A Chattanooga congressman said someone vandalized an “I stand with Israel” sign on his office door by placing a “Free Palestine” sign over it.
In a post on social media Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, said the pro-Israel sign has been on his door since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
“All these so-called ‘Pro-Palestine’ supporters care about is the destruction of Israel,” Fleischmann said on social media. “They are antisemites, and every Tennessean and American free of bigotry will always condemn these acts of incivility and violations of free speech.”
(READ MORE: Fleischmann says ‘never’ to town hall)
In a post around two hours later, Fleischmann said his pro-Israel sign was replaced and is back up, and he credited President Donald Trump for brokering a ceasefire deal in Gaza. The ceasefire was tested after Israeli strikes Sunday, according to The Associated Press, and two of Trump’s envoys traveled to Israel on Monday to bolster the ceasefire.
The Associated Press has reported that Gaza underwent a humanitarian catastrophe and children have starved to death as Israel has been accused of limiting supplies and aid to the war-torn region. Israel denied charges of genocide in the United Nations, claiming it was doing its best to protect Gaza civilians during military operations.
In March 2024, Fleischmann said he would support Israel forever and said “Goodbye to Palestine” in a confrontational, viral video. Posted by activist group Code Pink, the video shows activists peppering the congressman with questions, including one about what an activist said was a statistic about child deaths in Gaza, as Fleischmann hastened down a hallway.
“Let me tell you a statistic,” Fleischmann said at the time. “The Jewish state will exist, it will always exist, and that is for God to do and to decide. And I will always support Israel. I will always support Israel, and you can tell the Palestinians, I will never support them!”
The Chattanooga Times Free Press has reached out to Fleischmann’s office for comment by email.
Contact breaking news reporter Mason Edwards at medwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6409.
