Alabama resolution strongly backs Israel, condemns Hamas and its supporters
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signs a resolution supporting Israel and condemning Hamas. Behind her are (left to right) Rep. Phil Ensler, who is also director of the Jewish Federation of Central Alabama, Rep. Laura Hall, Israel Consulate Director of Government and Political Affairs Karen Isenberg Jones, Consul General Anat Sultan-Dadon, Sen. Arthur Orr, Rep. and Pastor Mark Gidley, Major Liron D., and Alabama-Israel Task Force co-chairs Laura King and John Buhler.
By Larry Brook
Alabama Governor 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.
The resolution, SJR29, was presented by Senator Arthur Orr of Decatur. It 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, 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.”
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 references attempts by Hamas to “ethnically cleanse the land of Jews.”
It also 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.”
The resolution concludes with a rejection of the claim that Jews are colonizers or occupiers in Israel, citing “testimony including more than 3,000 years of archaeology and history.”
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Sultan-Dadon said that statement is important “because of all the false narratives we hear about us, as if we are so-called occupiers of the land… 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, held in Montgomery by the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta. There have also been screenings in Birmingham and Huntsville.
That night, the 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 came from attempting to schedule a public signing ceremony with Ivey and Sultan-Dadon, and to avoid anti-Israel protests, as had occurred at a couple 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.”
She added that the war against Hamas is not just Israel’s fight, and part of the larger fight against Iran. “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.”
John Buhler, co-chair of the interfaith Alabama-Israel Task Force, said 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.”
He added, “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.”
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” in reference to Jerusalem.
Sultan-Dadon said “we commend Alabama for once again standing on the right side of history.”
UAB resolution condemns Israel
In contrast, a resolution offered by the Student Senate at the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Feb. 25 “condemns the ongoing occupation, settler colonialism, apartheid, ethnic cleansing of Palestinians since 1948” and “the plausible genocide of Gaza since October 2023.”
It calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and states that the student government “stands in unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people… until the Palestinian people are given their due rights and until Israel faces justice and consequences for its actions against them.”
The resolution also calls for a Palestinian flag in the Hill Student Center wall of flags, showing what countries students are from. Israel is on the wall, along with Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan and Libya.
Hamas is not referenced in the resolution.
The resolution was written by Nooraldein Alabsi, president of the Muslim Students Association.
UAB historically has had a very small Jewish student population.
