Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023
Has a Wisconsin member of Congress openly supported Hamas?
No Wisconsin member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives has declared support for Hamas since the terrorist group attacked Israel Oct. 7, 2023.
Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who represents western Wisconsin, claimed Oct. 30 without evidence that at least one Wisconsin member of Congress openly “and actively” supports Hamas. In a Newsmax interview he named Madison area Rep. Mark Pocan.
His office did not reply to Wisconsin Watch’s request for information to back his claim.
Among Wisconsin’s two senators and eight House members, three are Democrats:
Sen. Tammy Baldwin called the attacks appalling and said she stands with the Israeli people.
Rep. Gwen Moore of Milwaukee condemned the attacks.
Pocan condemned the attacks. He has also emphasized that not everyone in the Gaza Strip, the focus of Israel’s counterattacks, is Hamas, and called for aid to Gaza civilians.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Archive.is Derrck Van Orden tweet
- New York Times Here’s a timeline of Saturday’s attacks and Israel’s retaliation.
- US Department of State Foreign Terrorist Organizations
- SenatorBaldwin The Hamas terrorist attacks on the Israeli people are appalling.
- RepGwenMoore I strongly condemn the violent acts of terrorism committed against the people of Israel by Hamas.
- RepMarkPocan I condemn the heinous attacks by Hamas on Israel.
- Wisconsin Watch Are most of the 2 million people in Gaza not members of Hamas?
- Wisconsin Watch Did U.S. have Israel ambassador at start of Israel-Hamas War?
- YouTube Derrick Van Orden interview
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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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