politics 2022

Torres defends against J St. ‘dual loyalty’ hit

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Rep. Ritchie Torres, a gay and Black Progressive Democrat who’s a firm supporter of the Jewish State, has defended himself against accusations of being an Israel-firster.

He was criticized by a J Street executive after explaining, at an AIPAC-sponsored webinar, why he had said he would have a hard time supporting an Iran nuclear deal that would remove Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), an Iranian demand that’s being considered by American negotiators.

Torres, who now represents the South Bronx but whose redrawn district will include Riverdale as well, pointed out that Iran was the world’s leading sponsor of terror through its IRGC, especially the brutal Quds Force, and that the Islamic Republic recently attacked a US consulate in Irbil, Iraq.

 “You know, wherever you have a failed state in the Middle East — whether it’s Yemen or Lebanon or Iraq or Syria — you have the tentacles of the Iranian government, of the Quds Force, which is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of people,” Torres said during the webinar.

He continued:

“I try to approach the issue not from the perspective of an American, but from the perspective of an Israeli, and what I tell my fellow Americans is how would you feel if one of your allies had lifted sanctions on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the immediate aftermath of 9/11? That is how Israelis felt about the United States lifting sanctions on Iran, which finances an endless stream of terror against the Israeli people.

“So, instead of rushing to pass harsh judgment on Israel, I think we all have to understand the mindset of Israelis and the genuine anxiety that Israelis have about the growth of Iranian terrorism in the region.”

The comments set off a flurry on Twitter after J Street’s senior vice president, Dylan Williams, tweeted to Torres: “Shouldn’t a US lawmaker approach it from the perspective of US interests?”

“J Street is more critical of Torres than terrorists,” AIPAC tweeted while retweeting the comment by Williams and saying that Torres was right to offer the global perspective about the dangers of removing the IRGC from the foreign terrorist list — an organization that it said was responsible for the deaths of some 600 US service people.

Torres also replied to Williams, saying that he was taking his comments out of context, “reframing empathy for a US ally as though it were a form of ‘dual loyalty’.”

“The fact that I might hold an opinion that differs from yours does not mean I care about America any less than you do,” wrote Torres. “Your tweet is a cheap shot.”