Israeli diplomat speaks about Hamas, strike that killed aid workers at Arizona Capitol
The Arizona Legislature hosted an Israeli diplomat on Wednesday, who spoke about the country’s war with Hamas and apologized for the airstrike that killed seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza.
The Arizona Senate and House of Representatives held a joint session to hear from Israel Bachar, Israel’s consul general to the Pacific Southwest.
Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) opened the session by saying Arizona supports Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.
“Hamas, a terrorist organization, produces, creates nothing — only destroys, ruins and tears down, should be wiped off from the face of the earth,” Petersen said.
Bachar echoed those comments moments later in a speech in which he condemned Hamas, the October 7 attack that sparked the war and said Israel will not stop fighting until all hostages held by the group are returned.
“The Israeli Government and the American administration share this belief: Hamas must be eradicated,” Bachar said.
Rep. Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson), who joined fellow lawmakers on a trip to Israel last month, said it was important for her colleagues to hear from Bachar.
“I think it's great that he's able to share what's actually going on from another perspective, because we hear a lot from the media that's very one-sided,” Hernandez said.
She added that the meeting also served to strengthen Arizona’s ties with Israel.
“I think a lot of people ask, ‘Why does Arizona get involved?’” Hernandez said. “Well, not only do we have a Jewish community here, but we also do a lot of work in Israel.”
Bachar talked about those ties with Arizona, but largely focused on the Israel-Hamas war. He defended the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza, pinning the blame for civilian casualties on Hamas for sparking the conflict to begin with.
“Hamas's goal is the destruction and genocide of Israel, and its people,” Bachar said. “However, they've created a war zone where both Israeli and Palestinian civilians are being used as human shields.”
He also denied that Palestinians in Gaza are suffering from starvation.
“There is no starvation. It is not the truth,” Bachar said, again blaming any issues with access to food on “distribution difficulties” caused by Hamas. That runs counter to reporting on the ground and evidence cited by experts, who say Gaza is on the brink of famine.
Bachar did apologize for the Israeli airstrike that killed seven humanitarian aid workers with World Central Kitchen, an organization providing meals to civilians in Gaza.
“I, and the state of Israel, apologize for the rare incident that struck volunteers of the World Central Kitchen,” Bachar said. “We take full responsibility, and are investigating the matter to make sure that such rare mistakes do not happen again.”
World Central Kitchen paused its operations in Gaza after the strike and founder José Andrés accused the Israeli military of targeting the aid workers.
Andrés told Reuters Israel targeted the workers "systematically, car by car."
Less than half of Arizona’s Democratic lawmakers chose to attend Bachar’s speech, a fact that was not lost on Hernandez, a Democratic representative from Tucson.
“It was a little disappointing,” Hernandez said. “At the end of the day, everyone has the right to decide what they want to show up to…I do appreciate those that were here.”
Sen. Anna Hernandez (D-Phoenix), no relation, said she skipped the session, because it was not fully open to the public. She said legislative leadership was “selective about who could attend” the hearing.
“I’ve been very vocal around public access everywhere in government, so I didn’t feel it was appropriate for me to attend when I don’t agree if the entire public is also not able to attend,” Sen. Anna Hernandez said.
It’s not unprecedented for lawmakers to skip these types of ceremonial hearings. In February, many Republican legislators skipped a hearing in honor of African American Legislative Day.
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