FLEMING ISLAND – The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is traditionally considered to be built upon the site where Jesus was crucified and the location of the empty tomb after the resurrection. 

Located in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem, the church is considered among many to be the holiest site for Christianity. 

Rep. Aaron Bean said stepping into the church was a moving experience. As a Christian, the U.S. Representative said he had always wanted to make a pilgrimage to the church. He was glad to finally see it, although he wished it had been done under better circumstances. 

“It’s been a lifelong dream. I didn’t want to experience it like this," Bean said while talking to Clay Today. 

The occasion for the representative's visit to the region is the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, which has been raging since Oct. 7, when Hamas and Palestinian militants launched a surprise assault on Israel, including the Nova Music Festival and Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Bean visited both of the sites during the Congressional Delegation to Israel six months following the attacks. The delegation met with President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior national security leaders to discuss issues impacting the U.S.-Israel relationship.

"Netanyahu was refreshing and confident. His resolve was comforting. He is determined that we're going to get them," Bean said. 

Hamas said the attacks, which killed more than 1,000 people and took more than 250 as hostages, were in response to the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. 

“We met with the hostages’ parents. We visited the grounds where the Novo Music Festival was. It is a wide-open field that offers no place for the victims to hide. It was easy prey for the Hamas butchers. Now it is a shrine," Bean said. 

On April 13, just three days after Bean returned to the U.S., Iran launched an unprecedented attack that included hundreds of missiles and drones targeted at Israel. The vast majority were intercepted by aerial defense systems, notably Israel's "Iron Dome." Also, Jordan, which has historically been considered one of Israel's geopolitical rivals, shot down Iranian rockets as they flew over the nation's airspace.

“Israel citizens have to live with that fear. We were told where the safe rooms were during our stay if the sirens went off. Building codes in Israel have to have a bomb shelter,” Bean said. 

Since Oct. 7, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, the vast majority being in the Gaza Strip, which Hamas politically controls.

Bean assigns the blame to Hamas’ intentional decision to retain the hostages and President Joe Biden's approach to the region.

"President Biden’s weak-kneed appeasement continues to embolden Iran-backed Hamas," Bean said in a press release. 

"We need strong leadership. When you call for a ceasefire without freeing the 134 hostages, there’s no purpose. Five are American citizens. It is not appropriate to demand a ceasefire," Bean said. 

Biden’s administration has sent aid to Gaza but has been unable to negotiate peace in the region. Many are concerned that, following Iran’s retaliatory attack, the conflict is only heating up further.

Biden has been derogatorily nicknamed "Genocide Joe," with progressives assigning blame to him for emboldening the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and sending billions of dollars of U.S. military aid that have allegedly been used for indiscriminate bombings. 

 Bean is critical of Biden's approach to the region but from the other side of the spectrum. He believes the U.S. should continue to support Israel's intervention in Gaza and disagrees with "genocide" being the label to describe the ongoing crisis.  

“No, it is not genocide. There was peace on Oct. 6 before Hamas came and deliberately targeted civilians. Hamas purposefully hides in schools and hospitals. When innocents die, it makes for good publicity," Bean said. 

“Israel wants to live in peace. Hamas is not standing up for Palestine; its goal is to tear Israel down. ‘From the river to the sea’ is a call to erase Israel. How do you reconcile with that? A brick wall (between the two) may be the best solution.”