Five Delaware lawmakers traveled to Israel to attend an event hosted by the country’s Foreign Ministry called “50 States, One Israel" amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office described the trip as the largest-ever bipartisan delegation of American lawmakers to visit the Jewish state, noting some 250 U.S. state legislators were in attendance.
Invitations from Israeli consuls pitched the trip as an opportunity for lawmakers to gain "firsthand insight into the complexities and opportunities facing Israel today through high-level meetings with Israeli decision-makers, site visits to key national and cultural landmarks in Jerusalem and beyond, and direct engagement with experts in political, social, and academic fields."
The trip consisted of bipartisan Delaware legislators from both chambers, including House Republican Whip Jeff Spiegelman (R-Clayton), State Sen. Darius Brown (D-New Castle), State Rep. Bryan Shupe (R-Milford), State Sen. Trey Paradee (D-Dover) and State Rep. Melanie Ross Levin (D-Brandywine).
"I want to make it very clear that the State of Delaware did not fund or sponsor this trip in any way, and as Speaker, I would not support or approve using any Delaware taxpayer dollars to pay for it. The decision to participate in this trip to Israel was made entirely by the legislators themselves," House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown (D-New Castle) said in a statement.
In the invitation, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would provide roundtrip economy airfare from New York to Tel Aviv (including domestic U.S. flights to NYC) and all in-country transportation, accommodations, meals and guided programming.
Rep. Spiegelman says he was first reached out to by the Israeli consulate in New York City to discuss which state lawmakers would be interested in visiting Israel for a five-day tour from Sept. 14 to Sept. 18, 2025.
"We wanted north and south representation. We wanted [Republican] and [Democratic] representation. We wanted somebody from the city. We wanted somebody from Dover and preferably people that may not have made a strong commitment one way or another on Israel — the idea being that the trip wasn't designed for as much people like me, who are already supporters of Israel. It was really more designed for an information-gathering kind of approach for whom would benefit seeing things that perhaps the news would not," Rep. Spiegelman told Delaware Public Media.
He says Delaware legislators joined other state lawmakers in touring the Knesset — Israel's parliament —, holy sites within Jerusalem, the Nova Memorial Site — commemorating the close to 400 victims who were killed while attending the Nova music festival during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist Islamist political organization Hamas —, the Save a Child’s Heart International Pediatric Cardiac Center, sites at the Gaza border and communities impacted by the Oct. 7 attack
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages on Oct. 7. The U.S., European Union and United Kingdom among other countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Rep. Spiegelman says lawmakers were given the opportunity to ask Israeli President Isaac Herzog "tough questions about humanitarian aid and the situation among Palestinian civilians."
"This was not a vacation, despite what some of the opposition would have to say. This was a chance to learn, and I will never be against learning," he said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the near two-year Israel-Hamas war, and Israel's offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displacing around 90% of the population.
On Sept. 16, 2025, the United Nations (UN) Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory found Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The UN Commission has been investigating the events on and since Oct. 7, 2023, for the last two years, and concluded that Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The UN has also declared "mounting evidence" of famine and widespread starvation within Gaza, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes.
The ICC also issued a warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, but that warrant was canceled when Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike in July 2024.
Israel has repeatedly refuted the claim that it is committing a genocide, calling the allegations antisemitic "blood libel."
"Three individuals serving as Hamas proxies, notorious for their openly antisemitic positions — and whose horrific statements about Jews have been condemned worldwide — released today another fake 'report' about Gaza," the Israel Foreign Ministry said in a response to the UN Commission's conclusion.
When asked about President Herzog's answers around concerns over a humanitarian crisis occurring in Gaza, Rep. Spiegelman responded: "President Herzog was very candid in his responses, saying that Israel needed to have done a better job of showing the world that there was humanitarian aid going in, and that right now, there's significant humanitarian aid going in. It's being airlifted. It's being brought in through escorted military convoys, something that was a problem between Israel and the UN."
Sept. 16, 2025, was also the day that Israel launched a ground invasion of Gaza City, overlapping with the lawmakers' trip.
"There’s no way for me to have known, right? I mean, anybody who thinks I’m privy to Netanyahu's battle plans is sorely mistaken. I think it was strictly coincidence. I mean, we have been planning this for months, but I think it was strictly coincidence that the ramp-up in Gaza coincided with this trip. Having said that, there were times when our group had to take shelter from incoming rocket fire. So for us, I mean, it was a very real thing for us," he said.
State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton (D-Newark) took to social media to criticize the Delaware lawmakers who attended the trip, calling it a "propaganda tour while Israel continues its genocide in Gaza."
When asked for his response to fellow lawmakers and constituents criticizing him for making the trip amid accusations that Israel is committing a genocide, Rep. Spiegelman referred to comments U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee made to the 250 lawmakers in attendance: "We did listen to a speech of his, and in his words, Gaza is a city of about the same size as Las Vegas, and that if the Israeli government is committing genocide, they're really, really, really bad at it. I mean, the Israeli military is strong enough that they could have wiped out Gaza on Oct. 8, if they wanted to."
“‘Genocide’ is a very serious legal term, one determined by international courts, not state legislators. What I can say is that both Israelis and Palestinians are experiencing heartbreaking suffering — grief, loss, and urgent humanitarian crises. My role as a leader is to show up, to listen directly, and to press for solutions that ease suffering, not just repeat headlines," Rep. Ross Levin said in response to the same question.
Rep. Ross Levin says her motives behind attending the trip were similar to Rep. Spiegelman's, noting she wanted "to study and to gain firsthand perspective about what's happening on the ground."
"I think international trips like this are not uncommon for state legislators. They help foster cultural understanding. They help us better represent our constituents. I probably have the most Jewish district in the state that cares deeply about this issue. They bring it up to me regularly. I think it gives us firsthand perspective, and I hope to be able to engage better with my constituents, whether they're Jewish, Muslim, interfaith communities and I just think it's part of why we're leaders," Rep. Ross Levin said.
She criticized Rep. Wilson-Anton for going for some "online points," rather than calling her to have a conversation about the trip. Rep. Wilson-Anton responding, saying going on an informational trip rather than "reading the news" or "read[ing] the definition for genocide" is "embarrassing."
"Anyone who lives in a district where their representative or senator went to Israel on this propaganda trip, I think anyone who lives in those districts should be in an uproar, they should be outraged. They should be thinking about how to run against these people because they are embarrassments to the Delaware General Assembly. They bring the entire body into disrepute," Rep. Wilson-Anton said.
In a statement, Sen. Paradee said at the time he accepted the invitation, he did not "fully realize the size and scope of the delegation" in attendance.
"I am aware that some people may view this trip as a propaganda exercise by the Israeli government. To be candid, I was embarrassed by the level of cameras, photos, and promotion that followed us on social media. That was not what I signed up for, nor was it my intent when I agreed to participate. I want to strongly emphasize that my presence on this trip was in no way an endorsement of the violence taking place, nor an endorsement of the policies of the Netanyahu government," his statement reads.
Sen. Paradee went on to add that witnessing miles of destroyed homes and neighborhoods at the Gaza border, as well as speaking to survivors from a kibbutz attacked on Oct. 7, gave him a "deeper understanding of both the humanity and the suffering on all sides."
"I do not support the continued bloodshed in Gaza. I condemn the ongoing violence and the toll it has taken on innocent civilians, especially women and children who have been displaced and killed. I pray for the immediate release of all hostages, and I believe the fastest path toward ending this horrific episode is for Hamas to release the hostages and for all parties to return to the negotiating table," he added.
Discourse over the Israel-Hamas war entered the Delaware General Assembly in January 2024 when two resolutions over the conflict were introduced.
House Concurrent Resolution 80 expressed a "concern for the loss of life" in the Israel-Hamas war and "calls on the legislature and the citizens of Delaware to recognize our common humanity and the shared strength of our diversity."
At the time, Rep. Wilson-Anton argued there was "nothing to object to," in the resolution, but noted her frustration with the resolution's lack of reference to the Palestinian people, as well as its omission of the word "genocide."
HCR 80 was ultimately passed, but Rep. Wilson-Anton introduced her own resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and a recognition of the genocide and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
That resolution was tabled after debate, with opposition largely led by Rep. Spiegelman, who expressed his disappointment with a double standard regarding the language used to describe the Palestinian experience versus the Israeli experience and his belief that news headlines were down-playing the rise of antisemitism.
Over three months later, Rep. Wilson-Anton was successful in passing a resolution recognizing "the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza," while supporting a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, delivery of immediate and sustained humanitarian aid to Gaza and diplomatic action to facilitate long-term and mutually respectful peace in the region.
The resolution passed with a voice vote, including an affirmative vote from Rep. Spiegelman. It was never brought before nor passed in the State Senate.
During debate on those resolutions, there was substantial discourse over if Delaware's government should be involving itself in foreign politics.
When asked that same question now, Rep. Spiegelman says he does prefer to steer away from national issues, but he says the recent rise in antisemitism is too intense to ignore.
"It's tough to avoid, as much as I would like to, because I do believe politicians should stay in their lane when it comes to what office they were elected. With the situation getting worse for Jews in this country, obviously it makes it very difficult to do that," he said.
When answering the same question, Rep. Wilson-Anton said: "If you are too ill-equipped to weigh in on foreign policy, so be it — then just don't weigh in on it. But when there's a genocide happening, I think we all have a moral duty to speak up against injustice, no matter where it's happening," she said.
"There has been a rise in antisemitism, there has been a rise in Islamophobia. Both of those things are terrible, but I think it's more important for us as public officials to focus on the root cause of these issues, which is the commission of a genocide and it being broadcast to the world," Rep. Wilson-Anton added, further arguing criticism of the state of Israel is not synonymous with criticizing Jewish Americans or Jewish people.
"I don't anticipate going on many international trips. I think most of our trips are domestic, but this was a good opportunity to get a firsthand experience of what the heck is happening. And I think it's important to be brave and to show up," Rep Ross Levin said. "I just want the whole thing to end. I want it to be the last war. I want it to be done, and I can't wait till it's over. And I really hope for peace, stability and ideally a two-state solution in which there's dignity for both people."
Rep. Shupe has started a video series recounting the trip on his Facebook page.
