(Source: MIRS.news, Published 10/09/2023) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took political heat over the weekend for a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, in which she didn't immediately express support for Israel in its new war against Hamas. Republicans such as 2022 gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon responded quickly by posting, "No American leader should struggle to say, 'We Stand With Israel.'"
A few hours later, Whitmer came out with a follow-up post that read that "there is no justification for violence against Israel." "Israel" was mentioned three times in the second tweet.
Whitmer's first X Post
I have been in touch with communities impacted by what’s happening in the region. It is abhorrent. My heart is with all those impacted. We need peace in this region.
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) October 7, 2023
Whitmer's second X Post
The images that continue to come out of Israel on the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War are devastating. The loss of lives in Israel –children and families – is absolutely heartbreaking and appalling. There is no justification for violence against Israel. My support is steadfast.
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) October 8, 2023
Speaking with reporters at an event Monday, Whitmer was asked if she regretted the first tweet she sent out given the backlash it received. Whitmer said no.
"I don't regret it," she said. She quickly added, "This is evolving, as I said, and it is very serious. There's been a massive loss of life, and it's heartbreaking to see what's happening, and the images coming out of Israel."
Whitmer said she's grateful to have so many wonderful friends and counsel in the Jewish community "who keep me apprised. I'm unequivocally supportive of Israel, and they have a right to defend themselves."
Meanwhile, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah HAMMOUD went a different direction with his post. He said "Israel's decades of illegal military occupation and imprisonment of Gaza made peace impossible and tragic violence inevitable." He accused Israel of trapping millions of Palestinians in Gaza in "the world's largest open-air prison.
"It is outrageous that our elected leaders from both parties continue to support this brutal occupation and in the same breath call for peace. This is not leadership, it is hypocrisy," he wrote.
Israel’s decades of illegal military occupation and imprisonment of Gaza make peace impossible and tragic violence inevitable. Israel has trapped millions of Palestinians in Gaza in what is recognized by the international community as the world’s largest open-air prison. Failure…
— Abdullah H. Hammoud (@AHammoudMI) October 8, 2023
