Ritchie Torres Represents the Poorest District in the US. But He Mentions Israel 236% More Than He Mentions Poverty.

An object lesson in distorted priorities.

A quick post today about a person I’m endlessly fascinated with: Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15). Rep. Torres has emerged as the “one of the most outspoken congressional supporters of Israel,” according to the New York Daily News. His love of Israel and his hatred of its critics, namely those in the so-called Squad and Democratic Socialists of America, is evidenced in his frequent petty, screedy Twitter battles with both. 

A survey of his public statements—from his congressional website, Facebook page, and Twitter account—reveal a man whose most important topic isn’t the rampant poverty that makes his congressional district the poorest in the country, but the nominal wellbeing and arming of Israel. 

In public statements since coming into office in Jan. 2021, Torres has mentioned “Israel” 337 times and “poverty” 143 times. On his official website there are 202 mentions of Israel and 77 mentions of poverty. On Twitter there are 73 tweets about Israel and 12 about poverty. On Facebook, there are 62 mentions of Israel and 54 mentions of poverty.

According to Food Research and Action Center’s figures, using data from 2017, New York’s 15th district is by far the poorest of the 435 congressional districts in the US. 36.2% of Torres’ constituency lives below the poverty line. For reference, the second and third poorest districts in the country, Michigan 15 and Kentucky 5, have a poverty rate of roughly 29 percent, or 7 percentage points lower than the NY-15. 

This isn’t to say Torres doesn’t talk about poverty at all, just that he does so way less than he talks about Israel. He’s campaigned for Democrats to pass the Child Income Tax Credit that was central to reducing childhood poverty. He’s proposed bills to increase housing vouchers and “protect” Medicare for Seniors—fairly standard liberal Democrat fare, though nothing particularly progressive or subversive. Torres ostensibly supported a Medicare for All bill in 2021, but never posted on social media or issued a press release about it.  

Torres received the 7th highest donation out of 435 members of Congress in 2022 from Pro-Israel PACs, or roughly $291,961. His ability—and willingness—to attract large donors extends to other sectors as well. When he first ran in the highly competitive 2019 Democratic primary, Torres took an early donor lead in a crowded field fueled largely by real estate interests that, according to The City, sought Torres’ help turning the Mott Haven neighborhood into “the next Williamsburg”:

Torres leads a crowded pack of Democrats seeking to replace retiring Rep. José Serrano, pulling in a top $878,000 since declaring his candidacy in July. At least $110,000 of that came from people with ties to the real estate industry, according to THE CITY’s analysis of the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission. The vast majority of donations to Torres’ campaign — 96.3% or about $845,000 — came from outside the 15th Congressional District, which is among the poorest in the nation. Overall, about 93.5% of the contributions came from addresses outside The Bronx.

Torres is insistent that he is a True Progressive and that there’s nothing inconsistent with being left of center and pro-Israel. “I’m pro-Israel not despite my progressivism but because of it,” he told voters in 2020, somewhat defensively—a schtick he’s echoed in countless other media appearances and profiles. As Palestinian, Jewish, progressive, and leftists activists of all stripes protest in congressional offices, the capitol, and anywhere lawmakers meet this week, to try and stop the Israeli bombing in Gaza that has already killed over 4,000, Torres has held firm, criticizing those calling for a ceasefire and dueling with progressives in Congress by insinuating they’re anti-Semitic. In theory, one can care about Israel—or any other US ally—and poverty at the same time. But in Torres’ case the disproportionate focus on the latter in his public comments indicates someone who views his job as shoring up the US arms industry and unquestioned subjugation of the Palestinians more than materially reducing extreme poverty in his own district.