Nearly 170 rabbis and cantors from 12 congressional districts in New Jersey and across Jewish denominations released an open letter on Monday condemning a recent vote by Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) in support of two resolutions aiming to block $8.8 billion in U.S. arms sales to Israel.
“Despite numerous pledges that he would stand by our ally and by his Jewish constituents, in his first vote on an issue critical to Israel’s security, Sen. Andy Kim voted with the anti-Israel fringe against our ally and our community,” the New Jersey Jewish leaders stated.
His “deliberate choice to side with Israel’s loudest opponents is an affront to our values, our strategic interests and our community,” the group added.
Introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the resolutions were voted down in the U.S. Senate on April 3.
“It’s a highly divisive issue,” Kim told JNS in the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. “But I hope people will see my record for what it is—that I’m somebody who has been a strong defender of Israel’s right to defend itself, of the Iron Dome, of other things that are needed.”
“It’s a country I’ve visited more times than any other country as a member of Congress,” he added. “I feel very strongly about that, as someone who’s worked in the Middle East and done a lot of this type of work before.”
Kim told JNS that it is not a contradiction to support the Jewish state and to be critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“There is space for someone to say, ‘Hey, look, we support Israel, but we are really concerned about what Netanyahu is doing,’” he said. “Especially the conversations that I had with him a few weeks ago and just seeing how things have unfolded, I think that there are a lot of people that I’ve been talking to that understand that.”
The senator wasn’t surprised by the backlash from his home state.
“I get it. People will disagree, some fundamentally. I was prepared for that, but I hope that they still feel an ability to be able to talk with me and have a dialogue,” Kim told JNS. “I hope they see my work as more than just one vote, but I don’t take this lightly, especially when it comes to national security.”
“I’m not saying I can convince everybody, but I hope they see me for who I am. I hope they understand my record for more than just one vote,” he told JNS. “I also hope they see the challenges of what’s happening and how I think some of what Netanyahu is doing, for instance, is making Israel less secure and safe and making it harder for us to be able to bring the hostages home, including Edan Alexander.”
An Israeli-American soldier serving in the Israel Defense Forces who grew up in Tenafly, N.J., Alexander was one of the more than 200 hostages captured in the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and has been in Hamas captivity in Gaza for more than 500 days. Now 21, he was 19 when abducted.
According to current IDF estimates, 59 people remain in captivity, including at least 35 hostages whom the Israeli government has confirmed dead.
