A Vermont State Representative and Bennington College alum’s weeklong visit to Israel, sponsored by the Israeli government last week, prompted fierce backlash from Bennington students.
Representative William “Will” Greer (D-Bennington 2; ‘24), along with five other Vermont representatives, participated in the “50 States, One Israel” Conference, part of a larger delegation of 250 bipartisan state lawmakers from all 50 states. The Israel Foreign Affairs Ministry covered the cost of airfare, 5-star lodging in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, meals, and guided tours from Sept. 13 to Sept. 18. The visit included meetings and speeches from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana, and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in Southern Israel and took 250 hostages. Israel has since committed acts of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, recognized by international human rights groups Amnesty International, B’Tselem, and Human Rights Watch, as well as the United Nations.This includes Isael’s usage of man-made famine as a genocide tactic, which has killed over 65,000 Gazans according to the Gaza Health Ministry. On Sept. 16, Israel launched a ground invasion into Gaza City, displacing thousands in the Strip.
Reported first by “The Rake Vermont,” news of Greer’s visit to Israel spread to the college through social media, where many students learned about the trip.
“Seeing his photo up [on Instagram] was a shock, a betrayal, and made me want to vomit,” said Yami Antonio, a senior studying social anthropology, after seeing a picture of Greer planting a tree at the Ofakim kibbutz, roughly 13 miles from the Gaza Border. “I think that’s a disgusting representation of what the people of Vermont believe in.”
The images and video posted to the @IsraelinBoston and @StateofIsrael Instagram accounts show Greer and legislators Matthew Birong (D – Addison-3), James Gregorie (R – Franklin-6), Sarah “Sarita” Austin (D – Chittenden-19) and Gina Galfetti (R – Washington-Orange) planting the tree, visiting Yad Vashem and The World Holocaust Remembrance Center, and meeting with Israeli diplomats and officials. Numerous Bennington students said they were shocked to learn that the trip’s expenses were being comped by the Foreign Affairs ministry. They were especially pained seeing someone they looked up to—a recent Bennington graduate—attend this conference.
“The fact that it was fully paid [by Israel] I think also feels really upsetting, especially when we’re in a state and time where so many people are over there in that region, specifically in Palestine, so many people are facing extreme poverty. And in Vermont, we have so many issues with poverty ourselves,” Sadie Birch, a sophomore studying literature, said.
On Monday, Greer released a two-page statement, writing that his participation did not equal support for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government nor the genocide in Gaza.
“It is clear that this war is being unnecessarily prolonged to keep Netanyahu in power,” Greer’s statement read. “I represented our community’s views as part of the Vermont delegation to Israel because we need people to engage in constructive dialogue to bring an end to the conflict that we have grown increasingly fearful, saddened, and frustrated about. Had I not been present, our community’s values would not have been expressed clearly.”
In an interview with the Lens, Greer said that he didn’t post about the conference before or during out of safety concerns with the increase of political violence in the United States, but would have posted soon after to talk about humanitarian and diplomatic conversations he had while in Israel.
“It would’ve been a very different tone, realizing very different circumstances,” Greer said. When asked further about past posts of diplomatic foreign trips, including a trip to Ireland, he stated: “Some of the negativity is someone said: ‘I see you’re smiling in Ireland, would you have smiled in Israel?’ And I’m like: ‘Of course not.’ It’s a very different situation. There’s a very different tone of the conference.”
Vermont does not have an official reporting law for state legislators going on sponsored foreign trips, something Greer said he is willing to introduce into the Vermont House in the upcoming session. In terms of going to Israel, Greer felt it was necessary to have an opinion focused on peace and humanitarian aims present.
“I will apologize for the optics that this has caused,” Greer said, “in terms of participating in this visit, this was an opportunity to express our concerns, our hopes for also achieving peace in the region, and I think that not having that voice there and not having been present to be able to express that, you know, I’m afraid that that our perspectives would not have been heard.”
Dev Wernik, a senior studying film and photography, said of the trip: “Will Greer wasn’t crashing a cabinet meeting. He wasn’t crashing this conference. He was a willing participant with these people. Benjamin Netanyahu in the video thanked all those people for their support of Israel. It seemed like a very friendly reunion. So if Will Greer wants us to think that they’re somehow some agent of the resistance just trying to sneak their way into this, I mean, that’s a total pipe dream too.”
Wernik, who is Jewish, believes Greer’s words are not enough to excuse taking a paid foreign trip to Israel: “You met with and co-signed with the architect of a genocide. It does not matter what apologies you have to say, what actions you wish to do from now on, you have that stain for all of history. You are a willing propaganda pawn for a genocide of the Palestinian people.”
Greer was elected to the Bennington 2 District in 2024, placing second by five votes in the Democratic primary and winning a seat in the general election with 1,858 votes. One student, who voted for Greer in 2024, said she regretted voting for him after his trip to Israel and meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
“I’m very disheartened and disappointed in his actions of going to Israel. That is not who I thought I was voting for. It is not who I would’ve voted for now,” a Bennington senior said, “That’s not the policy I stand for.”
“Are you representing your voting base if all of the people who said they voted for you last term are disappointed in your actions?” Antonio said.
On Tuesday afternoon, students and North Bennington community members gathered in Lincoln Square, silently holding signs in the overcast weather condemning Israel’s genocide and Greer’s visit to Israel. Alex Libby, a junior studying Environmental Studies, said Greer’s statements weren’t enough.
“I appreciated that he thought it was a genocide, but then I was even more confused why he was willing to go and do PR for a regime he knows is committing a genocide right now,” Libby said, “I appreciate that he said he wants to talk to people. We are standing right here.”
Ultimately, Greer said he hopes that the trip and controversy will open more dialogue in the district and spark ideas for future legislation.
“A point for people to take away from this is that diplomacy is never easy, it’s a process that’s very difficult, and there’s gonna be moments where we disagree on the way we go about things,” Greer said, hoping that by channeling our energy into direct action and using the resources we have at our disposal, we’ll be able to “work” on it. “That would be my hope, that people could walk away from this realizing that we’re still working together on this.”
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