North Dakota Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden speaks to Israeli leaders and U.S. state lawmakers. Strinden and two North Dakota legislators participated in a weeklong trip to Israel that was fully funded by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Photo courtesy of the North Dakota Governor’s Office)
By: Mary Steurer
JERUSALEM (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden and two state lawmakers recently returned home from a weeklong, overseas trip hosted and paid for entirely by the government of Israel.
During the conference, funded by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S. lawmakers visited Israeli communities impacted by the Israel-Hamas War.
A United Nations report published earlier this month concluded Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, which the government of Israel denies. Israel’s war with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has led to mass violence and starvation in Gaza. Al Jazeera reported in late September that Israel’s war on Gaza killed at least 65,500 people, though the death toll does not account for thousands believed to be buried in rubble.
A growing number of countries have announced they recognize Palestine as an independent state in recent weeks.
The Israeli government is ramping up its outreach efforts to foreign countries amid widespread criticism of its conduct and its treatment of Palestinians, said Sen. Jonathan Sickler, R-Grand Forks, who went on the trip.
“Israel is seeing that they’re losing, to a certain extent, the public relations campaign out in the world,” he said.
The trip also coincided with the start of Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza City. U.S. lawmakers at one point were close enough to the city to see and hear the attack, said Sickler.
“You’re hearing the artillery shells, you’re seeing the plumes of smoke and dust on the horizon,” he said. “You get this sense that you’re just in the middle of this hellish history that’s going on in the world.”
Sickler said the trip is believed to be the largest delegation of elected officials ever to go to Israel. In all, about 250 representatives from all 50 states — both Republicans and Democrats — attended, according to the Israeli government. From North Dakota, Strinden and Sickler were joined by Rep. Bernie Satrom, R-Jamestown.
In an address to the U.S. delegation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that Israel feels isolated on the world stage and urged the U.S. to stay in its corner, Sickler said.
“He talked about the strength of the relationship with the United States and how important that is to Israel,” he said.
Strinden was invited to provide brief remarks to Netanyahu, other Israeli leaders and the U.S. lawmakers on the trip. According to a written copy of the speech shared with the North Dakota Monitor, she assured Israeli officials that North Dakota is on their side and highlighted values the U.S. and Israel share.
Strinden noted that following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, the North Dakota Legislature adopted a resolution voicing its commitment to their nation.
“We recognized Israel’s right to act decisively and unilaterally in self-defense and to eliminate the Hamas terrorist organization,” Strinden said in her speech.
The trip included a visit to the site of the Nova Music Festival, where Hamas militants killed hundreds of civilians, as well as other sites impacted by the conflict.
“We had an opportunity to converse with multiple people on an informal basis and hear their stories,” Satrom said in a statement to the Monitor. “Probably hearing from a woman who was a survivor of the 10/7 attack who lost many friends, neighbors and her home was the most impactful.”
Sickler said the trip has made him think about how North Dakota can do more to support Israel. North Dakota colleges and universities could consider collaborating with Israeli higher ed institutions, for example, he said.
House Minority Leader Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, was also invited to attend, but declined. He said he had family and work obligations, but that global criticism of Israel’s government also influenced his decision, too.
“Certainly in the context of difficult geopolitics, I think that weighed heavily, too,” Ista said.
Ista earlier this year asked the North Dakota Ethics Commission whether it was lawful for him to attend. In an advisory opinion, the commission determined that the trip was permissible because the organizers said it was educational and no lobbying would take place.
State Treasurer Thomas Beadle said he plans to attend a trip to Israel in December as part of the National Association of State Treasurers, which he leads.
Beadle also requested an Ethics Commission advisory opinion about his Israel trip, in which the commission also found it lawful for him to attend the trip since it’s educational in nature.
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