Peter Oberacker
R · U.S. House, NY-19 · Tier 1
Tier 1, “Firmly pro-Israel”
A New York state senator, he sits on the NY Senate Republican Conference's Antisemitism Working Group and sponsored S.8774, part of a March 2024 antisemitism package that GOP leaders framed as a response to the October attacks on Israel; he has no federal record and no Israel-policy votes in either direction. He was the sole cosponsor of S1584 (2023–24, sponsored by Senate Republican Leader Ortt), which would bar SUNY, CUNY and community-college funding to student groups that boycott allied nations, Israel among them. In April 2024 he co-signed Sen. Joseph Griffo’s letter urging Gov. Hochul to withhold state funds from Columbia University and back stripping its tax exemption over the encampment protesting the genocide, saying, “Those who are committing these antisemitic acts need to be punished.”
A 1. As a state senator he has joined a pattern of measures aimed at students and protesters in New York. He was the sole cosponsor of S1584 (2023–24), Senate Republican Leader Ortt’s bill barring SUNY, CUNY and community-college funding to student groups that boycott allied nations, Israel among them. In April 2024 he co-signed Sen. Joseph Griffo’s letter urging Gov. Hochul to withhold state funds from Columbia University and back stripping its tax exemption over the encampment protesting the genocide, saying, “Those who are committing these antisemitic acts need to be punished.” He cosponsors the HOPE Act (S7034-A), which would have state agencies weigh the IHRA definition of antisemitism in discrimination complaints, and sponsored S.8774 in his conference’s March 2024 antisemitism package, which GOP leaders framed as a response to the October 2023 attacks on Israel. No concern for Palestinian civilians appears in his record. He won the June 2026 primary and faces Rep. Josh Riley in NY-19. Counter-case: 1/2, since he wrote none of these measures and, with no federal record, has no aid or arms votes.
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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).