The Three Denials of Rosecrants

Words do not speak louder than actions

Oct 21, 2023

With the recent Hamas attacks against Israel, local politicians have slowly put out media releases and various quotes about where they stand on this issue. HD 46 Representative Jacob Rosecrants is no different.

Giving a quote to the Norman Transcript, Rosecrants established two things: the Hamas attack should not be justified, and that Israel has the right to defend itself. Outside of radical college students, everyone likely agrees with both of these statements. However, Reader, when going over his statement, or those statements he has shared, there is one fundamental aspect that is not uttered: a clear and decisive acknowledgment on standing in support with Israel.

This was an opportunity for Rosecrants to speak his public support, especially given that it was a publication, where what he said was thought out and calculated. Don’t fret, Reader, there is one instance that this publication found where he stated he stood with Israel.

With the below Facebook post, it is clear that the focus of Rosecrants’ remarks are aimed at jeering State Superintendent Ryan Walters, not supporting Israel. Nonetheless, he stated he stands with Israel, and it is officially out there, though lost in the quick sand algorithms of Facebook.

While reviewing his posts and paying attention to his words, this publication wanted to see if Rosecrants truly stands with Israel, and the story of Peter denying Christ three times came to mind.

Most everyone knows the story of Peter denying Christ three times before the Rooster crow. Jesus told Peter that he would deny him, and Peter did not believe this. As always, Jesus was not wrong. This moment in Peter’s life speaks loudly toward his weakness and his fear.

In the garden, Peter was weak, unable to stay awake and pray. In life, if we are not alert and grounded, we fail to be prepared, unable to stand when the opportunity presents itself. Fear to do or to say the right thing, when our social or political status may be put at risk, cripples our words. Statements have no weight when the actions don’t match.

The First Denial of Rosecrants

In 2020, HB 3967 was introduced in the legislature. This bill sought to codify that Israel is a prominent trading partner, and that moving forward, if a company chooses to boycott Israel, Oklahoma will not enter into a contract with that company.

In section D of this bill, language was included that would allow the Oklahoma Secretary of State to waive this provision if it is deemed impractical to apply it for the interest of Oklahoma.

When given the chance to vote on this bill, Rosecrants voted against it. An opportunity to stand with Israel was presented, and he declined.

The Second Denial of Rosecrants

In 2021, a House Resolution, HR 1037, was presented to the members of that chamber for a vote. The vote would ask our Congressional delegation to sign a document that would read:

"We must stand united with Israel in this latest attack against their sovereignty and their right to exist as a nation and for the Jewish people to exist. Israel is one of the United States' staunchest allies. We must stand firm in condemning the hatred against this people that has led to their expulsion from countries across the globe for centuries and to their massacre, including the more than 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust under the Nazis."

It would also show the House’s support of this proposition:

"We stand today united in our support of Israel and the Jewish people and bless them, and we pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

This resolution was spurred by the rocket attacks from Hamas on Israeli civilians.

To no surprise, when this resolution came up for a vote, Rosecrants once again voted no, choosing to publicly turn his back on Israel at the Capitol.

The Third Denial of Rosecrants

In 2021, Ben and Jerry’s, the ice cream company, publicly stated that they would no longer sell ice cream in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). This declaration violated HB 3967. In response, the House put forth HR 1063 in 2022.

The purpose of the resolution was to bring to light Ben and Jerry’s parent company’s, Unilever, failure to disclose their violation of HB 3967. The resolution directed the State Treasurer to “…divest the state and its retirement funds of all Unilever securities in a manner in their discretion.”

Much like past instances, Rosecrants once again voted against Israel.

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Reader, you may be asking yourself if these resolutions matter? Let’s take a look.

In 2021, a coalition of state treasurers, including Oklahoma, began to apply pressure by sending a letter to Unilever, stating they would divest from the company if the boycott didn’t end. They called them out on Ben and Jerry’s blatant anti-Semitic stance.

In 2022, feeling pressure of divestment from states and a lawsuit in US federal court, Unilever caved and reached a deal.

In short, these resolutions do matter. Thankfully, a majority of our House members do not turn a blind eye to anti-Semitic companies or staying quiet during terrorist attacks against out allies.

But is Rosecrants an anomaly, or is it a systemic problem within the Democrat Party? The attitude of Bernie Sanders likely sums up how the Democrat Party views the situation: there needs to be justice for Palestine.