Advocacy group lodges ethics complaint against Lang, 3 others after Israel trip

Four New Hampshire legislators are in the throes of a complaint to the New Hampshire Ethics Commission, stemming from a 2025 junket to Israel for the “50 States, One Israel” conference, including Sanbornton’s Sen. Tim Lang. The complaint alleges each government leader received a trip valued at $6,500 to Israel, amidst widespread war, destruction and the killing of Gazans on the strip, and alternatively, accepted a gift in violation of state law.

Lang, a Republican, was one of the five Granite State delegates invited to attend, and one of four who accepted the invitation. Other attendees, who also have an ethics complaint filed against them, include Rep. Robert Lynn (R-Windham), Sen. Kevin Avard (R-Nashua) and Rep. Joe Alexander (R-Goffstown).

During a press conference on Tuesday hosted by the New Hampshire Coalition for a Just Peace in the Middle East, outside the Statehouse, in Concord, details were brought forward about the legislators’ trip.

Lang and others traveled to Israel, Sept. 15-18, 2025, for a trip intended to help strengthen relations between the United States and Israel. The all-expenses-paid trip included chartered flights, luxury hotels, meals, and guided tours. According to Sharon Racusin, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace Vermont-New Hampshire and a representative to the NH Coalition for a Just Peace in the Middle East, this all happened “two years into the globally recognized genocide of the Palestinian people living in Gaza.”

Lang maintains that in many ways, the trip was meant to be “educational.”

“This is an educational opportunity,” Lang said via phone on Wednesday.

He believes the ethics complaint is simply a political ploy.

“They filed the same complaint in January of this year [in Vermont], but waited in NH, until our election cycle. It’s suspicious," he said. “There’s no reason unless there’s an ulterior motive, and I think it’s political.”

He referenced when in January, an ethics complaint was lodged against the “50 States, One Israel” delegates from Vermont by the same organization. The Vermont House Ethics Panel dismissed the complaint, and Lang thinks that’s exactly what will happen with the complaint in the Granite State.

“I think that once the ethics committee looks at it, and does a review, they’ll clearly see we didn’t violate any law,” he said.

With election season in full swing, Lang felt it prudent to get ahead of the situation, going so far as to head to the state attorney to waive confidentiality, so he could speak publicly on the matter.

“I didn’t want it out there as some nefarious thing. I asked the senate attorney for expedited review, because [the complaint] was made public illegally,” Lang said. “Now, because it's been made public illegally, I felt the need to make a public statement, that this wasn't a public statement, but a political statement.”

Lang is running unopposed in the primary, and will face challenger Kurt Webber, a Democrat, in the General Election this November.

During the “50 States, One Israel” conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked legislators for their attendance in such a time of turmoil.

“I thank you for coming here to stand with Israel. Thank you, Democrats and Republicans alike,” he said. “We value and cherish your support. This is an active effort to counter attempts to besiege Israel — not isolated, not symbolic, but a real effort to push back.”

The New Hampshire State Primary is Tuesday, Sept. 8.