What Rep. Hillary Scholten, the recipient of Pro-Israel PAC money, wrote on October 7th, 2025

Rep. Hillary Scholten continues to demonstrate her allegiance to Israel and a Zionist worldview with her comments on social media. Rep. Scholten wrote:

Today, we remember the horrors of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7th. We remember the lives that were lost, we remember the communities that were changed forever by that violence and bloodshed, and we remember the hostages who remain in captivity. We remember so we will not allow the horrors of the past to be repeated. We remember so that we can continue to work towards shared peace in this region for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

There are numerous aspects of Scholten’s comments, which I want to deconstruct.

However, before I get to the comments from Rep. Scholten that were on her Facebook page, it is important to point out a few things. Rep. Hillary Scholten has been the recipient of pro-Israel contributions to the tune of $223,532.00, according to Bought By Zionism. In addition, Rep. Scholten voted in the summer of 2023 to to pass a resolution saying that Israel is not an Apartheid State. In August of 2023, Rep. Scholten went on an AIPAC funded tour of Israel, which is one of the benefits of receiving Pro-Israel lobby money. Lastly, it is worth noting that Rep. Scholten has voted for every piece of legislation that sends the regular annual US military aid to Israel, along with supplemental US military weapons sales that have been significantly larger than the $3.5 billion that the US provides to Israel annually. 

Ok, now lets look at what Rep. Scholten said on her Facebook page for October 7. Rep. Scholten writes:

Today, we remember the horrors of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7th. We remember the lives that were lost, we remember the communities that were changed forever by that violence and bloodshed, and we remember the hostages who remain in captivity.

• Rep. Scholten conveniently omits the fact that Israel has been illegal occupying Palestinian land since 1948 and that the October 7, 2023 actions by Hamas are rooted in that historical context.
• Rep. Scholten also omits that the Israeli response has been to punish Palestinians to such a degree that is is widely acknowledged that what is Israel is committing against the Palestinians is Genocide. Even a prominent Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem published a report and calls what the Israeli government is doing as genocide.
• According to Drop Site News, “Over the past two years, since Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, Gaza has suffered daily attacks by Israel, according to the Government Media Office, resulting in an average of 92 Palestinians killed every single day, including 27 children and 14 women. An average of 53 families have been attacked each day, four completely wiped out, and eight reduced to a single survivor.” 
• Rep. Scholten only refers to the Israeli hostages in her social media post, despite the fact that throughout the past two years, every negotiation between the Israeli government and Hamas it has been widely known that Hamas will release the hostages if Israel releases the roughly 250 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel who are serving life sentences, as well as 1,700 Gaza residents who have been detained since October 7, 2023.

Rep. Scholten goes on to say, “We remember so we will not allow the horrors of the past to be repeated.” The 3rd Congressional Representative only wants to remember what Hamas did on October 7, 2023, but she doesn’t want to talk about the 1948 Nakba, the illegal occupation, the ongoing Israeli murder of Palestinians since 1948, the torture of Palestinians, the Israeli military blockade, the manufactured famine or the violence inflicted by Israeli settlers who brutalize and kill Palestinians, along with taking their land.

Finally, Rep. Scholten says, “We remember so that we can continue to work towards shared peace in this region for Israelis and Palestinians alike.” These are hollow words regarding shared peace, especially since Rep. Schotlen has consistently voted to send billions of dollars worth of US weapons to Israel, weapons that are primarily used against unarmed civilians. It is hypocritical to say you want peace, when you arm the side that has the most powerful military in the region.

Rep. Scholten once again demonstrates her allegiance to Israel and to Zionism. In fact, her votes to fund the ongoing genocide would be considered a crime against humanity and a violation of the Genocide Convention. If the world was just, Rep. Scholten would be tried for her role in supporting and funding genocide. Despite this fact, people will still vote for her.