How about that: President Biden betrays Israel, and most of New York City’s congressional Democrats try not to take a firm stand.
It’s no surprise that radical Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cheered Biden’s pause in much military aid, nor that Rep. Ritchie Torres damned it.
And Nassau’s Tom Suozzi wound up on the right side.
But most of the rest — even including Brooklyn’s Sen. Chuck Schumer, that self-declared guardian of Israel — are laying low.
Bowman (D-Bronx/Westchester) at least read Biden correctly, tweeting “Protesting is working”; AOC’s “Biden has not ‘lost his mind’” looks a bit over-optimistic.
Torres got it exactly right: “As the leader of the free world, America cannot claim that its commitment to Israel is ‘iron-clad’ and then proceed to withhold aid from Israel.”
And: “The mixed messaging makes a mockery of our credibility as an ally. No one will take our word seriously.”
Schumer, the nation’s highest ranking Jewish elected official, remained quieter than a church mouse: On X, he posted about border security, FAA reauthorization and infrastructure projects.
Suozzi’s instant reaction on X was soft: “I urge the Biden administration to resolve any differences with our ally Israel regarding arms shipments immediately.”
But he soon redeemed himself, joining Torres in signing Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s letter blasting Biden for a move that “emboldens” terrorists.
Queens Rep. Grace Meng at least said something, though only: “Together, we must continue working to protect civilians despite Hamas’ efforts to the contrary.”
But last we checked, the rest of the local Dems were betraying the metro area’s 1.9 million Jewish New Yorkers with cowardly silence.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens), Dan Goldman (D-Manh/Bklyn) and Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan) all withheld immediate comment.
Nadler, the dean of New York’s delegation, did post a link to an irrelevant op-ed (“Here’s why I voted against the House antisemitism bill”) and cheered “that the first-ever over-the-counter birth control is on shelves nationwide.”
Pathetic.
Torres aside, the only NYC member of Congress to slap Biden was GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (SI), who urged him “to stop playing politics and appeasing the radicals in his party who are siding with Iran and Hamas.”
All the other area House Republicans also sided with Israel, but then they don’t have to worry about the hard left’s ire.
Gottheimer’s public letter gets at the central issue: “Public disputes with our critical ally only embolden our mutual enemies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other Iranian-backed proxies.”
Yet, aside from Torres and Suozzi, no other Democrat that New York sends to Congress seems to care about the president turning his back on America’s closest ally in the Middle East during its ongoing hours of need.