Democratic New York Rep. Josh Riley was briefly forced out of his own town hall meeting by an anti-Israel protester who shouted him down for nearly six minutes, the Daily Caller reported. The Oct. 6 incident occurred in Riley's upstate New York district, which has been a battleground for both Republicans and Democrats.
The problem for Riley and other Democrats is that support for Israel has been tanking since the beginning of the war with Gaza, a little over two years ago. Although Hamas was initially the aggressor in the conflict, sympathies among leftists in particular are increasingly with the Palestinian people.
As a politician who supports giving aid to the Israeli military, Riley was singled out by the people in New York’s 19th congressional district as being part of the problem. The Caller shared a video posted to YouTube of the exchange.
The people in Riley's district confronted the freshman lawmaker at the State University of New York's Sullivan campus over the unpopularity of continuing the war. "Seventy-five percent of Democratic voters are against you, the United States, giving arms to Israel," a woman shouted at Riley as the lawmaker was trying to speak.
"Why are you voting for arms to Israel?" she added. Riley said he would answer the question, but he admonished the gray-haired woman for being disrespectful in her approach and told her she would need to be more polite about it to get a response.
"Just answer it. People are dying. Americans do not want to support genocide," the woman shouted back at a stunned Riley. She also mentioned that Riley and other House Democrats participated in an August visit to Israel, sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, which has ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
"I would love to answer your question," Riley pushed back again at the woman, which prompted another man in the crowd to interject. "You’re filibustering!" a male protester yelled at Riley.
"You’re supposed to listen to your voters!" the woman again interjected. Flustered, Riley replied to the woman, "I'm trying to." The woman left the room, and Riley continued with his event in the question-and-answer segment of the town hall.
There was a time when being a radical leftist meant there was no reason to fear public disruptions or attacks, as their ire was reserved for Republicans with the "wrong" viewpoints. However, those incensed about the support for Israel in the war with Hamas have caused Democrats to turn on their own, including Riley.
In August, a Quinnipiac poll revealed that nearly 75% of Democrats opposed sending military assistance to Israel, meaning that just about any move that sides with Israel will outrage the Democratic base, even in a "leans left" jurisdiction like Riley's. He is no centrist Democrat, either, as the 44-year-old has repeatedly proven his leftist bona fides.
For instance, Riley opposed allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to wear masks and has supported a system to confer citizenship on illegal immigrants who have not broken the law (except the law against entering the country illegally, of course). He also purchased $15,000 worth of shares in a "women-owned, queer-led" distillery in Washington, D.C., which sells liquor branded Dissent Gin and Fascist Tears Vodka, according to the New York Post.
So far, early polling for the 2026 race still indicates that the district skews for the Democratic Party, but support for Riley could wane if this issue persists. The good news is that, as CBS News reported, President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire between the two sides, potentially fostering peace and taking the issue off the table by the time the 2026 midterm elections roll around.
Regardless of the issue, it's quite fitting that Riley was heckled by the same unhinged leftists that Democrats court and support. It's about time one of these leftists gets the same treatment from their own that's usually reserved for right-wing commentators and politicians.
