roughly 1,200 people died in the attacks around southern Israel.
More than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters but it says the majority of those killed have been women and children.
Gregoire and Galfetti said that the response to the trip from their constituents has largely been positive since word of it has spread in recent days. People outside of Galfetti’s district, however, have condemned her decision to participate.
Outreach to the legislators was driven in part by a Vermont sub-Reddit and local pro-Palestinian organizations that criticized the lawmakers’ decision to visit Israel.
Austin and Birong did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Greer said in a public statement that he went to Israel not to support Netanyahu’s government nor “the genocide taking place in Gaza nor the ground offensive that has taken place as well in the past week.” Rather, he participated to represent and express his Bennington district’s views — without using taxpayer dollars, he emphasized.
“I do not want Vermont to be excluded from having conversations as they relate to our current concerns around, and hopes for, achieving peace in Gaza and The West Bank,” he wrote.
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