Here’s a roundup of some of the ways that Minnesota elected officials and visible Minnesotans are voicing support for Israel right now.
MN Gov. Tim Walz orders flags at half-staff
Walz ordered all United States and Minnesota flags to fly at half-staff at all state buildings until sunset on Sat., Oct. 14, to mourn the victims of Oct. 7, when Hamas, the Iran-backed terrorist organization that controls Gaza, brutally murdered over 1,200 Israelis.
Minnesota is “joining the nation in condemning the horrific acts of violence against Israeli civilians by Hamas,” Walz tweeted. “The people of Minnesota stand with Minnesota’s Jewish and Israeli community.”
Jewish Vikings player puts up mezuzah
With the help of Chabad in Minneapolis, Greg Joseph, a Jewish football player with the Minnesota Vikings, put up a new mezuzah. Chabad sees it as an important “show of public Jewish pride amid the war in Israel.”
I-35W bridge lit with blue and white through Friday
The Minnesota Department of Transportation will light up the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis with the colors of the Israeli flag in a symbol of solidarity with the Israeli people.
Jewish legislators condemn statement from Twin Cities DSA
Representatives Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis), Emma Greenman (DFL-Minneapolis), Heather Edelson (DFL-Edina), Sandra Feist (DFL-New Brighton), and Tina Liebling (DFL-Rochester), and Senators Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) and Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park), Bonnie Westlin (DFL-Plymouth), and Steve Cwodzinski (DFL-Eden Prairie) released the following statement condemning the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America’s recent statement on the war between Israel and Palestine:
“In the wake of the barbaric attack and massacre of Israeli civilians, including many elders and children, we stand in solidarity with our Israeli families and friends. We are heartbroken by images of entire communities destroyed in the largest single-day Jewish loss of life since the Holocaust. We grieve the loss of all civilian life – Israeli and Palestinian – in this war.
“That is why we are appalled at a recent statement by the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) that fails to even mention or acknowledge the heinous mass murder of Israelis at the hands of Hamas terrorists. In this moment of grief and pain in the Jewish communities across the globe, the failure to condemn this bloodshed is hurtful to our communities that have experienced so much generational trauma.
“The DSA statement concludes with an egregious proclamation that negates the existence of Israel. Such statements do not move us closer to a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live together in peace, security, and justice. We have and will continue to support peace efforts in the region.”
