Newsom meets anguished families and Israeli leaders on rare overseas trip
October 20, 2023
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom visited with senior officials and anguished families during a brief trip Thursday to Israel, where he stopped on his way to China to show support for a nation in shock and mourning following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and the ensuing war.
The governor’s office said he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, but a Newsom statement focused entirely on the “unimaginable heroism and unspeakable tragedy” he encountered in visits with Israelis wounded in the attack or whose family members are among those still missing, including at least two from California. He made no mention of the Palestinians.
“Despite the horror, what I saw and heard from the people of Israel was a profound sense of resilience,” he said. “A commitment to community and common purpose, especially in these most difficult times.”
The trip to Israel, which was added at the last-minute to the long-planned climate-focused trip to China, provides the California governor with rare exposure to foreign affairs, which could be helpful if he at some point decides to run for president as many expect.
Newsom said he was struck by the “grief and terror” in the voice of the mother of a man from California whose son had his arm blown off by a grenade before he was seized by the Hamas fighters and is presumed to be a captive. It is an apparent reference to 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a former Berkeley resident who was at a music festival in southern Israel when Hamas fighters conducted a surprise raid and killed about 1,400 people, mostly civilians.
He said he was also moved by the account from a girl from California who was shot in the leg by Hamas “and left for dead, in truly horrific conditions.”
“As I reflect back on the extraordinary people I just met today in Israel, I am reminded of the deep connections between my home state and this country,” he said. “A country that has faced many dark times before, and certainly is in one now.”
Though he did not mention the Palestinians, or the several thousand killed during Israel’s response to the attack, California is working to ship medical supplies to support humanitarian relief efforts in both Israel and Gaza, his office said.
In addition to Netanyahu, Newsom met with Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen, where he “expressed California’s solidarity with the people of Israel and his desire to ensure safety and security for all civilians,” both in Israel and in Gaza.
Before leaving the state, Newsom authorized an additional $20 million in state funding to provide physical security enhancements to nonprofit organizations — like synagogues and mosques — that are at high risk for violent attacks and hate crimes.
The governor’s stop in Israel was somewhat of an impromptu detour on his way to China, where he will spend the next week highlighting California’s role in building green energy economies.
Source: https://www.politico.com/
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