Democratic ‘rock star’ Torres stumps with Gillen in 5 Towns

Pro-Israel Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres joined congressional candidate Laura Gillen as she stumped for votes at the Cedarhurst LIRR station during the morning rush on Monday.

Torres, the gay Latino progressive from the Bronx who’s made a mark by speaking firmly and continuously in support of the Jewish state, was there to lend his credibility to Gillen’s pro-Israel bonafides as she seeks to unseat one-term Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito in Nassau’s 4th CD. She lost to D’Esposito in 2022.

Torres, who is often greeted like a rock star in his district’s heavily Jewish and liberal-leaning Riverdale neighborhood, was warmly welcomed by the mostly Orthodox commuters he and Gillen encountered in politically-red Cedarhurst.

While everyone Gillen encountered greeted her politely, few promised their votes. One young man from Lawrence, though, made a point of saying he trusted her — and former President Trump — on Israel and would vote for both. He does not trust Vice President Harris, he said.

Several people offered profuse thanks to Torres for his muscular support.

A lone Far Rockaway-bound commuter on the opposite platform waved and shouted words of appreciation.

The Jewish Star asked Gillen for a reaction to Harris’ failure to challenge a helckler’s description of Israel’s military actions in Gaza as “genocide.”

“The reason we’re seeing the suffering in the Middle East is because of Hamas,” Gillen said. “Hamas is a terrorist organization that launched an unprovoked attack on Israel, slaughtered children, slaughtered women, perpetrated gruesome sexual violence to women on Oct. 7.”

She continued: “Hamas puts its own people in harm’s way … harming their own people to have Israel lose the PR war. Hamas is the reason for all the suffering.”

Gillen voiced support for Israel’s actions — “Israel has the right to defend itself, and Israel is perpetrating its defense in the way that it sees fit,” she said. But like Harris, she repeatedly avoided using the word, “genocide” in saying Israel wasn’t guilty of it.

If “you disagree with calling it genocide, what would you call it?” she was asked. “Casualties of war,” she responded, “casualties of war.”

The Jewish Star asked Torres how it feels to be a rock star in Riverdale.

“It’s always a good thing when your constituents like you,” he said. “The relationship between me and the Jewish community in Riverdale is a marriage made in heaven.”

“Keep in mind,” he added, “that Riverdale went from [Squad member] Jamaal Bowman to myself, so I think most of my constituents would consider that an upgrade.”