Summary: Congressman Josh Riley (NY-19) should align himself with Democratic voters and the majority of House Democrats in calling for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel.

Author’s Note: Also published on the Imby platform.

Congressman Josh Riley (NY-19) has a Palestine problem. In a district that he won by just over 2 percentage points in 2024, his pro-Israel stance could threaten his chances for reelection later this year.

Recently, Josh Riley voted against the “Massie Amendment” that would have blocked another $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel. Contrast that with Congressman Pat Ryan (NY-18) who voted with the majority of House Democrats in support of the measure. Ryan has also co-sponsored the Block the Bombs Act (H.R. 3565) and renounced support from AIPAC, neither of which Riley has done. Riley issued a weak, fence-straddling statement explaining his vote that was reposted by the Columbia County Democratic Committee (CCDC). The Congressman wants to appear critical of the Israeli government while failing to suggest or support any policy measures that would actually improve the dire situation in Gaza, the West Bank, Southern Lebanon, and Iran.

Riley is out of touch with Democratic voters on this issue. A May 2026 New York Times/Siena national poll indicated that 74% of Democratic voters support ending military and economic aid to Israel.

When the CCDC held their annual picnic last September, Columbia County for Palestine organized an action at which activists disrupted Riley’s prepared remarks for, among other things, not supporting the Block the Bombs Act and taking a propaganda trip to Israel paid for by an arm of AIPAC. Even though Riley repeatedly said he would find time to meet with the group, subsequent and repeated efforts to arrange such a meeting with him did not result in one.

The website YourRepRecord.org gives Riley a score of “F” for his position on Palestine/Israel. Among other things, it notes that Riley failed to cosponsor a resolution recognizing the genocide in Gaza, blocking weapons transfers, and imposing sanctions (H.Res.876). He also voted yes to impose sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) judges investigating Israeli officials for war crimes (H.R.23). He even failed to cosponsor an innocuous resolution demanding unimpeded humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza, where famine conditions exist (H.Res.473). The website also notes that Riley has taken $205K in funding via AIPAC.

Recently, Riley lamented the high price of gasoline in Columbia County as a result of the Trump Administration’s war on Iran. While the Congressman was correct to assert Congress’s Constitutional authority by voting for the war powers resolution (H.Con.Res.38), he does not acknowledge the role of Israel in spurring Trump to initiate the Iranian war. Had Congress not inflated the Israeli government’s ambitions and expectations by funding its offensive in Gaza, Israel would not have felt as emboldened to instigate wars with Iran and Lebanon.

On July 25, 2026, the CCDC opened its new campaign office at 227 Warren Street in Hudson. For about forty minutes, I stood on the sidewalk handing out flyers contrasting Riley’s July vote on the Massie Amendment with Ryan’s. It seemed like a good opportunity to educate the Democratic faithful about Riley’s vote and to encourage them to try and get him to stop arming Israel. The CCDC had announced that unnamed “special guests” would be in attendance which I thought might include Riley. Riley’s presence at the event was subsequently revealed in photos in the August 6 CCDC newsletter. He apparently “arrived” after I had left.

Josh Riley is following Kamala Harris’s failed playbook by not taking seriously the concerns of pro-human rights, pro-Palestinian, anti-war voters. He is gambling that the votes will be there for him come election day despite his inexplicable support for Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, apartheid and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, and imperial expansion into Lebanon. Is he too beholden to the Israel lobby to change? Or will he correctly divine which way the political winds are blowing on this issue, change his position, and do the right thing?  Lives hang in the balance.

Jim McCabe is an organizer with Columbia County for Palestine.