Progressive divisions within the Democrat Party have deepened following the Hamas attacks in Israel, leading to the departure of pro-Israel Democrats like Rep. Ritchie Torres from key factions.
Rep. Ritchie Torres previously said, “Every casualty is a tragedy, every war is a humanitarian crisis, but we have to keep in mind the causes of the war.”
“Israel did not start the war, the war was imposed upon Israel by the barbaric terrorism of Hamas, which butchered 1,400 Israelis, including babies,” he continued.
Torres clashed with far-left members, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, over his support for Israel and condemnation of Hamas.
“You know, my colleague, Rep. Omar, has voted against Iron Dome, which is a missile defense system that protects Israeli civilians from relentless rocket fire,” explained Torres.
He added, “Were it not for Iron Dome interceptions, there would be far more dead Israelis – far more, by orders of magnitude. So the policy position that she has taken would have led to more dead Israelis and more dead Palestinians.”
He criticized progressives for hesitating to condemn Hamas’ sexual violence against Israeli women and emphasized the importance of speaking out clearly against such atrocities.
Torres said in a different interview, “Look, there’s often been a double standard against Israel when it comes to condemning the sheer butchery and barbarism of Hamas.”
“Public officials have a moral obligation to speak with clarity rather than caveats. And I found it deeply troubling, for example, that the U.N. Women, the so-called women’s rights arm of the United Nations, went 50 days without commenting on or condemning the sexual atrocities that Hamas perpetrated against Israeli women,” charged the lawmaker.
“For me, this is not about politics. This is about decency. It is indecent to deny or downplay or ‘both sides’ the rape and sexual violence against Israeli women on Oct. 7,” he concluded.
Torres also voted to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib for her anti-Israel remarks.
