But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Josh Harder
- Backed with $18K by PACs we track that support U.S. weapons funding for the government of Israel (lifetime)
- Sits on House Appropriations
Harder has made no public statement on U.S. weapons or money to the government of Israel in the position window; none found in source-checked research. His fullest statement on the war, from January 2024, called for a bilateral ceasefire in Gaza and a two-state solution.
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You asked Josh Harder where they stand.
Deep Dive
We found no statement from Harder since late January 2024 on U.S. weapons or money to the government of Israel, or on U.S. aid to Palestinians. His fullest statement on the war is dated January 5, 2024, inside this site's months after October 7, 2023: he called on the Biden administration to back a bilateral ceasefire agreement, said "the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate and is undeniably a humanitarian crisis," said "innocent Gazans should not be held responsible for the actions of Hamas," condemned the October 7 attacks, and restated support for a two-state solution and his criticism of extremist settler violence in the West Bank. Those quotes were verified against his House page.
A pro-Israel group's scorecard credits him with supporting several 2023-2024 antisemitism-related measures; those items are context, not weapons or funding positions, and sit on the research page. As earlier record: in May 2021, during that year's escalation, he affirmed Israel's right to defend itself while calling for de-escalation and a ceasefire to protect civilians.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 6 tracked votes
House Committee on Appropriations
• 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 some, but no more than half, of their recorded tracked votes. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 6 tracked votes.)
The money
$18K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
Research log
The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- No current-position statement found. 2021-05-13 [Earlier record]: Statement acknowledging Israel's right to defend itself while calling for immediate de-escalation and a ceasefire to protect civilians. Press release
- 2024-01-05 [Months after October 7, 2023; verified]: Called on the Biden administration and U.S. government to support a bilateral ceasefire agreement; said any long-term arrangement must address security for Israel alongside civilian protection. Harder House page
Characterization of the conflict
- 2021-05-13 [Earlier record]: Described the conflict as a crisis endangering innocent lives; condemned "Hamas' indiscriminate attacks on peaceful men, women, and children"; urged restraint from extremist forces in Jerusalem. Press release
- 2024-01-05 [Months after October 7, 2023; verified]: "The situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate and is undeniably a humanitarian crisis." "Innocent Gazans should not be held responsible for the actions of Hamas." "I unequivocally condemn the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7th." Backed a two-state solution with an independent, democratic Palestinian state; noted his past criticism of violent extremist settlers in the West Bank. Harder House page
Rhetoric and lobbying
- 2023-10-10 [Months after October 7, 2023; multi-member document, suspect]: Reported to have joined a bipartisan House-Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Group statement condemning the Hamas assault. The cited source is another member's press release listing page (kustoff.house.gov, page 13), a multi-member document that could not be tied to Harder specifically; treated as unconfirmed. Kustoff press list
- 2024-01-05 [Months after October 7, 2023; verified]: Said he had "taken some heat" for advocating a two-state solution and speaking out against West Bank settler violence, and maintained those positions. Harder House page
Safety and antisemitism (context, not a weapons or funding position)
- All three items below rest on an undated advocacy scorecard (AJP Action); dates come from the text itself and are treated as claims, not facts.
- 2023-11-02 [Months after October 7, 2023; date taken from the text itself]: Supported congressional statements condemning support for Hamas at institutions of higher learning, citing hostile environments for Jewish students.
- 2023-11-28 [Months after October 7, 2023; date taken from the text itself]: Backed resolutions affirming Israel's right to exist and identifying denial of that right as a form of antisemitism.
- 2024-04-16 [Current position; date taken from the text itself]: Supported legislative efforts declaring the phrase "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" antisemitic.
Also in this race
- ?Mixed John McBride (Republican)
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