Josh Riley
D · U.S. House, NY-19 · Tier 2
Tier 2, “Mainstream pro-Israel”
Toured Israel Aug 2025 on the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation trip; voted Yea on H.R.23 ICC sanctions (roll 7, Jan 2025), did not co-sponsor Block the Bombs, voted to keep $500M Israel missile-defense funding (July 2025). He calls the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “heartbreaking” and says “Hamas and Netanyahu need to agree to a ceasefire” — with hostage release, Hamas disarmament, and an aid surge — and says he supports Israel “but not Netanyahu.”
A 2. His votes sit toward the pro-Israel end of his caucus: Yea on the January 2025 ICC-sanctions bill and the September 2026 college anti-boycott bill, both against most Democrats, and No on the 2025 Greene and 2026 Massie amendments to cut Israel’s military aid; he took the August 2025 AIPAC-affiliated trip to Israel and leads nothing on the issue. What separates him from 1/2 is concern for Gaza’s civilians in his own words, not tied to Israel’s self-defense: “The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is heartbreaking, and the suffering has to stop,” with a call for “a massive surge of humanitarian aid to innocent civilians” (August 2025). He also signed the August 2025 letter urging Secretary Rubio to restore medical visas for children from Gaza and, with most House Democrats, the September 2025 Schneider–Raskin letter to Netanyahu and his ministers opposing unilateral annexation of the West Bank. Counter-case for 1/2: an August 2025 statement he repeated at an October 2025 town hall, and one humanitarian letter, against votes that lean pro-Israel, and the ceasefire he backs includes the disarming of Hamas.
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elect26 places 2026 midterm candidates on a six-tier spectrum, from 1 (most pro-Israel) to 6 (most critical of Israel).