Washington, D.C. – July 31, 2025 — At the Israel on Campus Coalition’s annual national leadership summit, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) delivered a forceful defense of Israel, directly addressing criticism from within his own party.
Israel-supporting revealed on Tuesday he no longer has a relationship with some of his family due to his support for Israel.
“I’ve lost friends, all of you have lost friends there,” he told a room full of Jewish students at the Israel on Campus Coalition Summit on Tuesday. “I’m no longer on speaking terms with with certain members of my family.”
Facing an audience of roughly 700 pro-Israel students, Torres declared that “Hamas is the central cause of [Israel’s] war in Gaza,” asserting that “the primary responsibility for a war lies with its cause” (Jewish Insider). He went on to challenge what he described as “false” allegations of genocide, apartheid, and starvation, calling them “a propaganda campaign” aimed at delegitimizing Israel’s security efforts (Jewish Insider).
Torres’s remarks received enthusiastic applause, emerging as a highlight of the three-day gathering hosted by the Israel on Campus Coalition. The coalition unites pro-Israel student groups from campuses across the United States, drawing participants from a wide range of political and religious backgrounds (New York Post).
His intervention comes amid growing progressive criticism of Israel within the Democratic Party and reports of rising antisemitism on college campuses. Many Jewish students at the summit voiced concerns over anti-Israel sentiment and campus hostility toward Jewish identity.
As one of the few Democrats to publicly counter these trends, Torres insisted that moral clarity requires calling out Hamas as the architect of the conflict. His unwavering stance reaffirmed his reputation as a leading pro-Israel voice in Congress.
Source: Jewish Insider: Ritchie Torres’s Defense of Israel at ICC Summit
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