A late-night post by Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) calling Israel a “terrorist state” and accusing it of “genocide” against Palestinians was not the result of a wild 180-degree policy change but rather hackers who gained access to the congressman’s X account, he said.
“Israel has paid off politicians for far too long,” the now-deleted tweet read. “I know this means I’ll lose AIPAC financial support but I don’t need it. We need to come together to #FreePalestine from the terrorist state of Israel.”
In a follow-up post, Thanedar wrote: “I was just hacked, and a misleading tweet was sent from my account.”
In reality, Thanedar is a staunch supporter of Israel’s “absolute” right to defend itself and opposes any conditions on aid and arms delivered to Israel by the United States, arguing that “this approach ensures not only the short-term security of the region but also lays the groundwork for a sustainable and just peace in the long run.”
“Our unwavering commitment to Israel’s security is grounded in shared values and a longstanding partnership,” Thanedar said in a statement attached to his post. “While we work for peace, we must ensure that our ally is always able to defend itself against external threats.”
Thanedar has argued the widespread destruction and thousands of civilian deaths across much of Gaza could be attributed to Hamas’ use of civilians as human shields, bucking his progressive counterparts who have taken a more critical stance on Israel’s actions during the war.
“These Hamas terrorists have used the civilians as a shield for them. And unfortunately, that’s causing tremendous loss, which is so regrettable, tremendous loss of lives of innocent people,” Thanedar said during an event earlier this week.
The progressive congressman recently said he quit the Democratic Socialists of America after it supported an “antisemitic” rally in New York City. The group’s Detroit chapter later told The Daily Beast that it had expelled him over a month prior over his support for “the far right, violent, Islamophobic Modi regime in India.”
