Governor slammed for refusing to name Israel as victim of Hamas

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer posted only that she had spoken with “communities impacted by what’s happening,” with no mention of terrorism.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The governor of Michigan is under fire for not mentioning that Israel was a victim of Hamas terrorism when she posted about meetings she held with local communities on Saturday.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had written on X, “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.”

A former U.S. diplomatic staffer called for her to leave office over what he called the “fraudulent nature” of her words.

“The job of a leader is to know the difference between right and wrong. The job of a politician is apparently to say nothing, and she demonstrated that she’s a politician,” Aryeh Lightstone, a senior adviser to former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman from 2017 to 2021, told Fox Digital Monday.

“She watched this happen in real time. And to watch women and children be kidnapped and raped and murdered, and to not be able to say something? She should resign immediately,” added Lightstone, who is currently in Israel himself.

Richard Grenell, former Acting Director of National Intelligence during Donald Trump’s presidency, called the post “pathetic,” saying, “This could be about Hawaii. You have terrible instincts.”

Whitmer later wrote a follow-up statement that acknowledged Israeli losses.

“The images that continue to come out of Israel on the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War are devastating,” she posted. “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.”

That still didn’t satisfy many critics, such as Stephen L. Miller, contributing editor at The Spectator.

“Your support is so steadfast you couldn’t state it the first time around and had to be Twitter shamed into a second statement,” he wrote back.

NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck noted that Whitmer had still not managed to utter put the responsibility on the Hamas terrorists who invaded Israel Saturday in an unprovoked war, dubbed in Israel “Operation Iron Swords.”

“And who were the people who did this? Say their name[s]. Coward,” he replied.

Whitmer has the consolation of knowing that her state is home to a very large Arab-American community, with a representative in Congress, Rashida Tlaib, who is of Palestinian extraction and is a prominent member of the so-called “Squad” of far-left Democrats.