U.S. Sen. Jon Tester held a town hall in Butte Friday and was met with a mix of gratitude for his work in Congress and outrage over his stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
After acknowledging Veterans Day, Tester opened the floor.
“You can ask me anything you want to ask,” Tester said.
The first question, and several more, were about Butte’s Superfund cleanup. Residents are concerned about the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s plan for Silver Bow Creek, and a lack of transparency from agency officials.
Tester agreed.
“I don’t know that I’m going to be able to get the EPA administrator out here, but if he gets out here, he’s coming to Butte," Tester said.
The conversation quickly turned to the Middle East. Tester says Israel has the right to protect itself in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. He supports daily four-hour pauses on military operations to allow for civilian evacuations and aid.
One attendee asked Tester why he won’t support a full ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 10,000.
“The truth is, it’s a horrible situation," Tester said. "There are no good answers here. And it’s not a good sight, what's going on in Gaza right now. It wasn’t a good sight on October 7”
Hamas killed 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped 240 in its attack. More than 300 Israeli soldiers have died since the war began.
Despite further criticism of his stance, Tester, chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, maintained that Hamas is not only a threat to Israel, but to the U.S.
After the last question, Missoulian Drew Mozzer, a member of Montanans in Solidarity with Palestine, stood with two others and chastised the senator.
“You have genocide on your hands. We have voted for you. We have made calls for you. We’ve elected you, Senator Tester … [trails off]”
The group carried a stack of more than 800 signatures asking Tester to support a ceasefire.
Other members of the crowd tried to drown them out with words of support for Montana’s senior senator.
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