U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin just threw the remaining American and Israeli hostages held by Hamas under the bus, voting against an amendment that would have denied any Palestinian governing entity foreign aid until they renounce terrorism and free the remaining six American hostages, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Keith Siegel, Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, and Edan Alexander.
The amendment would have limited “foreign assistance to the Palestinian Authority or any other Palestinian governing entity in the West Bank and Gaza.”
Baldwin voted NO, according to Senate records. The amendment, pushed by Sen. Rand Paul, then failed 50-44 on January 18 with six senators not voting.
Fox News reported that Hamas still holds 130 hostages, including six Americans. The Paul amendment would have required the Palestinian governing authorities to renounce the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, in addition to freeing the hostages.
One of the American-Israeli hostages is Itay Chen. His father recently spoke out in the media, describing the situation for the hostages as increasingly urgent.
“As Americans, we expect the United States, the greatest superpower in the history of the world, to use its full power to secure the hostages’ release. This includes making sure that all partners in the region make this a top priority,” said Jon Polin, the dad of Hersh Polin, another American hostage, to Roll Call.
A Facebook page is devoted to bringing Polin home.
Yet Baldwin is declining to put any pressure on Hamas by using American aid to Palestinian governing entities as a pressure point to get the hostages’ release.
Baldwin, the left-wing Wisconsin Democratic U.S. senator, has increasingly taken positions that help grow Hamas since pro-Palestinian activists on the left started aggressively confronting her on the campaign trail and at her office. She is expected to face Republican businessman Eric Hovde although he has not yet formally announced a Senate run.
According to the Director of National Intelligence, Hamas “has been the de facto governing body in the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it ousted the Palestinian Authority from power.” It has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government since 2007. The Palestinian Authority “controls parts of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank,” according to Daily Wire.
Specifically, the amendment Baldwin voted against would have frozen aid until the president certifies that the Palestinian Authority or any other Palestinian governing entity in the West Bank and Gaza have:
- Formally recognized the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state;
- Publicly recognized the state of Israel;
- Renounced terrorism;
- Purged all individuals with terrorist ties from security services;
- Terminated funding of anti-American and anti-Israel incitement;
- Publicly renounced Hamas and the October 7, 2023, attacks perpetrated by Hamas on Israel;
- Honored previous diplomatic agreements; and
- Released all hostages abducted on October 7, 2023, and held in territory governed by the Palestinian Authority or other Palestinian governing authority.
“The amendment also directs the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report on the human rights practices of the Palestinian Authority, or any other Palestinian governing entity in the West Bank and Gaza,” Paul wrote.
Again, Baldwin voted against these requirements.
“The only thing consistent about American foreign aid is that the money continues to flow, regardless of the behavior of the recipients,” Paul (R-Ky.) said, according to Politico. “You would think with the massacre and everything else why would we be giving any money to the Palestinians … shouldn’t they have to do something to earn the money?”
He added: “The time has come for the United States to mean what it says in the defense of human rights.”
It’s the latest sign that Baldwin is becoming more anti-Israel.
Baldwin flipped to supporting a ceasefire, which would grow Hamas’s power after the horrific Oct. 7 terrorist attack in which Hamas terrorists murdered and raped people, including Americans. They murdered elderly people and children in the attack against Israel. Israel has since engage din a series of military actions to root out Hamas.
Baldwin flipped to supporting a ceasefire just days after she said that a ceasefire is “really asking Israel to unilaterally stop and we know Hamas won’t.”
Baldwin’s ceasefire flip-flop on Hamas came just days after Wisconsin Right Now first revealed that Baldwin had become a TikTok trend after Pro-Palestinian activists confronted the Wisconsin Democratic senator on video as she tried to speak on healthcare. Baldwin appeared rattled and did not directly address their concerns or defend Israel. Some of the videos have been viewed thousands of times, as was our story.
Baldwin’s about-face also came after she met with the group World Beyond War after it and other anti-Israel groups conducted a sit-in at her office. She has been repeatedly confronted by pro-Palestinian activists in recent weeks; they demanded she capitulate on a ceasefire, which she now has done.
Fox News reported that Baldwin also met with Jewish Voice for Peace and the Madison Rafah Sister City Project before flip-flopping on a ceasefire.
Baldwin has also been criticized for writing a gushing letter of support in 2019 for CAIR, a pro-Islamic group with alleged links to Hamas.
Ironically, Tammy Baldwin’s record of supporting Israel has been weak over the years. She proudly supported the Iran deal, opposed sanctions against Iran, voted against an act making it illegal to boycott Israel, opposed Israel’s annexation of the West Bank, supported the creation of a Palestinian State, and voted against an act that would give security funding to Israel.
