Resolutions seeking to project Tennessee’s unequivocal support of the state of Israel and its military campaign in Gaza began their journey this week through the state General Assembly as a new legislative session kicked off in Nashville.
The sponsors of the separate Senate and House joint resolutions said they have not spoken with each other. The senate resolution’s sponsor, Tennessee state Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, said he and his colleagues introduce a resolution to support Israel every year, but after Hamas’s Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel left about 1,200 dead, he was especially intent as a Christian to show his support for the Jewish nation.
“I look at my role up here at the legislature through the Biblical lens,” he said by phone, adding the Bible says nations are going to be judged on their policies toward Israel. “I want Tennessee to be on the right side of this.”
The resolution Pody put together was a bit different this year, he said, adding it goes beyond simply supporting Israel to explicitly condemning Hamas atrocities.
“We fully support their ability to use force and their military might to defend themselves from terrorists,” the proposed Senate resolution says. “We will not allow evil organizations and their supporters to lessen our resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel.”
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has left more than 23,000 people dead, The Associated Press reported, and leveled infrastructure in Gaza, one of the world’s poorest areas.
Pody said Israel has been too restrained in its efforts to root out Hamas, which he said should not be allowed to fester among the civilian population of Gaza.
“They’ve used a lot more restraint than I would have,” he said of Israel’s military. “They know where more of the terrorists are, but because there’s civilians around, they’re very hesitant to go in with the force that might be needed, and they would rather not use the full force because of the civilian casualties that they might inflict.”
By email Wednesday, Jennifer Allgayer, a Chattanooga woman of Palestinian descent, said Pody is, as a Christian, forgetting a key commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.”
She said Israeli politicians have made clear in their statements and the military’s bombing campaign their intention is to wipe not just Hamas but Gaza off the map.
Pody’s proposed resolution calls to condemn antisemitism in all its forms at home and abroad — a sentiment with which Allgayer said she wholeheartedly agrees.
“It is also imperative to note that the state of Israel does not represent all Jews,” she wrote. “In fact, Jewish allies like Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now are leading protests across the U.S., declaring, ‘Not in my name’ and ‘Never again means never again for anyone.’ No government anytime, anywhere, should be above criticism or above international law, and to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism is both inaccurate and dangerous.”
Allgayer added peace would involve the release of the hostages taken by Hamas as well as the thousand-plus Palestinians being detained by Israel without being charged with a crime.
“Ultimately, a true and lasting peace will come from the presence of equality and justice, not from the silence of graves,” she wrote.
Neither the state Senate nor House pro-Israel resolution makes any mention of Palestinians or the crisis they face in Gaza. Asked by phone if he was concerned about the suffering of Gazans, state Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County, who sponsored the House resolution, said suffering anywhere concerns him and that in this case he blames it on Hamas — and applauds what he sees as Israel’s efforts to limit civilian causalities in Gaza.
Todd said after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, he found himself moved to action on behalf of Israel.
“And this was one thing I felt like I could do to at least make it somewhat official that we support Israel as a state and completely support and honor their ability to defend themselves,” he said of his proposed resolution.
Todd said he saw several pro-Israel resolutions going around the country, and one he read at a conference for the American Legislative Exchange Council he found to be straightforward and well-structured. He said he more or less used that wording in his proposed resolution.
“We express our support for Israel’s right to pursue without interference or condemnation the elimination of Hamas and any other affiliated groups until Hamas and all such groups are permanently neutralized, and public safety is assured,” one section says.
Like many states, Tennessee lawmakers have in recent years changed the state’s working definition of antisemitism to encompass certain criticisms of Israel. They also passed a law requiring state and local government contractors to certify they do not support efforts to boycott, divest from or sanction Israel.
Both Pody and Todd’s pro-Israel documents are joint resolutions, meaning they would need the approval of both the House and Senate to pass. Todd said it’s possible both resolutions would ultimately pass.
By phone Tuesday, Michael Dzik, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga, said he appreciated the show by Tennessee lawmakers of support for Jewish people and hopes other states replicate it. Georgia lawmakers in December passed resolutions condemning Hamas and supporting Israel.
Dzik said the conflict in Gaza saddened him deeply, but added Hamas was bad for Gazans as well as Israelis and had to be eliminated. He said he is traveling soon to Israel to speak with recovered hostages and visit places where Hamas attacked.
Contact Andrew Schwartz at aschwartz@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.