Timothy M. Kennedy
Kennedy says "America and its military stand with Israel" and calls the relationship ironclad. He called reports of mass starvation of Palestinians "completely unacceptable", saying "no one should ever die of hunger, especially children".
Kennedy represents New York’s 26th District around Buffalo. He was first elected in an April 2024 special election and is running for re-election.
On U.S. support for Israel he is unqualified. In October 2024, after Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel, he said: "In the wake of Iran launching a ballistic missile attack against Israel, America and its military stand with Israel. Israel’s right to defend itself and our ironclad relationship are key to ensuring the safety and security of the region." In June 2025, after Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets, he again said Israel has a right to defend itself and stressed the U.S. security alliance.
On Gaza he has been blunt in the other direction. In July 2025 he wrote that the administration’s "strategic and moral failure has led to deteriorating conditions, with new reports and images of mass starvation of Palestinians. This is completely unacceptable. No one should ever die of hunger, especially children." The first search reports he also called for an immediate increase in humanitarian aid and said Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live with dignity, security and peace.
In September 2025 he co-signed a letter to the Secretary of State urging engagement with Arab League states to press Hamas to surrender, calling for the unconditional release of hostages and Hamas’s removal from power, and advocating a two-state solution. Much of his remaining record is work on federal security grants for houses of worship, which is context here rather than a position on what America sends. His recorded votes and his funding from pro-Israel committees are shown separately on this card.
Tracked votes: backed sending U.S. weapons or funding to the government of Israel in 2 of 3 recorded votes.
Research
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- 2024-10-01 [Current position; card-leading; VERIFIED]: Statement after Iran's ballistic missile attack: "In the wake of Iran launching a ballistic missile attack against Israel, America and its military stand with Israel. Israel's right to defend itself and our ironclad relationship are key to ensuring the safety and security of the region. I support the United States' continued effort to bring lasting peace to the Middle East." Read on the page.
- 2025-06-13 [Current position]: Statement after Israeli strikes on Iranian military and nuclear targets, calling an Iranian nuclear weapon a global threat, reiterating Israel's right to defend itself and emphasising the U.S. and Israeli security alliance.
- ⚠ **ONE SOURCE FOUND IS A DIFFERENT PERSON ENTIRELY.** A release from kennedy.senate.gov about delaying weapons to Israel belongs to **Senator John Kennedy (R-LA)**, writing with Senator Cotton. It is not this candidate and carries nothing of his. Notably the first search’s own identity note says he "is distinct from U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA)" and it attached the senator's press release anyway. Excluded.
- 2023-07-18 [Earlier record; another member's release]: A release from Rep. Wasserman Schultz's office, predating his election to Congress.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- 2025-07-26 [Current position; card-leading; VERIFIED]: Statement on the humanitarian situation: "Hamas continues to hold innocent people hostage because of his ineffective diplomacy. His strategic and moral failure has led to deteriorating conditions, with new reports and images of mass starvation of Palestinians. This is completely unacceptable. No one should ever die of hunger, especially children." Read on the page; the criticism of "ineffective diplomacy" is directed at the administration. The first search additionally reports he called for an immediate increase in humanitarian aid and said "the Israeli and Palestinian people deserve to live with dignity, security, and peace"; those sentences were not located in the text read and are recorded as the first search’s.
Characterization of the conflict
- 2024-10-07 [Current position]: One-year anniversary statement describing the event as a "horrific attack on the State of Israel" in which Hamas took hostages and killed civilians.
- 2025-09-26 [Current position]: Co-signed a letter to Secretary of State Rubio led by Rep. Auchincloss, describing the October 7 attack as terrorism, calling for unconditional release of hostages and removal of Hamas from power in Gaza, and advocating a two-state solution rooted in security and diplomacy. A multi-signatory document carried on another member's site, so his signature is not independently confirmed here.
Rhetoric and lobbying
- 2025-08 [Current position]: He took part in an educational congressional delegation trip to Israel; local advocacy groups protested outside his district office on 2025-08-21.
- 2025-09-26 [Current position]: The same Auchincloss letter urged the State Department to engage Arab League member states to pressure Hamas to surrender.
Safety and antisemitism
[Context only, never the answer to what America sends. This is the largest part of the record found for him.]
- 2025-03-21 [Current position]: Co-signed a bipartisan letter urging release of paused Nonprofit Security Grant Program funds protecting synagogues and houses of worship.
- 2025-12-18 [Current position]: He introduced the DHS Grants Accountability Act, H.R. 6507, on oversight of federal security grants for non-profit and faith-based institutions (sector coverage).
- 2026-03-20 [Current position]: He joined 148 members requesting $1 billion for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
- 2026-05-20 [Current position]: He spoke at a bipartisan Jewish American Heritage Month breakfast organised by the Combat Antisemitism Movement and the Jewish Federations of North America. An advocacy host, recorded as consulted.
What came back empty or unusable
- One source found belongs to a different member of Congress with the same surname, in the other chamber, in another state.
- Two are other members' press releases; two are general Wikipedia pages about 2024 and about his own special election; one is a YouTube url with no retrievable text.
- His most detailed in-scope statements are the two verified above; the rest of the record is security-grant work, which is context.
Also in this race: Dennis Hannon (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.