Kids aren’t required to agree with their parents’ stances, but when they reject familial ideologies, it often comes as a surprise — especially when the parent holds a position of power. Many kids suppress their opinions for access to money, approval, and endless resources. But not Maddie Block.
As the daughter of New Mexico State Senator Jay Block, Maddie has loudly and publicly held her father’s feet to the fire over the policies he supports —and his backing of Israel has been no exception.
In a viral video, Maddie slammed his recent trip to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling it a “propaganda trip.”
“My dad and a bunch of other loser politicians from New Mexico went to meet with Netanyahu, and I don’t know what they could possibly discuss,” she says in the video. “How does meeting with Netanyahu help the local people of New Mexico?”
@maddie.block Wtf does Netanyahu have to do with any local issues in New Mexico? Additional points of clarification: My dad is JAY Block, not John Block. Also, r*cist and/or antis*mitic comments will not be tolerated on my videos! #republican #newmexico #democrat #politics #politicstiktok ♬ original sound – Maddie Block
The trip she refers to was the largest-ever delegation of state representatives from all 50 states to travel to Israel. The conference, called 50 States, One Israel, was described by The Jerusalem Post as a symbol of national consensus in the US regarding support for Israel.
“Instead of boycotting Israel, promote engagement with Israel,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told the delegates. “Instead of divesting from Israel, promote investments in Israel. And instead of sanctioning the only Jewish state, speak out clearly against those who recycle age-old hatred in modern form.”
When Teen Vogue contacted Senator Block for comment, however, he denied that the trip was a propaganda tour or funded improperly.
“The trip to Israel was not funded by taxpayers, nor was I bribed or compensated by Israel to attend,” he said.
Still, Block previously stated in the Rio Rancho Observer that the trip was “entirely paid for by the Israeli government.”
“The big takeaway is, Israel has not recovered from the attack on Oct. 7 (2023),” Block said of the trip. “It is still engrained in every Israeli we met.”
According to a May 2025 report by The Middle East Monitor, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and the UN Special Committee on Gaza estimate that Israel has dropped approximately 100,000 tons of explosives on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, wiping out 2,200 families. The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 64,000, the Associated Press reported via PBS News.
Maddie told Teen Vogue that seeing her father celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade on Twitter was what radicalized her to speak out.
“It was confounding to me that he wanted to force women to have babies they didn’t want or couldn’t take care of while not even speaking to his own children. It felt hypocritical,” she said.
She added that she didn’t understand what her father was doing in Israel at all.
“What struck me as really strange is the fact that he is a state senator,” she told Teen Vogue. “He doesn’t vote on legislation that impacts foreign policy. His job is limited to the state of New Mexico. For the Israeli government to be inviting state-level politicians on what appears to be a propaganda trip — that’s why I spoke out.”
