But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Analilia Mejia
Mejia drew the line at conditions, not cut-off: "I have never said, 'we're not giving any aid'" but "we need to make demands on aid," meaning the recipient upholds human rights. She has also said Congress must end the blank check.
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You asked Analilia Mejia where they stand.
Deep Dive
Mejia has represented New Jersey's 11th District since winning a 2026 special election.
Asked directly about aid to Israel at a March 2026 meet-and-greet, she distinguished her position from an embargo: "I have never said, 'we're not giving any aid,'" and "we need to make demands on aid," which the report explains as meaning that the recipient upholds human rights. In the same exchange she raised the cutting off of water and electricity in Gaza and the use of "2,000-pound bombs."
In April 2026, accepting an endorsement from J Street, the research records her saying that Congress must end the blank check for Trump and Netanyahu and that the United States must stop giving Israel a blank check to escalate. No source for those words was located, so they are summarised rather than quoted.
She has characterised the war in Gaza as a genocide, per coverage of a primary debate. At a January 2026 candidate forum hosted by a Jewish federation she did not raise her hand when candidates were asked whether Jewish people have a right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland, and explained that she felt incredible discomfort at the idea that a land can only belong to one group of people, one religion or one ethnicity. That account has no source we could locate and is summarised rather than quoted.
She has a very short voting record, having taken office in 2026.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 0 of 1 tracked votes · Cosponsors the Block the Bombs Act
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 against sending weapons or funding in every recorded tracked vote. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 0 of 1 tracked votes.)
The money
Checked the five lobbying groups we track; no direct 2026 support found
In their words
Peace Action (2026 endorsement) · A New Policy PAC (2026 endorsement) · Track AIPAC (2026 endorsement)
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
- [Position, 2026-03-17] InsiderNJ's account of a Florham Park meet-and-greet, opened and confirmed word for word: "How about aid to Israel? 'I have never said, "we're not giving any aid,"' she said. But she did say that, 'we need to make demands on aid,' meaning that the recipient uphold human rights." The report also records her raising the cutting off of water and electricity in Gaza and "2,000-pound bombs."
**This is a conditioning position stated as explicitly not an embargo position**, and the card leads on it because the distinction is hers.
- [Position, 2026-04-10, reported] Accepting a J Street endorsement, said Congress must end the blank check for Trump and Netanyahu and that the U.S. must stop giving Israel a blank check to escalate. Source not separately located; recorded as reported. See JNS and the Forward, neither opened.
- She took office in 2026 and her recorded votes, if any appear on this card, are correspondingly few.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- No distinct position located beyond the humanitarian framing above.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, early 2026, reported] Characterised the war in Gaza as a genocide during a primary debate. Several outlets refer to this (Jewish Insider on an April 2026 debate, cited three times and opened; JNS; the Jerusalem Post). No verbatim span was extracted, so it is recorded as reported. **Several of those headlines apply labels to her; per the standing rule of 2026-08-12 this site does not repeat labels, and nothing is drawn from their framing.**
- [Position, 2026-01, reported] At a candidate forum hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ she did not raise her hand when candidates were asked whether Jewish people have a right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland, and said she felt incredible discomfort at the idea that a land can only belong to one group of people, one religion or one ethnicity. Source not separately located; recorded as reported, and **both halves are recorded because the non-raised hand without her stated reason would be a different claim.**
- [After October 7, 2023-10-10, reported] Wrote on social media that every fibre of her being was horrified beyond words at what was happening in Gaza, and that oppression and dehumanisation lead to despair and unthinkable destruction. From the weeks right after October 7; cource not located.
- [Position, 2024-08, reported] Criticised party leaders for not allowing a Palestinian speaker at the Democratic National Convention, citing more than 40,000 Palestinians killed over ten months.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Position, 2026-04] Endorsed by J Street, per the coverage above. ⚠ A local Democratic Socialists chapter published a post urging her to drop that endorsement; an advocacy source criticising her from the left, consulted only.
- [2026-04] The Inquirer on her election; a Substack newsletter cited twice; a Jewish Standard opinion piece endorsing her opponent. Third-party and opinion writing; nothing drawn from any of it.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
- Nothing located distinct from the material above.
Note on sources
- Fifteen entries and **the coverage is unusually adversarial in both directions**: outlets labelling her, and a socialist chapter attacking her endorsement from the other side. Only two sources were opened and verified, and her two strongest quoted positions after the InsiderNJ one have no locatable source.
Also in this race
- ✗Supports Joe Hathaway (Republican)
- –Research Underway Alan Bond (Other)
All New Jersey candidates.
See everyone on the New Jersey ballot →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.