But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Caroline Shinkle
Republican · U.S. House, New York District 12
?Mixed
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.
Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: In a July 2026 news article she tells people who support Israel as a U.S. ally "you can no longer trust today's Democratic Party to uphold that interest", without saying where she stands on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Reviewed by hand on 2026-10-09. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.
Shinkle opposes reducing or conditioning U.S. security assistance to Israel and criticized Democrats who voted to withhold military aid, writing that if you support Israel as a U.S. ally "you can no longer trust today’s Democratic Party to uphold that interest".
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Shinkle is a corporate attorney and the Republican nominee in New York’s 12th District in Manhattan. She has made support for Israel a central theme of her campaign.
Her position on U.S. assistance is plain. Reporting of July 21, 2026, read in full, records that she advocates maintaining U.S. military, diplomatic and intelligence cooperation with Israel and consistently opposes congressional efforts to reduce or place conditions on American security assistance. She criticized Democratic members who voted to withhold military aid from Israel, and faulted the retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler for missing an aid vote. On Instagram she wrote: "If you support Israel as a U.S. ally, you can no longer trust today’s Democratic Party to uphold that interest. But you can trust me."
On her website she wrote: "At a time when antisemitism is rising in our streets, on our campuses, and across our culture, silence is not leadership. I will be an unapologetic voice for New York’s Jewish community, and I will stand proudly with Israel." Her campaign site frames this within a foreign policy of "peace through prosperity" and "peace through strength".
She has said nothing located about U.S. aid to Palestinians, in either direction. She defended Israel’s right to protect its citizens from terrorist organisations, joined New York’s Israel Day Parade in June 2026, and criticized Mayor Mamdani for boycotting it and for saying Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
The money
Checked the five lobbying groups we track; no direct 2026 support found
2026 support from the five lobbying groups we track
Nothing recorded (as of 2026-07-23) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.
In their words
“If you support Israel as a U.S. ally, you can no longer trust today's Democratic Party to uphold that interest. But you can trust me.”
“At a time when antisemitism is rising in our streets, on our campuses, and across our culture, silence is not leadership. I will be an unapologetic voice for New York's Jewish community, and I will stand proudly with Israel.”
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
2026-07-21 [Current position; VERIFIED]: The Algemeiner reports that she advocates maintaining robust U.S. military, diplomatic and intelligence cooperation with Israel and consistently opposes congressional efforts to reduce or place conditions on American security assistance; that she criticized Democratic lawmakers who voted to withhold military aid from Israel, arguing the party can no longer be trusted to support the ally; and that she faulted retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler for missing an aid vote. Her words, from Instagram: "If you support Israel as a U.S. ally, you can no longer trust today's Democratic Party to uphold that interest. But you can trust me." Read on the page.
The first sentence is the outlet's characterization of her position; the Instagram line is hers. The card keeps that separation, quoting only her.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
Nothing located, in either direction. No statement on UNRWA, Gaza humanitarian funding or the aid pipeline.
Characterization of the conflict
2026-07-21 [Current position]: She defended Israel's right to protect its citizens from terrorist organisations.
Undated [Current position; VERIFIED]: From her website, quoted in the same report: "At a time when antisemitism is rising in our streets, on our campuses, and across our culture, silence is not leadership. I will be an unapologetic voice for New York's Jewish community, and I will stand proudly with Israel."
Undated [Current position]: Her campaign site frames her Israel position within "peace through prosperity" and "peace through strength" and a commitment to stand with American allies.
Rhetoric and lobbying
2026-07 [Current position]: Unwavering support for Israel is a primary pillar of her platform, which is the framing of the report's own headline, "Caroline Shinkle Shakes Up NY-12 Race With Pro-Israel Pitch".
2026-06 [Current position]: She took part in New York City's annual Israel Day Parade on Fifth Avenue.
2026-07-21 [Current position]: She criticized Mayor Zohran Mamdani for boycotting that parade and for alleging that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
2026 [Current position; SOURCE COULD NOT BE REACHED]: An initial search reports an opinion piece by her in The Jewish Press titled "America's City and Its Jewish Residents at a Crossroads", arguing NY-12 voters face a choice about whether one of the country's largest Jewish communities has a representative who unequivocally supports Israel. Her author page there would not open, so the piece itself could not be read.
Safety and antisemitism
[Context only, never the answer to what America sends.] Her website statement about rising antisemitism, quoted above, is the located material. An initial search’s section on this returned nothing further.
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.
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