ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke delegate is pushing back against accusations of antisemitism, calling the recent criticism of his comments on the Israeli-Hamas conflict politically motivated “silly season” attacks.
The controversy began after Delegate Sam Rasoul, a Democrat, described Israel’s military actions in Gaza on social media as “the most evil cleansing in human history.” In an interview on Aug. 1, Rasoul said he has been consistent in his opposition to sending U.S. tax dollars to Israel for the past 22 months and believes the timing of the backlash is intentional.
“We’re being attacked, you know, right before Election Day on that,” Rasoul said. “I’ve been clear… about me believing that our tax dollars shouldn’t go to funding a genocide in Gaza.”
Photo credit: Amanda Maglione
The criticism was amplified by Rabbi Kathy Cohen, a former Roanoke City Council candidate, who wrote in a social media post that Rasoul’s statements “cross the line to antisemitism” and make the local Jewish community less safe.
“I do not know whether Sam is an antisemite or not, but I do know that his statements about the state of Israel and the concept of Zionism cross the line,” Cohen wrote. She accused the delegate of being “blinded by Hamas propaganda” and failing to mention violence Hamas committed against its own citizens and Israeli hostages.
Rasoul argues that his focus is on reallocating funds to address local needs. “That’s one of the worst atrocities we’ve ever seen in modern history is being funded by our tax dollars,” he said. “We want to spend that money here on priorities that are important to Virginians.”
While foreign policy is largely a federal matter, Rasoul stated that the General Assembly has its own leverage. He said lawmakers can lobby federal officials and also have direct authority over state-level financial decisions.
“We make certain investments in the state and choosing as a state not to make those investments in entities that are going against international law that, of course, are committing a genocide. Those are decisions that we have control over,” Rasoul said.
Amid the dispute, the delegate has received public backing, including from a Facebook page appearing to belong to Roanoke Sheriff Antonio Hash, which posted messages of support.
