Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., said the United States should have “unconditional” support for Israel amid its war with the terror group Hamas, a statement that contrasts remarks from two of his fellow House progressives.
“U.S. aid to Israel is and should be unconditional, and never more so than in this moment of critical need,” Torres said, according to Capitol Hill reporter Marc Rod. “Congress must act decisively to provide Israel with whatever it needs to defend itself in the face of unprecedented terrorism.”
The lawmaker continued: “Shame on anyone who glorifies as ‘resistance’ the largest single-day mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. It is reprehensible and repulsive.”
The comment came after two members of the group of far-left House members known as the “Squad” appeared to blame Israel for being attacked, calling for an end to U.S. aid to the Jewish state.
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Rep. Ritchie Torres said the U.S. should continue its “unconditional” support for Israel. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., issued a statement in which she began by lamenting the violence and loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives, before shifting her message.
“As part of achieving a just and lasting peace, we must do our part to stop this violence and trauma by ending US government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid,” she wrote. “I am continuing to closely monitor the situation, and my Office is ready to support residents of the First District with family members and loved ones in the region.”
A plume of smoke rises in the sky of Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on Oct. 9, 2023. Israel relentlessly pounded Gaza overnight as fighting with Hamas continued. (Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images)
Bush’s position was in line with that of fellow Squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. Tlaib specifically condemned the “unconditional funding” to support Israel, which she called an “apartheid government.”
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“I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day,” she said, according to the Detroit News.
She then called for “lifting the blockade, ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance.”
Tlaib added that “this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue,” so long as the U.S. “provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government[.]”
Fox News Digital reached out to the congressional offices of Bush and Tlaib but did not immediately receive a response.
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The Hamas invasion and subsequent rocket fire have left at least 800 Israelis dead as of Monday morning. The Palestinian Health Ministry said more than 300 people in Gaza have been killed in the fighting, including 20 children.
Additional losses are expected, especially as both sides brace for a full-scale war that could span weeks or months.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace, Anders Hagstrom, Houston Keene and Landon Mion contributed to this report.
