ASHLAND — Rep. Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) said her trip to Israel for the bipartisan “50 States One Israel” conference “renewed my commitment to stand with Israel and be a voice for Israel.”
Miller was one of roughly 250 legislators to make the trip, and one of four from Ohio, to speak with Israeli leaders and strengthen ties between the two nations.
The Israeli government organized and paid for the entire Sept. 14-18 trip. It included travel costs, meals, accommodations and guided programming.
The attendees were invited to attend the conference. Miller said she is unsure of how or why she was selected.
Miller previously visited Israel in 2023 with a small Ohio delegation to learn about innovation, agriculture and defense technology in Israel. Miller said she returned from the trip roughly five weeks prior to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“Going back this time — two years later — was really eye-opening,” Miller said. She pointed out that since the Oct. 7 attack, the sound of bombs and gunfire is the norm for residents living near the Gaza Strip.
Since Miller assumed office on Jan. 1, 2023, her two trips to Israel are the only out-of-country trips she has attended as a legislator.
What did she do?
Legislators spent the first half of the trip in Jerusalem. On the first night, they visited the Old City where they saw holy sites, including the Western Wall and tunnels which are believed to be located near the Ark of the Covenant.
They also visited Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center, which Miller said helped her understand the early struggles of Jewish people.
Then, legislators met with Amir Ohana, Speaker of the Knesset, for a reception. The Knesset is Israel’s single-chamber parliament where its 120 members pass all laws. At the reception, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered remarks, highlighting the shared values of the U.S. and Israel.
“We share the same values of freedom, we both fought for the price of freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of religion,” Miller said.
The next day, the legislators traveled to the Gaza Envelope, which is territory in Israel situated roughly two miles from the Gaza Strip. While there, legislators visited one of the country’s many communal settlements known as a kibbutz. There are roughly 270 of these located throughout the country, serving as residence for around 125,000 people. Some of them were attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
‘You will hear bombs and you will hear shooting’
A member of the Israel Defense Forces joined the lawmakers and warned them before they entered the kibbutz: “‘Don’t be alarmed— this is a normal way of life. You will hear bombs and you will hear shooting, but stay calm, everything is okay,'” Miller said.
Miller said the first “boom” of a bomb shook the ground and rattled her body. She was tempted to jump in the arms of the legislator next to her. It’s a feeling she had to get used to, as much as she could.
“At one point, a helicopter flew over head and there were strikes over and over again,” Miller said.
The residents living in the Gaza Envelope are at heightened risk for attacks because of their proximity to the Gaza Strip, the geographical center of the conflict, Miller said. She saw bomb shelters in every playground and park.
And while at lunch in a restaurant in the Gaza Envelope, she saw an infant sitting in a high chair. Underneath the baby’s feet lay what Miller described as an automatic weapon. The sight is not uncommon, as everyone is armed in the area, Miller said.
“That really makes you very sad for the people. This is their home; they wanna stay here, they wanna live here,” Miller said.
The representatives did not travel to the Gaza Strip, but Miller said she stood on a mountain in the Gaza Envelope, giving her a vantage point with a clear view.
Legislators also saw the Nova Festival Victims Memorial, the primary site in Israel where the Hamas attack took place. Miller compared the assault to the U.S. September 11 attacks.
More than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 46 U.S. citizens in Israel, were killed on October 7, 2023, and Hamas and other groups also seized some 251 hostages, according to a Library of Congress overview of the conflict.
Tel Aviv-Yafo
Miller spent the second half of the trip in Tel Aviv, a city on Israel’s Mediterranean coast known as the economic and technological center of the country.
While there, legislators learned about Israel’s innovation in agriculture, protective technology and medical technology. That included a visit to a children’s hospital.
“We give and we get. It’s a beautiful partnership,” Miller said. She specifically mentioned technology that repairs heart defects in children. She said doctors from all over the world come to train on how to use the technology in their hospitals back home.
Despite Tel Aviv’s distance from the fighting roughly 44 miles to the south, Miller said the trip’s most frightening moment happened there.
At Tel Aviv’s airport, on her way back to the U.S., legislators were instructed to take cover in a safe room. Yemen had just launched a rocket attack on Israel. Sirens sounded shortly after to warn the rest of Israel.
According to a Jerusalem Post article, the attack was a missile launched by the Houthis, an Islamist political and military organization that started launching attacks on Israel after the war in Gaza began. No casualties or injuries were reported.
“[Afterwards,] everything went back to normal like nothing happened. I’m thankful I got to experience that so I can better understand what they are living in,” Miller said.
Miller’s takeaways
The Ministry of Health in Gaza has reported 65,419 deaths of Palestinians and 1,162 deaths of Israelis since Oct. 7, 2023. The numbers include women, children and elderly people. The agency has reported more than 172,000 injuries of both people groups.
The U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry released a report on Sept. 16, during Miller’s trip, concluding Israel has committed genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.
On Monday, President Donald Trump released a plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which Netanyahu said he supports. The plan outlined 20 provisions, which include the return of hostages and flow of aid into Gaza.
Miller said she thinks claims of Israel committing genocide are false. Instead, she suggested Hamas is committing genocide.
“There are good people in Gaza, but the bad guys are in control, and we’ve got to get them out,” Miller said.
No regrets
Miller noted that the press release that was published last week about her trip to Israel received a lot of negative responses.
To those who criticized the trip, Miller encouraged them to consider multiple news sources to get a more nuanced version of the events unfolding between Israel and Hamas.
Miller described the trip as eye-opening. She said seeing the “boots-on-the-ground” efforts and hearing from Israeli leaders has made her more passionate about the relationship between the U.S. and Israel.
“I’m thrilled that I went. I have no regrets that I went to Israel,” Miller said.
