New York Democrat Congressman Ritchie Torres, a fierce supporter of the state of Israel, has become the second Democrat to leave the Congressional Progressive Caucus since the October 7 Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israelis, as first reported by The Intercept.
In November, Florida Democrat Lois Frankel left the caucus.
“I think he’s … had it with [the] Squad,” one House Democrat told Axios.
Within days of the Hamas massacre, members of the Squad attacked Israel; Missouri Rep. Cori Bush called for ending aid to Israel while Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar called to terminate what she called “unconditional” military to the Jewish state.
In late December, Torres who had previously served as a New York City Council member, told The Gothamist, “I’m not anti-squad, I’m not pro-squad, I refuse to be defined in relation to someone else. I prefer to be defined on my own terms, based on my own story and my own record.”
In mid-January, Torres offered an impassioned response to those who had cheered and celebrated the Hamas massacre.
Speaking of the “moral crisis we are facing in a post-October 7 world,” Torres continued, “Like all of you, I was profoundly shaken, not only by October 7, but by its aftermath. I found it utterly horrifying to see fellow Americans openly cheering and celebrating the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.”
“And for me, the aftermath of October 7 revealed the barbarity of the American heart that reminded me of an earlier and darker time in our nation’s history; a time when the public mobs of Jim Crow would openly celebrate the lynching of African-Americans or the lynching of a Jewish-American like Leo Frank,” he continued.
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“And so words cannot express the overwhelming outrage that I felt at the barbaric reaction to the barbarism of October 7. You know, people often ask me, ‘Why do you care so deeply? Why do you speak out so frequently and forcefully against anti-Semitism?’ And I simply reply, ‘You are asking the wrong question. The question is not why have I chosen to be outspoken; the question is why have others chosen to be silent amid the deadliest day for the Jews since the Holocaust.’”
“… what we’ve seen in the aftermath of October 7 is appalling silence and indifference and cowardice from so-called leaders in our society; from institutions that we once respected and admired,” he continued. “And if we as a society cannot bring ourselves to condemn the murder of innocents with moral clarity, then we must ask: What are we becoming as a society? What does that reveal about the depth of anti-Semitism in the American soul?”
“October 7 has been an awakening for the Jewish community, but it must be a reckoning for all of America,” he declared. “We must confront the deepening rot of anti-Semitism; on social media platforms, on college campuses, and elsewhere in America. We must ask ourselves: What kind of society do we wish to be? Do we wish to be a society that affirms that every life, every Jewish life, every black life, every life, has inherent dignity and value and worth? That each of us is a child of God, that each of us is an equal creation in the image of God?”
“Or do we wish to be a society that affirms that violence and terror, no matter how barbaric, can be justified and even glorified, under the guise of ‘resistance,’” he asked pointedly.
I had the honor of delivering the annual MLK sermon at Central Synagogue.
My speech touches on a range of topics and themes: October 7th, Jim Crow, Leo Frank, MLK, Elie Wiesel, silence, indifference, moral clarity, nonviolence, Israel, Am Yisrael Chai, Hatikvah, and hope. pic.twitter.com/stxqxzgyLi
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) January 16, 2024