Ohio Dem state Sen. Beth Liston cancels visit to Israel: ‘I WAS the propaganda in this sponsored trip’

Ohio Democrats are facing renewed questions about their stance on Israel after a Democratic state senator announced she had canceled a sponsored trip to Israel, saying she did not want to be “used as propaganda.”

“My hope had been to learn and ask tough questions of the Israeli government actions, particularly related to humanitarian aide in Gaza,” state Sen. Beth Liston, D-Dublin, wrote on X. “I am grateful to the constituents who helped me see the harm of this approach.”

“What I decided was that I didn’t just need to guard against propaganda,” Liston added. “I WAS the propaganda in this sponsored trip. I did not want to be used as a tool in support of the Israeli government actions. I cancelled the trip.”

The trip, which The Columbus Dispatch reported as a free, Israel-sponsored legislative tour that many U.S. state lawmakers have joined, drew rapid constituent backlash and prompted Liston’s withdrawal. Supporters praised her for listening to voters, but critics say the move fed a partisan narrative that is rooted in various forms of antisemitism.

Islamic organizations have hailed Liston’s decision. CAIR-Ohio called it a rejection of “paid propaganda” and thanked the senator for canceling the trip.

“This ground-breaking news is a testament to what grassroot efforts can achieve,” CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland & North Executive Director Faten Odeh, said in a statement. “CAIR-Ohio is an awe of the countless hours and efforts of the organizers who made this happen and thanks Senator Liston for being a civil servant of the people and restoring our hope in our lawmakers.”

Not surprisingly, Jewish and pro-Israel voices blasted Liston. Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch, a Jewish Democrat attending the same trip, said in an interview that Liston had been “used” and urged engagement rather than boycotts.

“I am on this trip and you have just been used,” Panitch told JNS. “You would be welcome to ask the hard questions.

“What those opposing don’t want you to see are the burned out civilian homes where whole families were set on fire to burn alive, to hear about the thousands of Gazan civilians who also crossed the border that day to rape, behead and pillage,” Panitch added.

One constituent who said they voted for Liston “in every election since you ran the first time a few years ago” expressed their disappointment in the state senator’s decision.

“I am disappointed in your decision not to go on your trip. There is no experience like first hand experience,” one constituent wrote on Liston’s Facebook page. “Going to Israel would have been an excellent way to see for yourself what is going on, on both sides. You would not have been limited in only talking to “propaganda” representatives and could have talked to real people on both sides.

“Many Israeli’s and Jews in the diaspora (like me) don’t support the way Bibi has handled this war, BUT the fact is also that Hamas started this on Oct 7, and there are still hostages to be released,” the constituent added. “Had they released the hostages from the start, this whole war could have looked very differently.”

Complicating the political calculus are stark local numbers. The Anti-Defamation League reported roughly 233 antisemitic incidents in Ohio in 2024 amid a surge nationally of such reports, driven in part by the war Israel is conducting in Gaza, which is in response to the unprovoked attack Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups launched on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Yes, why would you want to ask tough questions and learn? Learning isn’t for you. It would be a waste of your time,” Clifford D. May, founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a post to X. “Your constituents know all about Israel, Hamas, jihadism, Islamism, the Muslim Brotherhood, Zionism, and of course those dastardly Jews. So just listen to them!

“Especially the ones carrying signs saying ‘Globalize the antifada!’ and ‘From the River to the Sea!’ No worries if you don’t know which river or sea,” May added. “No worries if you don’t know much about history or, say, the Hamas Charter that vows genocide.”