Rio Rancho senator reflects on trip to Israel

JERUSALEM, Israel — A New Mexico senator from Rio Rancho said his support for Israel was reaffirmed during a weeklong trip to the war-torn country earlier this month.

Sen. Jay Block, a Republican, joined a group of 250 state lawmakers throughout the U.S. in what he called a “cultural exchange” with Israel Sept. 13-18. Block noted in June, when he announced the trip, that it is entirely paid for by the Israeli government. Sen. Ant Thornton, Reps. Rod Montoya, Stefani Lord, John Block and Jenifer Jones, all Republicans, joined him. Sen. Cindy Nava, a Democrat, declined to attend for security reasons.

“The big takeaway is, Israel has not recovered from the attack on Oct. 7 (2023),” Block said of the delegation’s trip. “It is still engrained in every Israeli we met.”

On that day, Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 men, women, and children and taking over 250 people hostage, according to an Associated Press report. Israel responded with a campaign of its own, killing more than 65,000 people, according to the AP. More recently, a two-state solution, supported by top U.S. allies, was proposed, but Israel and Palestinian leaders can’t agree on whether one should exist.

Block’s comments came the same week as the United Nations General Assembly in New York, in which the president of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, both spoke. Abbas, who spoke remotely since the U.S. denied his visa, advocated for Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel — which Netanyahu does not support. During the Israeli leader’s remarks in person Friday, in which scores of officials walked out in response, Netanyahu vowed this country would “finish the job” in the fight against Hamas.

Although Block’s trip was not aimed at achieving foreign policy outcomes, he and members of the delegation met Netanyahu during their visit.

“(He is) a very strong leader who wants peace,” Block said.

Not having to worry about foreign policy, Block was impressed with what he learned about Israel’s research and technology used in fields ranging from medicine to agriculture. Block was particularly interested in how those things could help New Mexico and its water crisis.

“They have turned Israel — a desert — into an oasis,” Block said. “The vineyards that they’ve been able to plant and the farming that is there, it’s incredible.”

He pointed to Israel’s use of artificial intelligence in farming.

The delegation also visited Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites; the Old City of Jerusalem; and the Knesset, known as Israel’s parliament, Block wrote in a Facebook post. They prayed at the Western Wall and toured Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, the post stated.

But the trip also provided for somber moments related to the ongoing war, including visiting the site where the Nova Festival massacre occurred and hearing stories from survivors. Recounting those moments caused Block to choke up.

“(The delegation) saw houses (near the festival) shot up and blown up and banners of people who were killed,” Block said. “The families who owned those houses told us they want those houses to remain that way, and they want people to see what Hamas did ... so it never happens again.”

Block said the U.S. delegation had to seek protective shelter several times due to rocket launches, including one when they were at the airport headed home. The New Mexico senator, an Air Force veteran, said he was not scared. He believed those moments could be teachable to his fellow Americans.

“(They) don’t understand what it’s like to be under attack every single day,” Block said, likening it to a multiplier of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Now that Block is home, he said he feels a responsibility to “tell the truth” about the Israel-Hamas war.

“The mainstream media is not telling the American public the full story,” Block said.