cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/19343412

The record shows that during his career as a member of the House of Representatives between 2007 and 2018, Walz consistently voted in favor of pro-Israeli positions. In these years he supported every Israeli war on Gaza, rejected the international consensus on the illegality of settlements in the West Bank, and opposed any unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, preferring instead to pay lip service to a “negotiated peace” while Israel continued colonizing the West Bank unimpeded.

On January 9, 2009, Walz voted Yea on blatantly biased H. Res. 34, which essentially endorsed the pro-Israeli position on “Operation Cast Lead”

In June 2009, Walz visited Israel and the occupied West Bank on a Middle East tour, where he met with Benjamin Netanyahu (among other heads of state), and “told the Israelis he believes the growing number of Jewish settlements in the West Bank were hampering the prospects for peace”.

However, in March 2010, when tension between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government was bubbling to the surface over the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem, Walz chose to attend and speak at the annual AIPAC conference, where he stated that “Israel is our truest and closest ally in the region, with a commitment to values of personal freedoms and liberties, surrounded by a pretty tough neighborhood.”