Rep. Thanedar Says Hacker Is Responsible for Anti-Israel Tweets

WASHINGTON (The Detroit News/TNS) — U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) said he’s investigating how his X account was hacked overnight after he deleted what he said was an unauthorized post decrying the “terrorist state of Israel” and “genocide” in Gaza.

“I was just hacked, and a misleading tweet was sent from my account. I have deleted the tweet and taken steps to secure my account,” Thanedar wrote on X, formerly Twitter, around 2:15 a.m. Tuesday.

In the follow-up message, Thanedar, of Detroit, also included his official statement on Israel, in which he expresses “steadfast” support for the country and calls for the U.S. to provide resources without conditions for Israel to “achieve its objectives” to destroy Hamas and secure the return of hostages.

Thanedar told The Detroit News on Tuesday morning that he was investigating the hacking incident and had since changed his password.

The initial tweet, posted around midnight, said that Thanedar could “no longer stay silent on the genocide taking place in Palestine.”

“Israel has paid off politicians for far too long. I know this means I’ll lose AIPAC financial support but I don’t need it,” the message read. “We need to come together to #FreePalestine from the terrorist state of Israel.”

That tweet, from Thanedar’s campaign account, has since been deleted.

Thanedar hasn’t always been an avowed supporter of Israel. As a state lawmaker in 2021, he co-sponsored a resolution that referred to Israel as an “apartheid” state and called on Congress to end military aid to the nation.

That led to a pro-Israel super political action committee affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to spend $4 million in the Democratic primary last year in opposition to Thanedar and in support of one of his opponents, former state Sen. Adam Hollier.

Since coming to Congress, Thanedar has flipped his position to support Israel, including signing onto a bipartisan resolution “standing with Israel” after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. Over the summer, he also joined a congressional delegation trip to Israel sponsored by AIPAC.

Last month, he called on Israel to begin a 72-hour “humanitarian pause” to negotiate the release of the hostages held by Hamas, and urged President Joe Biden to appoint former President Barack Obama as “chief negotiator to bring all parties to the table.”

Thanedar also celebrated the recent temporary truce that paused Israeli military operations in Gaza and allowed for the release of dozens of hostages, but fighting has since resumed.