By Gabbie Burton
Contributing Writer

U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6) heard outcry from audience members who attended her town hall at the Kennett Library on July 30 and questioned her about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and her support for Israel. 

The event also featured Houlahan’s conversation with Jeffrey Rosen, the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

During the Q&A portion of the event, moderator and local faith leader Kyle Boyer read a comment card from an audience member asking Houlahan whether she agreed that the “Israeli war in Gaza constitutes a just war.”

“I am an enormous ally of Israel,” Houlahan responded. “I am horrified, as I think we all are, by the actions of Hamas, and this has been a brutal, brutal, brutal war. I am not a fan of Benjamin Netanyahu but that doesn’t mean that I am not a supporter of Israel.”

Houlahan continued through an initial interruption saying, “I think it is important to see that there’s a huge humanitarian crisis right now, and we have been very vocal about that in our office.”

Houlahan recently joined 92 congressional colleagues in calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to investigate the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, “a private, unqualified U.S.-linked aid organization at the center of the worsening starvation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” Houlahan stated on Instagram. However, her statements at the town hall were not enough for some members of the crowd.

“There’s no justification for starvation,” said one member in the audience, “and genocide at the hands of Netanyahu,” another interrupted before other voices from the audience began quickly overlapping.

Attendees questioned Houlahan’s voting record, contributions she has received from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in her campaign and repeated the initial question of whether or not she believes the war is just. Houlahan did not give a “yes” or “no” answer.

“At this point in time, I very much question what’s happening with this war,” he said. “I believe that there are war crimes happening daily. What I would very much want to see is a two-state solution and peace, immediately.”

Attendee Chris Christakis was one of those who interrupted Houlahan and shared his thoughts on the situation afterwards.

“I’m just really upset about what’s going on, and I don’t like that we are complicit as a country,” he said. “I don’t think [U.S. Rep. Houlahan] cares. I mean, AIPAC is her highest funder.”

According to Open Secrets, individuals and PACs affiliated with AIPAC were Houlahan’s top contributor in 2023-2024, contributing $35,710. Christakis also shared that he was surprised by Houlahan’s response to the questions and the subsequent outcry from the audience.

“I’m surprised that she just shirked it,” he said. “The question was, ‘Do you think it is a just war?’ She wouldn’t even answer that, which I think says that it’s pretty clear that this is not a just war.”

Houlahan offered to continue the discussion with Christakis at a later time in order to continue discussing other questions and topics of the town hall.

Other topics discussed during the town hall involved immigration, the Supreme Court, free speech, and education. Many of the topics were discussed within the framework of the U.S. Constitution, owing to Rosen’s role at the Constitution Center.

A key point for both Rosen and Houlahan was to encourage attendees to continue learning independently and have hard discussions on the issues they care most about.

“Educate yourself about the Constitution, and then you can make up your own minds,” Rosen said. “As long as people continue to do exactly what you’re doing – gathering together, reading and informing yourself – then America will survive.”

Despite the interruptions from the audience, the Houlahan team shared that they were ultimately satisfied with the event.

“The goal for every town hall is dialogue,” said Houlahan’s Communications Director, Erin Cecil-Smith. “Even difficult questions are going to get asked. She’s a congresswoman, she is our representative, and this is her job.”

To contact Contributing Writer Gabbie Burton, email [email protected].