But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check
Joseph D. Morelle
- Backed with $28K by PACs we track that support U.S. weapons funding for the government of Israel (lifetime)
- Endorsed by AIPAC +1 more
- Sits on House Appropriations
No current position located for Morelle on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel. His campaign publishes a U.S. and Israel Relations page carrying a heading, a graphic and no text. In 2021 he backed giving Israel resources to defend itself.
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You asked Joseph D. Morelle where they stand.
Deep Dive
Morelle represents New York’s 25th District around Rochester and is running for re-election.
His campaign built a page for this question and left it empty. votemorelle.com/us-israel-relations returns a normal page with the heading "U.S. & ISRAEL RELATIONS", a graphic captioned US ISRAEL ROTATED, keywords listing "u.s., israel, palestine", and no body copy at all. Every other occurrence of the word Israel in the file is navigation, page routing or metadata. A volunteer checked it in a browser and reached the same conclusion.
So an initial search’s description of that page, as promoting a strong bilateral partnership alongside a peaceful two-state outcome, has nothing behind it. There is no text there to summarise.
What else it found on U.S. aid falls outside the period this project treats as current. In May 2021, during an escalation, he said he supported providing Israel with the resources it needed to defend itself. One further statement falls inside the months after October 7, 2023 and is on the research page.
His current-position statements are about diplomacy rather than money. In October 2025 he said he was relieved to see hostages freed after unimaginable suffering, and he has said he is hopeful a Gaza peace deal will bring lasting stability and supports a sustainable two-state solution.
Anti-war advocates protested outside his Rochester office in July 2024 and again in September 2025 over his stance on the war. His recorded votes on the tracked bills and his funding from pro-Israel committees are shown separately on this card.
The record
Supported sending weapons or funding in 3 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.
See a dash? Ask the candidate where they stand, then send us their answer and we'll review it and update the mark. Or volunteer to help review candidates.
Voted to send weapons or funding in exactly half of their recorded tracked votes. The tie is broken by money this election cycle from a lobbying group we track and an endorsement from a group that backs sending weapons. (Supported sending weapons or funding in 3 of 6 tracked votes.)
The money
$28K in lifetime support from the five lobbying groups we track
In their words
AIPAC (2026 endorsement) · DMFI PAC (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
- Undated [Current position; VERIFIED]: His campaign site carries a page headed "U.S. & ISRAEL RELATIONS" (here) **and the page has no text on it.** It returns 200, roughly 540KB, and the served HTML contains: the `<title>` "U.S. & Israel Relations - Joe Morelle for Congress", an `<h1>` reading "U.S. & ISRAEL RELATIONS", an image named US ISRAEL ROTATED, a keywords meta tag reading "Joe Morelle, u.s., israel, palestine", and the site's standard navigation and footer. Every one of the 22 occurrences of "israel" in the file was inspected individually: not one is body copy. A volunteer opened it in a browser on 2026-08-11 and confirmed the page is blank.
⚠ **A DIAGNOSIS OF OURS THAT WAS WRONG.** This card previously said the page "renders its text client-side and could not be read", and a flag called a human browser check the highest-value follow-up on the record. Both were wrong. The page renders fine; there is simply nothing on it. The distinction matters because the two say opposite things about him: an unreadable page means his position exists and we failed, while an empty page means his campaign chose to headline the topic and publish nothing under it. This also means an initial search’s description of the page, as promoting a strong bilateral partnership alongside a peaceful two-state outcome, cannot have come from the page.
- Undated [Current position]: An initial search summarises that he "has consistently articulated a policy position framing American defense aid to Israel as a component of maintaining regional stability and supporting an ally's security". That is an initial search’s characterization across sources rather than a dated statement, so it is recorded here and not on the card.
- 2023-10-11 [Months after October 7, 2023; on this page only]: A statement providing resources to assist U.S. citizens in Israel, in which an initial search reports he reaffirmed his "unwavering commitment to Israel's security and right to defend itself" and supported Israel taking necessary actions to protect its citizens.
- 2021-05 [Earlier record; card-closing as history]: During the May 2021 escalation he said he supported providing Israel with the resources necessary to defend itself against attacks. The source page is a J Street compilation of congressional statements of 2021-05-13, listed twice. An advocacy compilation, which never carries a card; the item is earlier record as well, so it appears on the card only as dated history without a link.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- 2023-10-31 [Months after October 7, 2023; on this page only]: In written correspondence to constituents an initial search reports he wrote that his "heart breaks for all affected by this violence" and voiced support for humanitarian aid, while declining to endorse calls for an immediate ceasefire resolution.
- Nothing located in the current period on U.S. humanitarian funding, UNRWA or the aid pipeline.
Characterization of the conflict
- 2021-05 [Earlier record]: He condemned rocket attacks by Hamas and militant groups, called for de-escalation and supported a negotiated two-state solution.
- 2023-10-11 [Months after October 7, 2023]: He characterized the October 7 attack as "unjustifiable and indefensible acts of pure evil perpetrated by the terrorist organization Hamas on the State of Israel".
- 2025-10-10 [Current position; SOURCE DID NOT OPEN]: An initial search reports he said he was "hopeful the Gaza peace deal will bring the safe return of all hostages and lasting stability" and reiterated support for a "sustainable two state solution". Its source page is a post on his House Facebook page, listed twice and returning 400 both times.
- 2025-10-13 [Current position]: After the hostage release he said he was "relieved to see hostages finally free after such unimaginable suffering" (WXXI). A multi-official roundup piece, so the attribution was not independently confirmed.
- 2025-05-22 [Current position]: A statement listed twice among the sources. An initial search cites no claim from it and its subject is not identifiable from its url.
Rhetoric and lobbying
- 2024-07-04 and 2025-09-26 [Current position; third-party actions, not his statements]: Local anti-war advocates protested outside his Rochester district office and public appearances, criticising his stance on the war and demanding he call for an end to military action. A Rochester DSA organising post would not open and a Code Pink Facebook post would not open. Advocacy sources describing what they think of him; they stay visible here and never carry a card, and an opponent's or critic's characterization is not the candidate's position.
- 2026-05-26 [Current position]: He honoured local Jewish community members in the Congressional Record during Jewish American Heritage Month.
Safety and antisemitism
[Context only, never the answer to what America sends.]
- 2024-11-13 [Current position; out of scope]: The Guardian on wanted-style posters at the University of Rochester. A campus dispute, named out of scope by the content rule.
- A Facebook post from a Jewish community organisation would not open.
Consulted and unusable
- One source found is a Substack post about him voting to thank ICE, which is unrelated to this question.
- One YouTube url carries no retrievable text.
- Five of seventeen sources would not open.
Not found
- No current statement from him on U.S. weapons or money for the government of Israel, despite his campaign publishing a page headed for exactly that subject.
- No position located on U.S. aid to Palestinians in the current period.
- This is a record of what was checked on 2026-08-11.
Also in this race
- –No Position Found Virginia McIntyre (Republican)
All New York candidates.
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