Scott Perry
Perry pressed the Secretary of State on why weapons were withheld and conditions put on Israel but not Ukraine, and calls himself "one of the most vehement defenders in Congress of the State of Israel". He voted against the April 2024 package pairing Israel aid with Gaza humanitarian aid.
Perry represents Pennsylvania's 10th District around Harrisburg and York, and he is the sitting member.
His votes point both ways and he has explained the exception himself. He voted for the standalone Israel aid bills and against the April 2024 package, and said in a statement that he voted against that bill due to what he described as funding for Hamas, referring to its humanitarian aid funding: "I have been and remain one of the most vehement defenders in Congress of the State of Israel. I staunchly support her right to defend herself and her people... I have grievous concerns, however, about provisions in the recent House funding bill that also allocates Billions to Hamas". He missed the July 2026 vote on the amendment to cut military aid.
In May 2024 he took the other half of his position to the administration, questioning Secretary Blinken at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing over the withholding of weapons meant to deter Israel's operation in Rafah, asking why conditions were imposed on Israel that were not placed on Ukraine.
Nothing located has him addressing U.S. humanitarian aid for Palestinians except as the reason he voted against the April 2024 package. His record on antisemitism-related conduct, including a campaign social media incident in June 2024 that his campaign deleted after inquiries, is documented on the research page.
Tracked votes: backed sending U.S. weapons or funding to the government of Israel in 4 of 5 recorded votes.
Research
U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel
- His recorded votes on the tracked bills appear as badges on this card and point both ways: for the standalone bills, against the April 2024 package, no vote recorded on the July 2026 cutting amendment. The grounding for each sits in the record section.
- [Position, 2024-05-23] Jewish Insider. Opened and confirmed word for word: "Perry said in a statement that he voted against the bill due to what he described as funding for Hamas, referring to humanitarian aid funding", and his own words: "I have been and remain one of the most vehement defenders in Congress of the State of Israel. I staunchly support her right to defend herself and her people by responding to the heinous and unprovoked attacks by Hamas on Oct 7th and beyond. I have grievous concerns, however, about provisions in the recent House funding bill that also allocates Billions to Hamas..." This is his own explanation of the hr8034 badge.
- [Position, 2024-05-22] His House site's account of the Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, titled "Scott Perry to Blinken: Why Put Conditions on Israel, but Not Ukraine?". Opened and read: the page reproduces coverage of his questioning of Secretary Blinken over weapons withheld to deter the Rafah operation. The sentence the gather attributed to the hearing, "You can't support Israel at the same time demanding that Israel support Hamas", is NOT on this page as fetched, so it is not quoted anywhere on this card; the hearing's substance is stated from what the page carries.
- [Position, 2024-04-25, carrier refuses both routes] A FOX43 interview is reported in which he said he has "voted for aid for Israel and support for Israel every single time" and "I'm not interested in voting to help Hamas". The address, https://www.fox43.com/article/news/politics/elections/candidates/foreign-aid-israel-ukraine-scott-perry-janelle-stelson/521-1b2f04ec-e79c-4b2c-a234-46c4e9deba6e, returns 403 to both routes. The substance matches his verified Jewish Insider statement; the FOX43 wordings stay unquoted here. Carrier desk item.
U.S. aid to Palestinians
- His only located engagement is oppositional: the April 2024 vote explanation above frames the package's Gaza humanitarian provisions as allocating billions to Hamas. Stated on the card in his own quoted words.
Characterization of the conflict
- [Position, 2024-10-07] His House site's account of a One America News interview: the conflict as part of an Iran-funded effort, "Hamas needs to lay down their arms", Israel wanting to live peacefully among its neighbors. Opened; Iran material stays off the card under the standing ruling.
- [Prior, 2016-12-28] His statement on the UN Security Council settlements vote: the abstention served to "isolate and delegitimize Israel" and drew a "false equivalence... between terrorist acts funded by the Palestinian Authority and Israeli settlement building". Prior band.
Related rhetoric and lobbying
- The Jewish Insider piece above sits in that outlet's coverage of the pro-Israel lobby's engagement with this race. Tracked funding totals appear as a badge on this card.
Safety and antisemitism (context, behavior described per the standing ruling)
- [Prior, 2021-06-11 and 2021-07-01] After his Pennsylvania Leadership Conference speech used Nazi comparisons, the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg publicly requested he repudiate the remarks. The federation's own release; his response is not recorded in the gathered material.
- [Position, 2024-05, reported] During a closed-door House briefing on campus antisemitism he is reported to have said "replacement theory is real" and to have called the Ku Klux Klan "decidedly, unabashedly racist and antisemitic" and the "military wing of the Democratic Party". No direct carrier was supplied for the briefing remarks themselves; recorded as reported.
- [Position, 2024-06-25 to 2024-06-28] His campaign's Facebook account posted an image depicting stereotyped Jewish bankers playing Monopoly on people's backs, captioned "Says it all..."; after media inquiries the campaign deleted it and said it was unaware of the image's origin and removed it out of concern. Reported by Jewish Insider, the Pennsylvania Independent, and republished by the DCCC (a party committee's copy, noted as such). The behavior and the campaign's response are described; no label is applied, per the standing ruling.
Race and status context
- Sitting representative, nominated, in one of this cycle's most competitive districts per the project's own table; his 2024 opponent is running again and her card carries her own record.
Also in this race: Janelle Stelson (Democrat) · All Pennsylvania 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.