With death tolls rising in Israel and Palestine, the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Friday voted to pass a resolution extending support for just Israel.
"As a Christian, I simply must stand on the biblical foundation that Israel is the apple of God’s eye – His chosen people,” said Rep. Mark McBride (R-Moore), the resolution's author, in a statement. “Under the Abrahamic covenant, those who bless Israel will be blessed, those who curse her will bring a curse upon themselves. This resolution states that Israel has a right to exist, and the Jewish people themselves have a right to exist, and it condemns terrorism. I’m thankful for the support of my fellow co-authors and all those who voted in favor of this resolution. I feel the majority of Oklahomans are in favor of this as well."
The resolution passed the House 61-15, with Rep. Andy Fugate (D-Del City) joining Republicans to vote in favor.
Democratic Rep. Mauree Turner of Oklahoma City, the chamber's sole Muslim, condemned the resolution.
"We can promote peace without aiding in the suffering of the Palestinian people, the murder of the Palestinian people," Turner said in a statement, after referring to Israel as an "apartheid state" committing acts of "ethnic cleansing" in floor remarks.
NPR reports Israel has killed more than 180 Palestinians in the last week, many of them children and other civilians. Israel this weekend also destroyed a building housing the offices of numerous media outlets, including the Associated Press and Al-Jazeera, in Gaza. Hamas is reported to have killed 10 Israelis, including two children.
