Defunding Israel

Summary

Today, Explained — “Defunding Israel” (July 21, 2026)
Podcast by Vox
Host: Sean Rameswaram
Guests: Riley Rogerson (Politico), Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL)

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Episode Overview

This episode explores a seismic shift in U.S. politics: over 100 House Democrats recently voted to block or restrict U.S. aid to Israel, marking an extraordinary departure from longstanding bipartisan consensus. The hosts and guests unpack the roots, significance, and future implications of this vote, while also featuring reflections from Rep. Brad Schneider, who opposed the defunding measure. The coverage includes in-depth discussion of Democratic Party dynamics, Republican unity, the changing political climate, and personal and policy perspectives on the U.S.-Israel relationship.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Vote: Never Expected to Pass, But Still Shocking

• [02:28] Riley Rogerson (Politico):
  • The vote to defund Israel "was never going to pass," due to enduring strong support in Congress, but:
    • “Over 100 House Democrats voted to block aid to Israel. This was a seismic shift in the party’s support for Israel and was pretty crazy to watch.” (02:48)
  • Only 37 House Democrats supported a similar measure in 2024; the 2026 vote marked overwhelming momentum. (04:01)
• The amendment was introduced by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, a noted party outlier. (03:05, 03:28)

Why the Shift?

• [04:35] Rogerson proposes several causes:
  • Political Pressure: Incumbent Democrats losing primaries to left-wing challengers running openly against U.S. support for Israel.
  • Moral Outrage: Lawmakers and portions of the Democratic base describe Israel's actions as “genocide.”
    • Memorable moments from campaign trail speeches:

      “I do believe that what’s happening is a genocide and I believe that it’s a moral injury to the American people that our tax dollars are being used to enact this genocide.” (04:44)
      “Our selling of arms to Israel… gives them the cover to continue the genocide that’s taking place in Palestine. And now the ethnic cleansing that’s taking place in Lebanon.” (04:47)

  • Netanyahu Fatigue: Growing Democratic frustration with Israeli leadership, specifically Benjamin Netanyahu.
    • Rep. Brad Schneider:

      "US taxpayers have spent many, many billions..." (05:48)
      Sean Rameswaram responds:
      "...in support of the racist, extremist Netanyahu government." (05:53)
      Rep. Schneider:
      "Enough is enough." (05:59)

Party Dynamics: Democratic Split & Notable Breaks

• [06:13] The ideological dividing line:
  • Progressives supported cutting aid; Moderates opposed.
  • High-profile breaks:
    • Nancy Pelosi (previously funded by AIPAC, the pro-Israel PAC) and Catherine Clark (House Democratic leadership) both voted to cut off aid—a dramatic development. (06:34)
• Moderates and Progressives Both Praised Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries:
  • Moderates liked that Jeffries voted "to preserve this aid." (07:18)
  • Progressives appreciated “vote your conscience” latitude and open debate:

    “That’s not him whipping all these members to support Israel as Democrats have done in the past. So they see that as a step in the right direction.” (07:26)

Republican Unity & “Trump’s Party”

• [08:31] Rogerson explains:
  • In 2024, 21-22 House Republicans supported reins on Israel aid. In 2026, only Massie did—reflecting a dramatic consolidation of pro-Israel sentiment.
  • This, Rogerson notes, coincides with President Trump's considerably more engaged foreign policy than anticipated, with party unity as a hallmark. (08:40)

Prognosis: What Happens If Democrats Retake the House?

• [10:22] If Democrats win a House majority in November:
  • Hakeem Jeffries's leadership will face pressure from both sides—newly empowered progressives demanding reform, moderates upholding the status quo.
  • The tightness of the majority will determine how much the progressive wing can “pull.”
  • Underlying theme:

    “Consistent frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu… If there was a different government, more House Democrats would be willing to support aid to Israel…” (11:53)

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Extended Interview: Rep. Brad Schneider’s Perspective

[16:27 – 27:15]

Personal Roots & Policy Perspective

• [16:27] Schneider shares his Jewish identity and lifelong Zionism, coupled with a dual commitment to Palestinian self-determination and peace:
  • “I was born with two names… both as an American and as a Jew… a strong Zionist… I fundamentally believe that the U.S.-Israel relationship is an important relationship… [but] also committed to the aspirations of the Palestinians…” (16:27)
• He rejects the Massie amendment as “hastily crafted, poorly written,” and as a negative, “messaging bill.” (18:00)
  • “If we’re going to move toward peace, we need to move in a constructive way…It was a negative message. I voted no…” (18:00)

On U.S. Conditions, Gaza, and Israeli Leadership

• Schneider admits U.S. weapon sales to Israel have built-in restrictions (20:07), but Rameswaram presses:
  • “Israel used United States weapons to kill thousands and thousands and thousands of women and children. So are those restrictions working well?” (20:24)
• Schneider, on the Gaza war:
  • “One civilian death is too many… Israel conducted many aspects of the war [which] put too many civilians in harm’s way…” (20:34)
  • Stresses the need for a path to peace, but “Israel should not look to occupy Gaza permanently.” (20:50)

AIPAC Money & Party Realignment

• On AIPAC funding:

  “The support I get doesn’t determine my positions. I think my positions determine who supports me.” (22:08)

• Schneider has not renounced AIPAC support, in contrast to some colleagues.

Has He Changed Since October 7?

• “My position hasn’t changed because I’ve always been committed to promoting peace between Israelis and Palestinians… My frustration with the current Israeli government has grown and continues to grow.” (23:00)
• He pushed for humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenged Israeli policy when it blocked that aid. (23:00)

On Optimism vs. Pessimism

• Rameswaram: “Your optimism on this issue of peace in the region is overwhelming. But I don’t feel that that is the general feeling…People…feel deeply pessimistic about the possibility for peace.” (24:43)
• Schneider:

  “I am always going to be optimistic. I have to hold on to that optimism…because the alternative is too dark.” (25:07)

  • Acknowledges the trauma for both Israelis and Palestinians, and sees his job as holding—and sharing—hope for peace.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamp References

• “This was a seismic shift in the party’s support for Israel and was pretty crazy to watch.”
  —Riley Rogerson (02:48)

• “I do believe that what’s happening is a genocide and I believe that it’s a moral injury to the American people that our tax dollars are being used to enact this genocide.”
  —NYC incumbent campaign remark (04:44)

• “Enough is enough.”
  —Rep. Brad Schneider (05:59)

• “Nancy Pelosi…people were surprised to see that break. The other name…House Democrat Catherine Clark voted to break with [leadership] to vote to cut off the aid.”
  —Riley Rogerson (06:34)

• “He said, ‘vote your conscience’…That’s not him whipping all these members to support Israel as Democrats have done in the past.”
  —Riley Rogerson, on Hakeem Jeffries (07:26)

• “I fundamentally believe the U.S.-Israel relationship is an important relationship…but also committed to the aspirations of the Palestinians to their rights…and sovereignty.”
  —Rep. Brad Schneider (16:27)

• “Their failure to address the settler violence…failure to plan for a day after in Gaza…If we’re going to move towards peace, we need to move in a thoughtful way.”
  —Rep. Brad Schneider, on Netanyahu’s government (18:00)

• “One civilian death is too many, no question about it. And the way Israel conducted many aspects of the war put too many civilians in harm’s way and ultimately led to those civilian deaths.”
  —Rep. Brad Schneider (20:34)

• “My position hasn’t changed because I’ve always been committed to promoting peace…My frustration with the current Israeli government has grown and continues to grow.”
  —Rep. Brad Schneider (23:00)

• “I am always going to be optimistic. I have to hold on to that optimism …because otherwise peace is never going to happen…”
  —Rep. Brad Schneider (25:07)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:28] — Riley Rogerson sets up the significance of 100+ Democrats supporting the defunding motion.
• [04:35] — Explanations for the shift within the Democratic Party, including campaign trail dynamics and moral outrage.
• [05:48] — Frustration with Netanyahu’s government from U.S. lawmakers.
• [06:13] — Notable Democratic defections, including Pelosi and Clark.
• [08:31] — Republican unity behind Israel; Trump’s evolving foreign policy posture.
• [10:22] — Speculation on future party dynamics if Democrats retake the House.
• [16:27] — Rep. Brad Schneider’s personal and political rationale for supporting aid to Israel.
• [20:07] — On conditions attached to U.S. aid and use of American weapons in Gaza.
• [22:08] — Discussion of AIPAC support and political independence.
• [23:00] — Reflections on changes since October 7 and relations with the Israeli government.
• [25:07] — Schneider’s defense of optimism for peace in the region.

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Tone and Language

• The tone is analytical but urgent, with pointed assessments from both journalists and lawmakers.
• Guests like Rogerson are direct about the “crazy,” “shocking” nature of the political shift.
• Rep. Schneider is candid about personal roots, committed to nuance, and tirelessly optimistic despite acknowledging trauma and frustration.
• Quotes from lawmakers and the campaign trail use stark moral language (“genocide,” “moral injury,” “enough is enough”).

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In Summary

The episode "Defunding Israel" documents a fundamental shakeup in U.S. Democratic politics concerning Israel—an unprecedented number of lawmakers opted to withdraw critical military support. Political calculations, a changing primary landscape, moral outrage over Gaza, and disillusionment with Israel’s government all fueled this realignment. Meanwhile, Republicans now stand nearly united in support of Israel, a mark of Trump-era discipline. Democratic leaders are praised for facilitating open debate, but future party cohesion on Israel remains uncertain, especially if progressives’ electoral strength grows. Rep. Schneider provides a revealing centrist lens—his enduring faith in the U.S.-Israel relationship is matched by persistent calls for peace and his own frustration with Israel’s current path.

This episode captures a moment when the political future of U.S.-Israel relations, long a matter of consensus, is “pretty crazy to watch” — and still far from settled.

Transcript

[Sean Rameswaram]

The president has a new favorite word. Maybe you've heard communism.

[Representative Brad Schneider]

Communism's easy to sell. I would be the greatest communist in history. I'd be right up there with Lenin.

[Sean Rameswaram]

And it's contagious. He's got Marco Rubio using it. Communism does not sound good in theory. He's got Speaker Johnson using it. Communism and this philosophy has led to the murder of tens of millions of innocent people. Easy, buddy. The president and his pals are intentionally conflating communism with democratic socialism. And they're doing it because the democratic socialists are winning. And they're winning on Israel.

[Riley Rogerson]

Israel is a country that has been accused of apartheid and occupation for decades now.

[Sean Rameswaram]

Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in the Hague.

[Riley Rogerson]

This genocide happens with our tax dollars

[Sean Rameswaram]

and we must stand up and say, not on our dime. Democrats in Congress just had to draw lines on Israel with a big funding vote. So we're going to talk about defunding Israel on today. Explain from box.

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[Representative Brad Schneider]

The House will be in order.

[Sean Rameswaram]

The clerk may call the roll today.

[Riley Rogerson]

Yay. Explained.

[Representative Brad Schneider]

Yay.

[Riley Rogerson]

I'm Riley Rogerson. I'm a House leadership reporter for Politico.

[Sean Rameswaram]

And Riley, last week there was a big vote in the House to defund Israel Was it ever going to pass?

[Riley Rogerson]

I don't think it was ever going to pass. There is still very strong support for Israel among many, many House Democrats. But what was shocking about this vote is that over 100 House Democrats voted to block aid to Israel. This was a seismic shift in the party's support for Israel and was pretty crazy to watch.

[Sean Rameswaram]

As a reporter, tell me what the expectations were going in. What was the prologue of this vote?

[Riley Rogerson]

Going into this vote, we knew as reporters that House Democrats were going to be split on this issue. The amendment was a discussion among House Democrats for about two or three weeks. It was introduced by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie. You know, isolationist, renegade. He's usually pretty out of step with his party, but he put this forward. They knew it was going to come up eventually.

[Sean Rameswaram]

Madam Chair, my amendment is simple. It strikes $3.3 billion of foreign aid to the country of Israel from the State Department funding bill.

[Riley Rogerson]

So there were two pretty lengthy closed door meetings where House Democrats were like, we need to find a way to hash out this issue. We know that it's divisive. We have to talk about it.

[Representative Brad Schneider]

The situation relative to the United States relationship with Israel, the Palestinian people and policy in the Middle east has to change because the current status quo is unsustainable.

[Riley Rogerson]

So there was an opportunity behind closed doors for Democrats to pretty openly debate and disagree what they were going to do. And as reporters standing outside, you know, one of those meetings, people were coming out on both sides of the issue. So we knew this was going to be a big split. We didn't know that 100 members were going to vote to cut Israel aid. That was pretty shocking because in 2024 there was a similar vote to cut Israel aid, and just 37 House Democrats voted for that measure. So this was a pretty marked shift.

[Sean Rameswaram]

So, yeah. What accounts for the uptick for what you're calling a seismic shift?

[Riley Rogerson]

Now, there's a couple of theories of the case here. So one is that this is political and House Democrats are looking at what's happening on the campaign trail. Incumbent after incumbent has lost to pretty hard candidates. I'm thinking in New York City, I do believe that what's happening is a genocide and I believe that it's a moral injury to the American people that our tax dollars are being used to enact this genocide. I'm thinking in Denver, I believe that our selling of arms to Israel, defensive or offensive, gives them the COVID to continue the genocide that's taking place in Palestine. And now the ethnic cleansing that's taking place in Lebanon. And these hard left candidates are running on a pretty Israel skeptical or even anti Israel message compared to the incumbents taking a more moderate stance. So, you know, plenty of Democrats are looking around and saying this is not politically viable. I need to be on the record as providing some sort of a check on Israel. Also, House Democrats are saying they're fed up at this point with what's going on. They are not satisfied with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership in Israel.

[Representative Brad Schneider]

US taxpayers have spent many, many billions

[Sean Rameswaram]

of dollars in support of the racist, extremist Netanyahu government.

[Representative Brad Schneider]

Enough is enough.

[Sean Rameswaram]

How did the split in the Democratic Party on defunding Israel break down ideologically? What were the more notable votes here?

[Riley Rogerson]

As you can imagine, more progressive members tended to vote to, you know, defund the Israel aid and more moderate members tended to vote to maintain that aid. But there were a number of very interesting people to watch that US reporters were pretty surprised by. One of them being former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

[Sean Rameswaram]

Tic tac toe a winner.

[Riley Rogerson]

She has received money from AIPAC before, a pro Israel pac. So people were surprised to see that break. The other name that was a big deal was the number two. House Democrat Catherine Clark voted to break with the rest of other members of leadership, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, to vote to cut off the aid. So that was also a very big deal.

[Sean Rameswaram]

Does it say something about his leadership that he couldn't unite his party on this vote or is that just like nobody could? So it's not really an indictment of his power?

[Riley Rogerson]

I think you're right that nobody could. I think that this issue is just that divisive among House Democrats. What was interesting about the whole endeavor is I talked to, you know, pretty far left progressives and very moderate Democrats leaving this vote and both had positive things to say about Jeffries, which, you know, was somewhat surprising. The moderates were pleased that Jeffries voted, you know, to preserve this aid. They thought that that was important. And Congressman, for example, Josh Gottheimer, a very pro Israel Democrat. I spoke to him. He said he was happy because Jeffries voting to preserve the aid, he thinks swayed more Democrats to do the same. So he was satisfied. The progressives say, hey, he, he said, vote your conscience. That's a big step. That's not him whipping all these members to support Israel as Democrats have done in the past. So they see that as a step in the right direction. And they were enthused about his strategy to have these two closed door meetings where he did Encourage open dialogue. And progressives say that too is a step in the right direction. Will he be able to get away with this as speaker potentially next term when these hard, hard left Democrats come in, they've been very, very vocal about Israel. That remains to be seen. But for now, members of both sides were satisfied.

[Sean Rameswaram]

Okay, let's talk about the other, other side. Because there was actually much more unity amongst Republicans.

[Riley Rogerson]

Yes, that was also very surprising to watch and marks a big shift in the Republican Party. So back in that vote in 2024, which was another vote to restrain Israel aid, I think it was 21 or 22 House Republicans voted in favor of that measure. On last week when the vote to cut off Israel aid came up, just one Republican voted to cut off that aid, and that was Thomas Massie, who we know is sort of on his own journey in Congress as it is. So, yeah, I mean, it's, that's, I think a sign of President Trump's shifting approach to foreign policy compared to where he was at on the campaign trail when he was talking about a much more isolationist approach to foreign policy. Now, President Trump has shifted his strategy. He's been much more engaged abroad than I think many people anticipated, whether it be, you know, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine and Russia and Venezuela. And his party is willing to have his back on this and voted near unanimously to back this funding and to

[Sean Rameswaram]

bring this back to Democrats. There were Democrats who also basically agree with that line of thinking.

[Riley Rogerson]

Yes, that's part of it. The other reason that many House Democrats voted in support of keeping this funding is because they said they were worried about some of the aid. I think it's about $3.3 billion total is what we were talking about. So it was complicated, but there are plenty of pro Israel Democrats who were just really wanted to have Israel's back in this moment. And that's a lot of what we saw.

[Sean Rameswaram]

What does what we saw say about what we might see if Democrats do indeed win back control of the House this November, which the betting money seems to suggest they will?

[Riley Rogerson]

I mean, this is the question that anyone observing this situation is asking themselves. What are we going to see from a potential Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, when it comes to Israel? And how firm are both sides of his caucus going to push and pull their speaker in their direction? We frankly don't know. Something to consider is that if Democrats do take the majority, they will have significantly more control over the floor agenda. He'll have control or be able to stop, say these Republican led amendments from coming to the floor. At the same time, if you have these, you know, very ultra progressive members coming in and demanding votes in, say, exchange for voting for his speakership, then you're going to have this issue is going to be very, very alive. Part of the question is just how big of a majority do Democrats win if they do get a majority? If it's coming down to one or two votes like we've seen Republicans have this term, who knows, who's to say which direction people are going to pull? Jeffries, if it's a big majority, say, you know, 15 or 20 Jeffries is going to have a lot of room to work with. What I will say was a consistent trend. No matter who I talk to leaving the vote or every Democrat I talked to leaving the vote, there is consistent frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu. I think perhaps if there was a different government, Morehouse Democrats would be willing to support aid to Israel and have a different conversation. So that's another factor here that's going to influence, I think, the direction that Congress heads.

[Sean Rameswaram]

When TODAY explains back we're going to hear from a Democrat who voted to continue funding Israel. Support for the show comes from Upwork. There comes a point in every business owner's journey where you realize you can't do it alone and you might need to hire outside help and they have to be experts and you have to do it quickly. That might seem like a lot, it sounds like a lot, but Upwork makes it simple. Upwork is a one stop platform to find, hire and pay expert freelancers across more than 125 categories of talent. Wow, that's a lot of talent. With their help, you can start filling skill gaps, launch projects faster and scale support wherever you need it without committing to a full time headcount. You can browse profiles, review people's past work and get help scoping the role. Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That's Upwork.com to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's up w o r k.com Upwork.com. Support for the show today comes from Shopify. If you've been sitting on a business idea, this could be your sign. Don't wait. Shopify can help you get it off the ground because everything you need to start selling is included and ready from day one. Shopify can be your Day one. Shopify lets you choose from hundreds of beautiful templates that you can customize to match your brand. Setup can be fast. With Shopify's built in AI tools that write product descriptions and headlines and even help you edit product photos. Marketing is built in two you can create email and sell social campaigns that can help you reach customers wherever they shop. As your business grows, Shopify grows with you so you can handle more orders, expand to new markets and do it all from the same dashboard. With Shopify, nothing stands between your idea and a real business. So go make it one. Start your free trial at shopify.com explained that shopify.com explained shopify.com explained. Support for the show today comes from Bilt. There's no way around it. Housing is expensive. Rent, mortgage, it doesn't matter which one you're paying. BILT was created to help ease the sting. BILT started out rewarding members on their rent. That's what they were known for. But now in 2026, this current year, it's not just for renters. Built members can now earn points on mortgage payments wherever they live. Every housing payment earns you points you can use toward flights with top travel partners like United and Hyatt, Lyft rides, Amazon.com purchases and much more. You can download the Bilt app and join the BILT membership for where you [e-mail] explained don't spell it with a u because it's J-O-I-N-B-I-L-T.com explained use our link so they know we sent you. Today. Explain is back. I'm joined by Representative Brad Schneider, who's representing the 10th district of Illinois in the United States House of Representatives. Could you walk us through the vote? Last week you voted against the measure to cut aid to Israel and a lot of your colleagues obviously did not. How did that play out for you? How did that feel?

[Representative Brad Schneider]

I'm going to take you a step back further and just I'll give you my personal perspective first and talk more broadly. But I was born with two names. The first is Brad and also Shmuel Ben Ephraim, which is Samuel's son of Ephraim, my father Frank and two identities, both as an American and as a Jew and how he was raised and consequently raised as very much a strong Zionist growing up in the 60s, 70s and for the last 65 years. I fundamentally believe that the US Israel relationship is an important relationship. Growing up. I also believe that the aspiration for peace in the Middle east, not just between Israelis and Palestinians, but broadly throughout the region, is something that is in the United States interests and the interest for the people in the region. So this is not a New issue to me and something I thought long and hard about. Now, Israel, from its founding in 1948 has faced enemies in the region. Initially in 1948 it was five Arab armies. Today the enemies are going to be more non state actors. Hamas, Hezbollah, et committed as an American, but also as a Jew to a secure and safe Jewish democratic state of Israel. I'm also committed to the aspirations of the Palestinians to their rights and to their aspirations to self determination and ultimately sovereignty.

[Sean Rameswaram]

Got it.

[Representative Brad Schneider]

Tom Massie doesn't believe any of that. First, let's start with Tom Massie. His intentions with this amendment were anything but pure. It was hastily crafted, poorly written, and one of the biggest issues with it is not only does it address this 10 year memorandum of understanding, something negotiated by President Obama eight years ago, there's two years left on the MOU. It would have blocked funding for the NIDA Lowy Mideast Partnership for Peace, something that I was proud to help, promote, develop and support. Working to build those bridges between Palestinians and Israelis that is going to lay the groundwork ultimately to hopefully find a path towards peace. It would have cut funding for that. It was a messaging bill and nothing more. And it was a negative message. I voted no because I think if we're going to move towards peace, we need to move in a constructive way. A lot of my colleagues were saying we need to send a message to the Netanyahu government. I've been extremely critical of this government. Their failure to address the settler violence in the west bank, the failure to plan for a day after in Gaza following what was a horrific war. If we're going to move towards peace, if we're going to find a path where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side and the region can have the peace they deserve, because we're not just talking about Israelis and Palestinians. There's progress being made between Lebanon and Israel in giving Lebanon, the people of Lebanon, the liberty and freedom they all deserve, and Syria and Jordan and the list goes on around the region. We need to be doing it in a thoughtful way.

[Sean Rameswaram]

Okay, I think I hear your argument against Massie's amendment, but you say it sends a negative message. People in your party, however, would like to clearly send a message that they no longer want to fund Israel's military. They'd like to see Israel out of Gaza. They'd like to see Israel ease restrictions on humanitarian aid. They'd like to see Israel stop expanding into Palestinian and Lebanese territory. What limits would you like to see placed on Israel?

[Representative Brad Schneider]

Well, let's also recognize that Anytime US Weapons are sold to any country in the world, including Israel, there are conditions on how they're used, what the countries can do with them, what they can do to extend them and share those technologies with other countries, et cetera.

[Sean Rameswaram]

But let's also remind people that Israel used United States weapons to kill thousands and thousands and thousands of women and children. So are those restrictions working well?

[Representative Brad Schneider]

So you're talking about the war in Gaza. The war in Gaza was a horrific tragedy. It started when Hamas invaded on October 7th. Israel responded. Hamas was in tunnels. One civilian death is too many, no question about it. And the way Israel conducted many aspects of the war put too many civilians in harm's way and ultimately led to those civilian deaths. We need to find a way to end the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. That war of October 7th, in theory, Trump's 20 point plan brought that war to an end. The conflict continues. People are still dying. Israel has to be able to defend itself. We need to work to disarm Hamas and make sure, and should say this very clearly. Gaza has to be, must be for the people of Gaza and Israel. I've been very clear on this. Israel should not look to occupy Gaza permanently. Sending a message that we're turning our back on the Israeli people, that their security is not important to us is the wrong message, just as sending a message to the Palestinians that their future doesn't matter to us. We have to find a way to say that we care about both people.

[Sean Rameswaram]

This amendment was never going to go anywhere, but members of your party have taken more concrete action here when it comes to sort of redefining the democratic relationship with Israel and Israel aid. One of the ways is by swearing off money from the very pro Israel lobbying group aipac. Have you sworn off said money? I don't believe you have. Can I ask you if you still take money from aipac and if so,

[Representative Brad Schneider]

how much I appreciate the support I get from people who care about the issues that I advocate for. So people who are pro Israel, pro US Israel relationship are likely to support me because I'm pro US Israel, pro Israel relationship. I'm also pro addressing gun safety and reducing gun violence in this country. So I get the support of those groups. The support I get doesn't determine my positions. I think my positions determine who supports me.

[Sean Rameswaram]

All of this change that we're talking about within your party comes in the wake of October 7th and the devastation people have seen in Gaza. And it sounds like this is devastation that you acknowledge in your career.

[Representative Brad Schneider]

Absolutely.

[Sean Rameswaram]

Has your position on Israel shifted at all since October 7th or at any point in your political career, and if so, can you tell us how?

[Representative Brad Schneider]

So my position hasn't changed because I've always been committed to promoting peace between Israelis and Palestinians and finding a path where both can live together, which I believe ultimately is two states, a Jewish democratic state of Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side. My frustration with the current Israeli government has grown and continues to grow. Every conversation I have with, whether it's the US Ambassador to Israel and I've had the privilege of working with many, or my meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who I've had engagement with the prime minister going back now for almost 30 years. But in the last several years, every single conversation I have with them talks about the need to address settler violence, the need to get humanitarian aid. One of the things that I am proud and will say loudly and proudly is that immediately after October 7, as the war began, my team, we worked hard to push for humanitarian aid into Gaza, to do everything we could to make sure that the civilians who were always caught in the middle of any war wouldn't suffer more than they did. And the suffering was horrific. And I did challenge Israel when they made what I'll call ill conceived, ill advised, in some cases illegal decisions to deprive humanitarian relief into Gaza. We pushed hard and we opened. We worked with the Egyptians to get Rafah crossing open. We pushed the Israelis to get the Kerem Shalom crossing open and to not just get aid to those crossings, but get aid into and across the territories within Gaza.

[Sean Rameswaram]

I feel like the disconnect here, I mean, your optimism on this issue of peace in the region is overwhelming. But I don't feel that that is the general feeling in the United States right now amongst American voters or the people who really care about this issue. They look at what's happened since October 7th and they feel deeply pessimistic about the possibility for peace.

[Representative Brad Schneider]

So I am always going to be optimistic. I have to hold on to that optimism for the prospects of peace because the alternative is too d And let's separate the issue for folks living in the region and the folks living here and for Israelis and Palestinians, these are two people who are totally traumatized, traumatized not just over the last couple of years, but for decades. And the conflicts that when there were steps forward and then the enemies of peace could take you on steps backwards. So I recognize the trauma that Israelis have and are experiencing, and I recognize the trauma that the Palestinians have and are experiencing. And that's part of what I feel is my obligation to hold onto that optimism and speak to a better future and work to try to find ways to bring the parties on both sides of the issue there together to make the hard choices and take the risk to get to a path of peace. So the reason I'm holding on to optimism and it's not 24 7, I have my moments when I am down and when I feel like the hill we're climbing is just too steep is you take a deep breath and you dig deep and you say I can't give up on hoping and working towards peace because otherwise peace is never going to happen. And I want to find people who are like minded and that is not just on the Israeli side of the equation. We have to find people on the Palestinian and for those on the Palestinian have to find Israelis. And I meet and I spend time with them on a regular basis. They come to my office when I'm in the region, I talk to them. We have to strengthen and empower those voices who believe that peace will only come when the Israelis see the Palestinians as a people worthy of engagement and shared future and the Palestinians see the Israelis as a people worthy of engagement and a shared future and recognize that until they get there, there's no future for either side. We've got to have a path with both are pointing in the same direction.

[Sean Rameswaram]

Representative brad schneider from illinois's 10th earlier in the show you heard from riley rogerson from politico. Dustin desoto made the show today with help from miles bryan, miranda kennedy, gabriel dunatov, patrick boyd and me, sean ramisvirum today explained

[Riley Rogerson]

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