Republican AGs rally to probe, prosecute groups with Hamas ties

FIRST ON FOX — State attorneys general should be on the legal front lines of combating U.S.-based organizations with ties to Hamas, a group representing Republican state AGs is urging their colleagues.

In a resolution adopted Friday and published today, the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) calls on “state attorneys general to use the legal tools at their disposal to investigate and, where applicable, prosecute organizations within their jurisdictions that provide aid or funding to Hamas or other organizations which provide support to terrorists.”

“Last month’s senseless attack on Israeli civilians should not divide Americans but unite us in the common causes of love, compassion, and empathy,” said RAGA Chairman Sean Reyes, Utah’s attorney general.

“We need to root out the evil that is Hamas wherever it exists, at home or across the globe, and the nation’s Republican attorneys general are doing their part to hold terrorists and terrorist sympathizers accountable,” he said.

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The “Resolution Condemning the Attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023, Reaffirming Support for the State of Israel, and Denouncing Anti-Semitic Attacks on College Campuses and Cities Across the Country” was adopted on Nov. 10. 

Among other things, the resolution “denounces the rise in anti-Semitic attacks on college campuses and in cities, and calls for increased protection for Jewish communities, and for educational initiatives to combat antisemitism and promote understanding and mutual respect.”

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The resolution also “urges state attorneys general to use the legal tools at their disposal to investigate and, where applicable, prosecute organizations within their jurisdictions that provide aid or funding to Hamas or other organizations which provide support to terrorists.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who is the most recent past RAGA chairman, said, “We cannot stand silent at a time when one of our nation’s closest allies is reeling from an unprovoked terrorist attack that resulted in the loss of thousands of innocent lives.”

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“My Republican attorney general colleagues and I have turned our mourning into action and are investigating every antisemitic attack, potential domestic funding source of Hamas, and denouncing anti-Israel and anti-Jewish rhetoric being spewed by elected officials and college faculty and students,” he said. 

The group also sent a letter to leaders of both parties in both chambers of Congress, urging them to “immediately muster the resources and humanitarian assistance Israel requires to achieve victory over her enemies.”

“As we show financial and other support for Israel and negotiate the release of hostages, we are sympathetic to any innocent Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza who are also suffering immensely by no fault of their own,” the letter reads.

“Despite the ongoing and exhaustive necessity of preparedness, Israel — and the Jewish people — show unwavering determination, resolve, and unity when facing their enemies, standing together to show the world that they will not be defeated,” the letter adds.

“As a democracy in the volatile Middle East, Israel’s fight for survival and peace is fundamental for the future security of that region — and all allies of Israel. Their struggle inspires all who call themselves a friend of this small yet mighty country.”

Anti-Israel protests have cropped up in American universities across the country, with similar sentiments echoed by some faculty and staff. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) dozens of protesters, many who were not students, were bussed onto campus over the weekend to hold an anti-Israel sit-in protest. 

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Previous protests at MIT featured chants of “one solution, intifada, revolution,” which to Israelis is a call to violence against Jews. 

Most recently, MIT faculty faced backlash after downgrading punishment for students who participated in calls to violence from expulsion to suspension after concerns that some students’ visas would be impacted and that those students could possibly face deportation. 

Congress has considered stripping federal funds and possibly investigating universities that are allowing student groups to promote antisemitic rhetoric and calls to violence. 

Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the controversial statements — and in some cases, administrators’ failure to condemn them — were “unforgivable” and counter to U.S. values.

“To say I am disgusted by statements of support for Hamas that we’ve seen in recent days is an understatement,” Smith said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “Celebrating, excusing, or downplaying the horrific rape, torture, and murder of innocent people is the same thing as supporting violence, or even calling for it.”