Progressive Torres: Why I back Israel
Rep. Ritchie Torres, the gay Black Latino progressive Democrat whose Bronx district includes Riverdale, is one of Congress’ most outspoken supporters of Israel and fighters against antisemitism. After JFNA presented him with its Yitro award, here’s what he said.
Like many of you, I feel like we live in a world that has lost its mind. We live in an alternate reality where evil has become good, and wrong has become right, and Israeli self-defense has become aggression, and antisemitic terrorism has become resistance.
In that world of lies and blood libels and false narratives, the most important contribution that I can make as a member of Congress is not only my vote in the halls of Congress, but my voice in the public square. Those of us in public office must have the moral courage to cast the light of truth and hope in a world darkened by deception and despair.
Now, people often ask me, you know, Richie, you’re not Jewish, you’re Black, you’re Latino. Why do you speak out so forcefully and frequently against antisemitism?
And I simply reply — the question is not, why have I chosen to speak out? The question is, why have others chosen to be silent amid the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Tanswer to the question of why I choose to speak out lies in Torah. There’s a passage in Torah that appears as an inscription on the Liberty Bell. It reads, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”
The deeper message is that none of us is free until all of us are free. And so I see my freedom as a Black Latino from the Bronx as inextricably bound to the freedom of the Jewish people. I see the security of my own nation and home, the United States of America, as inextricably bound to the security of the Jewish homeland. And I’m here to affirm that I am pro-Israel, not despite my progressive values, but because of my progressive values.
•It is progressive to defend Israel’s right to defend itself.
•It is progressive to stand for the US Israel relationship.
•It is progressive to demand to the release of the hostages who must be brought home.
I’ll end with this final message. When I’m speaking with the next generation of Jewish leaders, I tell them, in an age of amplified antisemitism, be proud of who you are.
Take pride in your Judaism and Zionism. Live not in shame but in pride. Live not in fear, but in freedom. Because where there is fear, there can never be freedom.
I am so proud to stand with all of you as a fearless warrior in the fight against antisemitism. We stand together. America stands with Israel.
G-d bless the greatest country on Earth, the United States of America. G-d bless the State of Israel. Am Yisrael chai. And G-d bless the greatest friendship on Earth, the US-Israel relationship.
