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Quick Take
A video clip shared on Instagram on the day Hamas attacked Israel appears to show former President Donald Trump condemning Israel. But the clip is from a 2019 campaign rally and has been taken out of context. Trump was not expressing his opinion, but was quoting Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
Full Story
The Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, launching thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israeli territory and invading civilian communities and military bases. The following day, Israel responded by formally declaring war on Hamas and initiating airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is based. More than 1,600 people had been killed in Israel and Gaza combined by Oct. 10.
Many U.S. politicians have reacted to the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militants.
In a statement on Oct. 7, President Joe Biden said, “The United States unequivocally condemns this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza. … Terrorism is never justified. Israel has a right to defend itself and its people.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, said, “Israel not only has the right to defend itself against these attacks, it has a duty to respond with overwhelming force. I stand with Israel. America must stand with Israel.”
But an Instagram post shared on Oct. 7 showed former President Donald Trump appearing to criticize Israel.
The video shows Trump at a rally saying, “Israel has hypnotized the world. May Allah awaken the people and help them to see the evil doings of Israel and the United States.” The post has received more than 116,000 likes.
Many commenters, believing this to be Trump’s opinion, expressed support for the former president, with one commenter calling him “haji,” an Arab honorific. Asked by another commenter if Trump really said this or if the video was generated by artificial intelligence, the Instagram user who posted the video responded, “He did.”
Technically, Trump did say this. At a 2019 campaign rally in Minneapolis, while discussing Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, Trump said, “Omar wrote that ‘Israel has hypnotized the world. May Allah awaken the people and help them to see the evil doings of Israel and the United States.'”
But the video clip does not include the context, which made it clear that Trump was quoting Omar rather than stating his own opinion.
In November 2012, when fighting had erupted over the Gaza Strip, Omar wrote on Twitter, “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” That was about six years before she took office in 2019, becoming one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Omar has since called her words in that tweet “unfortunate.”
Since the recent fighting broke out, Omar has called for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Trump has expressed support for Israel over the years. In 2017, during his presidency, Trump made the controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. A year later, at a Hanukkah celebration, he called Israel a “cherished friend and partner.”
At a rally in Iowa on Oct. 8, Trump said, “Israel’s at war, and the United States has to support Israel. We have to support Israel. There’s been no better president for Israel than me.”
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
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Czachor, Emily Mae. “Israel and Hamas at war after Palestinian militants launch deadly attacks from Gaza.” CBS News. Updated 10 Oct 2023.
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Goldenberg, Tia, and Wafaa Shurafa. “Israel declares war, bombards Gaza and battles to dislodge Hamas fighters after surprise attack.” Associated Press. 8 Oct 2023.
Hjelmgaard, Kim, et al. “Israel updates: “We are at war,” Israel’s Netanyahu says as Hamas launches surprise multi-front attack.” USA Today. 7 Oct 2023.
Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN). “The solution to this horror, as ever, is a negotiated peace—with Israelis and Palestinians enjoying equal rights and security guarantees.” X. 9 Oct 2023.
Martinez, Andres R. and Emma Bubola. “What We Know About the Hamas Attack and Israel’s Response.” New York Times. 9 Oct 2023.
Myre, Greg. “5 Reasons Why The Israeli-Palestinian Fighting Is Different This Time.” NPR. 19 Nov 2012.
“Remarks at a Hanukkah Celebration.” The American Presidency Project. 6 Dec 2018.
Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis). “The dastardly terrorist attacks perpetrated against innocent Israeli civilians by Iran-backed terror group Hamas deserve a swift and lethal response. Israel not only has the right to defend itself against these attacks, it has a duty to respond with overwhelming force. I stand with Israel. America must stand with Israel.” X. 7 Oct 2023.
White House. “Presidential Proclamation Recognizing Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel and Relocating the United States Embassy to Israel to Jerusalem.” 6 Dec 2017.
White House. Press release. “Statement from President Joe Biden Condemning Terrorist Attacks in Israel.” Press Release. 7 Oct 2023.
YouTube. “Ilhan Omar Defends Her Comment Accusing Israel of ‘Evil Doings.‘” 16 Jan 2019.
YouTube. “Trump Reacts to Israel Hamas.” 8 Oct 2023.