Update: Rep. Ilana Rubel (D-Boise) confirmed on Wednesday that representatives Barbara Ehardt (R- Idaho Falls), Josh Tanner (R-Eagle), Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa), John Shirts (R-Weiser) and herself were in Israel.
"Pro Tem [Kelly] Anthon [(R-Burley)] was supposed to be here but became very ill and had to return. It is an all state legislators,” she wrote in a message to Boise State Public Radio. "We were assured that our attendance is not an endorsement of the current government but rather an opportunity to learn and ask questions. No Idaho taxpayer funds were used for this trip."
Original Post: As Israel invades Gaza City with ground troops, Idaho lawmakers are among 250 elected representatives visiting the country this week.
Republican Rep. Barbara Ehardt, Rep. Josh Tanner and Rep. Bruce Skaug, alongside Democrat Rep. Ilana Rubel were part of the delegation on the Israeli-sponsored trip. Their participation was not publicized ahead of time and none responded to multiple requests for comment. The legislators’ presence was confirmed by pictures posted on social media and The Times of Israel. The trip was organized by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Speaking to the delegation at a press conference in Jerusalem Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it the biggest delegation of legislators ever to visit Israel.
“We cherish the fact that we have the constancy of American support, despite the attempts to erode it, and will continue to work to make sure that that continues on both sides of the aisle,” he said.
According to Israeli media, the visit, called “50 States, One Israel,” is part of an ongoing campaign from the Middle Eastern country to prevent boycotts against the Jewish State.
At the conference, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar urged the legislators to pass anti-Boycott, Divest and Sanctions laws in their states, preventing public entities from contracting with organizations that boycott Israel.
“The boycotters must be boycotted. Those who delegitimize must themselves be delegitimized,” Sa’ar said. “The tools may be new, but the name of this campaign is very ancient. It is anti-Semitism, and its new form is the delegitimization of the State of Israel, the only Jewish state.”
A little more than half of U.S. states already have such laws, including Idaho.
“It's a part of a larger, ongoing public diplomacy campaign led by my ministry, and is part of our effort to strengthen the great Israeli-American Alliance. Israel has no greater friend than America. The US is a global superpower, but it is also a moral superpower,” Sa’ar said.
The United Nations reports Israel has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, including 17,000 children, since Hamas killed more than 1200 Israelis in the terror attacks of October 2023 and took hundreds hostage. The UN also concluded Israeli blockades on humanitarian aid have caused “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease,” threatening about a million Palestinians with famine. Bombings have displaced 90% of the population.
A UN report released Tuesday concluded Israeli security forces have committed crimes against humanity in Gaza.
“The commission concluded that Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, and that it is continuing with that genocide,” UN Human Rights Council’s Navi Pillay said in a video posted by the BBC.
“It is now almost two years since Israel launched its military campaign in the Gaza Strip in October 2023. This has been the most ruthless, prolonged and widespread attack against the Palestinian people since 1948. Every day that passes the killings and the starvation of the Palestinians continue.”
Social Media posts from the Israeli government show the delegation visited holy sites and where the October 7 attacks occurred. The Jerusalem Post reported U.S. legislators also planted 50 saplings from each American state.
