Jessica Eberly — HB 188, Proposed Israel-Ohio Partnership

Summary

Testimony from Jessica Eberly, who identifies as a resident of Columbus, OH, opposing HB 188. The testimony states opposition to the proposed israel-Ohio partnership in HB 188 and states that a partnership risks complicity with conduct it attributes to Israel. It states that supporting the bill comes across as tone-deaf when people in the state suffer from lack of housing, food insecurity, and lack of access to healthcare. It urges legislators to vote no on HB 188.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Cite this document

“Jessica Eberly — HB 188, Proposed Israel-Ohio Partnership.” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2025-10-29-development-testimony-testimony-12170-a40b21de12/, SHA-256 a4bdcd1e011d1de21b4f2dd96b76d1231270c33a78f1d1e10c6e130efcc699ca.

Full text

Hello, my name is Jessica Eberly, I am a resident of Columbus, OH and I have lived in Ohio
my entire life. As a proud Ohio native, I am appalled at the proposed israel-Ohio
partnership in HB 188, and do not understand how our elected o icials, who are supposed
to be some of the brightest and most equitable among us, would consider passing this
piece of legislation. My only conclusion is that if someone supports an apartheid
occupation, they must be beneﬁtting from that apartheid in some way, which is in stark
contrast to our country and state’s democratic values.

As you may know, israel has been declared not only an apartheid state by the International
Court of Justice, Amnesty International, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the
government of South Africa, it has also been found responsible for committing genocide
against Palestinians by multiple organizations- including the International Association of
Genocide Scholars, Amnesty International, a UN Special Committee, and even the Israeli
human rights group, B’Tselem.

Partnering Ohio with israel directly risks complicity with these war crimes and atrocities. I
urge you to vote no on HB 188 and preserve Ohio’s dignity and democratic
values. Partnering with a foreign government that is committing war crimes, apartheid, and
genocide is not what Ohioans need. We need our legislators to take a stand for
Ohioans’ best interests and endorse policies that invest in OUR communities. When there
are people in our state who su er from lack of housing, food insecurity, access to
appropriate mental health and healthcare services, and poor infrastructure and public
transit, supporting HB 188 comes across as tone-deaf and a slap in the face to your hard-
working constituents who have chosen Ohio to be their home. The least you can do as our
elected o icials is to choose Ohio back and vote no on a bill that would tie us to a
genocidal, apartheid occupation.

File and source

File: 2025-10-29_development_testimony_testimony-12170.pdf
Size: 35,830 bytes
SHA-256: a4bdcd1e011d1de21b4f2dd96b76d1231270c33a78f1d1e10c6e130efcc699ca
Our copy: 2025-10-29_development_testimony_testimony-12170.pdf
Original: No public link identified.