Paul Tonko
Tonko says existing U.S. law forbids military aid to gross human rights violators and that Netanyahu’s government meets that standard, so he will not back more aid enabling it to "bomb other countries relentlessly" on American taxpayers’ account.
Tonko represents New York’s 20th District. His position rests on a legal argument rather than a general objection, and he has held it consistently for two years.
In April 2024, on foreign aid legislation, he expressed deep concerns about sending additional offensive weapons to Israel and urged the administration to use existing federal law to scrutinise the Israeli government’s conduct and withhold military assistance where human rights or international law violations occurred.
By July 2026 he stated the conclusion directly: U.S. law forbids military aid to entities committing gross human rights violations, the Netanyahu government meets that standard through its conduct in Gaza, and he would not support additional military aid enabling it to "bomb other countries relentlessly with the implicit support of the American taxpayers".
In between, at a Troy town hall in June 2025, he labelled the Gaza conflict a genocide.
On the first anniversary of the attacks he condemned Hamas’s assault as a terrorist action and the deadliest attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust, while describing unprecedented anguish in Gaza and calling for an immediate permanent ceasefire. His recorded votes on the tracked bills are shown separately on this card.
Tracked votes: opposed sending U.S. weapons or funding to the government of Israel in 4 of 6 recorded votes.
Research
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- 2024-04-20 [Current position]: Official statement on foreign aid legislation expressing deep concerns about sending additional offensive weapons to Israel, and urging the administration to use existing federal law to scrutinise Israeli government conduct and withhold military assistance if human rights or international law violations occurred.
- 2026-07-15 [Current position; card-leading]: Press statement on an amendment to halt certain U.S. funding: existing U.S. law forbids military aid to entities committing gross human rights violations; the Netanyahu government meets that standard through its conduct in Gaza; he would not support additional military aid enabling the prime minister to "bomb other countries relentlessly with the implicit support of the American taxpayers".
Characterization of the conflict
- 2024-10-07 [Current position]: Marking one year since the attacks, he condemned the Hamas assault as a "terrorist action" and the "deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust", while highlighting "unprecedented anguish in Gaza", noting the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, and calling for an immediate permanent ceasefire. Statements at DocumentID 4234 and 4325.
- 2025-06-18 [Current position]: At a Troy town hall he labelled the Gaza conflict a genocide. Independent local reporting, which makes it one of the better-sourced genocide characterisations in this group.
Rhetoric and lobbying
- Further statement at DocumentID 4174, from which the first search extracted no dated in-scope claim, and a video.
Safety and antisemitism
- Nothing located separately from the anniversary statement above.
What came back empty or unusable
- No statement located on U.S. aid to Palestinians or UNRWA as a budget line.
- Five of seven source pages are his own House permalinks. Stable but not independent, with the WAMC town-hall report the notable exception.
Also in this race: Ralph Ambrosio (Republican) · All New York candidates.
See the full record →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 the interactive card for votes, funding and contact details.