But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check

Norma J. Torres

Democrat · U.S. House, California District 35
✗Supported sending weapons or funding in 4 of 6 tracked votes

Her House website says the United States has "a moral and strategic obligation to support our ally" and that she will keep working "to ensure Israel has the resources it needs to protect its citizens." In July 2024 she attended Netanyahu's address to Congress, which local activists protested.

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Deep Dive

A Statement in Support of Israel on her House website, read on 2026-09-25, says "Israel has the right to defend itself and its people against terrorism and violence" and that she stands "in unwavering support of Israel’s security and its right to exist in peace." It continues: "The United States has a moral and strategic obligation to support our ally, and I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress to ensure Israel has the resources it needs to protect its citizens." The page carries no date.

On July 24, 2024, she attended Netanyahu's joint address to Congress. Local activists hung protest banners over the 10 Freeway in Pomona; a member of the group told KVCR they wanted her to support a ceasefire, to vote against resolutions sending additional weapons to the government of Israel, and to stop taking AIPAC money. Her spokesperson said she "regularly attends all ceremonial events or joint addresses of Congress."

The record

Supported sending weapons or funding in 4 of 6 tracked votes

Committees

House Committee on Appropriations

Floor votes
H.R. 6126 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act2023-11-02 · Passed 226-196
✓ Voted No
voted against sending it
H.R. 8034 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 20242024-04-20 · Passed 366-58
✗ Voted Yes
supported sending it
H.R. 8369 - Israel Security Assistance Support Act2024-05-16 · Passed 224-187
✓ Voted No
voted against sending it
H.R. 7217 - Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 20242024-02-06 · Failed 250-180 (needed 2/3 under suspension)
✗ Voted Yes
supported sending it
H.Amdt. 55 to H.R. 4016 - strike $500M for Israeli Cooperative Programs2025-07-18 · Failed 6-422 (only 6 voted to cut)
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
H.R. 8595 - Massie amendment (Part A No. 8) to bar FY27 funds for Israel and cut $3.3B in Foreign Military Financing2026-07-15 · Failed 104-314
✗ Voted No
voted against limiting it
Bill sponsorship
H.R. 3565 - Block the Bombs ActWould bar transfer of 2,000-lb/BLU-109 bunker busters, JDAMs, 120mm tank rounds, and 155mm artillery shells to Israel. Does not affect Iron
Not sponsoringhas not backed this restriction bill
H.R. 1229 - United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025Formalizes/expands bilateral defense cooperation with Israel.
Co-sponsorbacks this bill to send more support
Notable actions

• Vote record imported from official House Clerk roll calls for H.R. 6126, H.R. 8034, and H.R. 8369. Other position fields remain under investigation.

How this mark works

We track key votes on sending U.S. weapons and money to the government of Israel. A check means every tracked vote they cast came down against sending more, on the side of peace and de-escalation. A question mark means a mixed record: they sided with sending up to half of the time. An X means they voted to send more weapons and money in over half of their tracked votes, even as the way those weapons and dollars were being used became more and more obvious. At exactly half, money this election cycle from a lobbying group we track, or an endorsement from a group that backs sending weapons, makes it an X. Only votes actually cast are counted. Where a candidate has no recorded votes on these bills, the mark comes instead from a reviewed reading of their public record (money from the lobbying groups we track, endorsements, and their own words since January 26, 2024). There an X also covers fully backing the conduct of the war by the government of Israel without significant reservations, and a question mark also covers speaking about Israel without saying clearly where they stand on U.S. weapons and funding. A dash means No Position Found: we found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.

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Voted to send weapons or funding in more than half of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 4 of 6 tracked votes.)

The money

$23K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track

Lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
AIPAC PAC: $22,900
Support-only OpenFEC data (as of 2026-10-03). Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
Who these lobbying groups are
AIPAC$22,900The American Israel Public Affairs Committee; its PAC backs candidates it sees as strengthening U.S. ties with the government of Israel, including continued U.S. military aid.Direct contributions and independent expenditures supporting this candidate from the five lobbying groups we track, every cycle each has filed, through 2026. Excludes earmarked and conduit contributions.
Endorsed by AIPAC +1 more
AIPACThe American Israel Public Affairs Committee; its PAC backs candidates it sees as strengthening U.S. ties with the government of Israel, including continued U.S. military aid.DMFI PACDemocratic Majority for Israel's PAC; calls itself the home for pro-Israel Democrats and backs Democratic candidates who support a strong U.S. alliance with the government of Israel.These endorsements come from groups that back sending U.S. weapons and funding to the government of Israel.

In their words

Endorsements

AIPAC (2026 endorsement) · DMFI PAC (2026 endorsement)

Research log

The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.

Searched 2026-08-10; incumbent D, CA-35. 12 source entries, all opened; two do not name the candidate (youtube.com, live.house.gov).

U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel

  • [Reaction window, 2023-11-02] statement on her No vote on H.R. 6126, the Israel aid bill she said carried partisan conditions: "Our aid and our commitment to Israel must be prompt, significant, and unconditioned." Verified verbatim 2026-08-10 and again 2026-09-25. Supported emergency security assistance to the government of Israel plus humanitarian assistance for civilians. (H.R. 6126 is a recorded key-vote badge.) Not on the card summary.
  • [Position, read 2026-09-25] Statement in Support of Israel, a standing page on her House site that carries no date: "Israel has the right to defend itself and its people against terrorism and violence. I stand in unwavering support of Israel’s security and its right to exist in peace." It adds: "The United States has a moral and strategic obligation to support our ally, and I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress to ensure Israel has the resources it needs to protect its citizens." Verified verbatim 2026-09-25. The page also calls the government of Iran and its nuclear program "a dire threat to Israel's very existence" and says "I support Israel's pre-emptive actions to prevent them from achieving a nuclear weapon." (Iran; not on the card.)

Characterization of the conflict

  • [Reaction window, 2023-11-02] same statement: "we must support Israel’s fight to eradicate terrorist Hamas"; "ensure innocent Palestinian civilians are able to seek safety and receive the humanitarian assistance they need." Verified verbatim 2026-08-10 and again 2026-09-25. Not on the card summary.
  • [Reaction window, 2023-11-07; multi-speaker joint statement, quotes attributed to the statement, not to Torres alone] co-led joint statement with Reps. Schneider, Scholten, Ritchie Torres: "Every civilian killed, every family torn apart, Palestinian and Israeli, is a tragedy..."; Israel's obligation to protect citizens and hostages and to adhere to international law and protect civilians in Gaza. Not on the card summary.
  • [Position, 2024-01-31; weak source: YouTube page that does not name the candidate per the search notes] reported statement demanding Hamas immediately and unconditionally release all hostages (a YouTube video). Not card-usable without a better source.
  • [Position, 2024-07-24] attended Netanyahu's joint address (KVCR, 2024-07-25); activists protested, urging votes against additional weapons to the government of Israel, a ceasefire, and no AIPAC funding; spokesperson: she "regularly attends all ceremonial events or joint addresses of Congress." Verified 2026-08-10 and again 2026-09-25.

Rhetoric and lobbying

  • [Reaction window, 2023-11-02] criticized House leadership for attaching partisan conditions to emergency Israel funding; security assistance to allies should not be used for domestic political points (same statement). Not on the card summary.
  • [Reaction window, 2023-11-07] joint-statement condemnation of "from the river to the sea" as "a rallying cry for the destruction of the State of Israel and genocide of the Jewish people" (joint statement). Not on the card summary.
  • [Reaction window, 2024-01-15; context] listed on reversecanarymission.org, an advocacy site tracking members' Israel positions. Not on the card summary.

Safety and antisemitism

  • [Reaction window, 2023-11-07] joint statement warned that rhetoric targeting Israel's right to exist feeds antisemitic hostility; urged rejecting language undermining Jewish safety. Not on the card summary.
  • [Position, 2024-05-01; SUSPECT SOURCING] claim that she supported Title VI enforcement to protect Jewish students during campus-antisemitism proceedings. Cited sources are a live.house.gov video-schedule page that does not name her and a reversecanarymission page published 2024-01-15, which predates the claimed event. Possible misattribution or date error; excluded from card and deep dive.

Also in this race

  1. ? Mike Cargile (Republican)

All California candidates.

But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Every claim on this page goes through at least two verification steps. Open Find Your Candidates for votes, funding and contact details.