Jewish Lawmakers Condemn CASA de Maryland's Posts about Israel-Hamas War

Jewish members of the Maryland General Assembly issued a public statement on Tuesday, Nov. 14, criticizing recent social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war issued by the nonprofit CASA de Maryland and its executive director, Gustavo Torres. The statement called the posts “inaccurate and ill-conceived.”

Founded in 1985 and based in Silver Spring, CASA de Maryland is a Latino and immigration advocacy and assistance organization that operates throughout the state.

The organization — which receives millions of dollars from state and local governments — drew fire recently from Montgomery County lawmakers for condemning the “utilization of U.S. tax dollars to promote the ongoing violence” in the Middle East and calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Last Monday, Nov. 13, CASA released a statement of “resolute and steadfast solidarity with the people of Palestine” and a call “to save all precious life and halt the systematic ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

Signed by Torres, the statement condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis and the kidnappings of 240 people. But it also rejected Israeli acts of “terror” against refugee camps and medical personnel and United Nations aid workers in Gaza.

In their statement, the Jewish legislators wrote, “We stand united in our belief that Hamas’ actions on October 7, 2023 were horrific acts of terror and are to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. There is no justification for what happened that day. We care deeply about the loss of innocent life in both Israel and Gaza, and believe we must work towards bringing peace to the region, including the return of more than 200 Israeli hostages: innocent children, women and men.”

Among the 19 Jewish legislators who signed the statement were Del. Dalya Attar (D-41), Del. Jon S. Cardin (D-11B) , Del. Mark Edelson (D-46), Sen. Brian J. Feldman (D-15), Sen. Shelly L. Hettleman (D-11), Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-17), Del. Anne R. Kaiser (D-14), Del. Aaron M. Kaufman (D-18), Sen. Ariana B. Kelly (D-16), Del. Marc A. Korman (D-16), Sen. Benjamin A. Kramer (D-19), Sen. Karen Lewis Young (D-3), Del. Samuel I. “Sandy” Rosenberg (D-41), Del. Jared Solomon (D-18), Del. Ryan S. Spiegel (D-17), Del. Dana M. Stein (D-11B), Del. Joe Vogel (D-17), Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-18) and Sen. Craig J. Zucker (D-14).

The statement contended that CASA’s posts exhibited a “profound misunderstanding of Middle East history, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Jewish history, and antisemitism.”

While expressing gratitude for CASA’s eventual removal of the posts and “an acknowledgement that CASA’s words were hurtful,” the signatories stated that “more intentional actions are needed including a public apology, continued outreach to the community, and a commitment, within the organization, to dive more deeply into these issues.”

In addition, the statement criticized the CASA posts for not recognizing that that Jewish people are “indigenous to the state of Israel, among many other groups, and instead fell back on the trope of ‘colonialism’ that has too often been bandied about to attack the legitimacy of the state of Israel. We can have disagreements about particular aspects of Israeli policy or politics, but what is non-negotiable is that Israel has the right to exist as a democratic Jewish state.

The statement praised CASA’s work in providing services to immigrants on housing, health care and financial services.

“Many of us are immigrants or are from families only one or two generations removed from having arrived in this country, frequently seeking refuge in America from violent antisemitism abroad,” the statement read. “The struggles of being a new immigrant to this country are quite real and personal to us. That is why we have each worked so closely with CASA over the years.

“We stand squarely against antisemitism and Islamophobia and believe in the rights of all people to live safely and peacefully, both here and in the Middle East. These are challenging times, and we stand ready and waiting to work for these values with all individuals and organizations willing to join us in these efforts.”