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 Riley
- Backed with $8K by PACs we track that support U.S. weapons funding for the government of Israel (lifetime)
- Endorsed by DMFI PAC +1 more
Riley calls the alliance “critically important” and, pressed at a town hall to back an arms embargo, declined, calling instead for a ceasefire, humanitarian aid for Gaza and the hostages’ release. After visiting the region he described “a severe and undeniable humanitarian crisis in Gaza”.
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You asked Josh Riley where they stand.
Deep Dive
Riley represents New York’s 19th District, elected in 2024 in one of the country’s most competitive seats, and he is the sitting member.
His line has been consistent under pressure from both directions. In a 2024 interview he called the American-Israeli alliance “critically important”, saying “Israel is surrounded by terrorist organizations whose mission is to eliminate the Israeli state and we can’t allow that to happen”. At an October 2025 Sullivan County town hall, attendees pressed him to back an arms embargo and he declined, calling instead for a ceasefire, humanitarian aid and the hostages’ release, and saying the region must “come out of this with a real plan that allows Palestinians and Israelis to live side by side in peace and with security”.
In August 2025 he traveled to Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza border on a delegation trip sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, and returned describing “a severe and undeniable humanitarian crisis in Gaza” while saying Hamas was “inflicting unimaginable suffering in the region”, and that Americans can stand with allies “while still speaking honestly (and critically) to their government”. The next month he co-signed a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu affirming Israel’s “right and obligation, within the requirements of international law, to defend its people” while backing negotiations toward a two-state solution.
In March 2026, after U.S. strikes in the region, he urged Congress to reassert its war powers and questioned overseas military spending without constituent input; his two recorded tracked votes, both against cutting aid, appear as badges on this card.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 2 of 2 tracked votes
• August 2025: Traveled to Israel as one of 11 freshman House Democrats on a trip sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation (AIPAC-affiliated), meeting Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on August 11, 2025.
• 2025-08-26: After an August 20, 2025 protest outside his Binghamton office over the Israel trip, sent a written statement to the Ithaca Times defending his engagement, saying he supports Israel and its people but not Prime Minister Netanyahu, and calling for a ceasefire, hostage release, disarming of Hamas, and a humanitarian aid surge.
• 2025-10-06: Riley's town hall at SUNY Sullivan was disrupted for several minutes by protesters objecting to his votes for arms to Israel; Riley briefly left the room before resuming the event.
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 2 of 2 tracked votes.)
The money
$8K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
In their words
DMFI PAC (2024 cycle) · DMFI PAC (2026 cycle) · 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
- His two recorded tracked votes appear as badges on this card, both against cutting amendments; he took office in 2025, so the 2023-24 bills predate his service.
- [Position, 2024-09, reported 2025-10-22] The Ithacan carries his 2024 interview: the alliance “critically important” and the surrounded-by-terrorist-organizations sentence. The piece itself reports local criticism of his stance; the outlet’s framing is not adopted.
- [Position, 2025-10-05, reported 10-08] WJFF Radio Catskill’s town-hall account: he declined attendees’ arms-embargo calls, backing a ceasefire, humanitarian aid and hostage release instead. This is the sharpest transfers-relevant fact on the record and it leads the card.
- [Position, 2026-03-05] A county Democratic committee’s item on his war-powers concerns after U.S. strikes; a party organization’s page, used for his reported position with that noted; Iran material stays out of the card summary.
- [Position, 2026-07, uncorroborated] A statement on security-spending amendments reiterating defensive support for allies with diplomacy and aid prioritized; no carrier was supplied. Recorded as reported.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- [Position, 2025-08-15, reported 08-19] 607 News Now on his post-trip statement: the humanitarian-crisis sentence on the card, with his plea for more aid to civilians. His own post sits on his official page, which requires a login and does not open.
- [Position, 2025-10-05] The town-hall call for humanitarian aid, above.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, 2025-08-15] From the post-trip statement via 607 News Now: “there can be no lasting peace for either Israelis or Palestinians so long as Iran continues to arm and finance terrorist proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis” (Iran content stays out of the card summary) and Hamas “inflicting unimaginable suffering in the region—torturing hostages, depriving innocent Gazans of basic needs, terrorizing Israelis, and unnecessarily prolonging the war that it started on October 7”.
- [Position, 2025-08, quoted 2025-10-10] The River Reporter: standing with allies “while still speaking honestly (and critically) to their government”, and “none of us supports violence against anyone because of how they worship”.
- [Position, 2025-09-25] The Raskin-led letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, a multi-signer PDF: “barbaric” for the October 7 attacks, the international-law defense sentence, two-state negotiations. Multi-signer, stated as such.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- [Position, 2025-08-11] The American Israel Education Foundation delegation trip, meeting Israel’s president and the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister; Jewish Insider’s piece describes the trip cohort without naming him in the text that was read, and the local outlets above name him on it directly.
- [Position, 2025-10] His defenses of the trip to constituents, per the River Reporter above and a local advocacy page recording protest against his stance (the critics’ own page, their framing not adopted).
- Tracked funding totals appear as a badge on this card; his committee support this cycle is the largest of any candidate in this panel.
Safety and antisemitism (context)
- [Position, 2026-03-08, single carrier] Attended the Cornell Hillel center groundbreaking, per the university’s Chronicle.
- [Position, 2026-06, single tracker] Co-sponsored the Jewish American Security Act, per BillTrack50; the registry’s bill number is not repeated on the card.
Race and status context
- Sitting representative in one of this cycle’s priority districts; a state senator has launched a challenge, per WAMC. The Jewish Democratic Council of America lists him among endorsees.
Also in this race
- –No Position Found Peter Oberacker (Republican)
All New York candidates.
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