For the second time in less than two months, members of the Bronx Anti-War Coalition held a “Speak Out” rally outside the Bronx office of Congressman Richie Torres (NY-15) in Belmont on Friday, Dec. 15. The group called for a ceasefire to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and demanded an end to financial support of Israel’s war efforts by the United States.

 

About 50 demonstrators gathered outside the congressman’s office, located at 540 East Fordham Road in Belmont for the rally, which coincided with eight others held at various locations across New York City.

 

Ahead of the event, Torres had posted on X [formerly Twitter] “Anti-Israel agitators are planning an action against me outside my office in The Bronx. In the event the action turns violent, I have been advised to shut down my office out of an abundance of caution.”

 

His post continued, “Let me be crystal clear: no amount of intimidation will bully me into supporting a ceasefire that enables Hamas to remain in power, regroup, rearm, and launch even deadlier terror attacks than the atrocities of Oct. 7th.”

 

Of the rally, Janet Clarke of the Anti-war Coalition told Norwood News, beforehand, “It’s envisioned as a peaceful “speak out” and vigil for the now-20,000-plus Gaza casualties.” Clark, a Norwood resident, added, “Torres is already agitating and intimidating on social media that it’s bullying and dangerous.”

At the Dec. 15 rally, Clark recalled her group’s previous Bronx rally held Oct. 24, when Torres also shut his office to join pro-Israeli demonstrators from the SARS Academy for a rally in Riverdale.

 

Clarke told the crowd, “Since Torres is a recipient of more than $500,000 within his career from AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee]….that’s a half million guys, he’s more than happy to overlook such human rights horrors. He also doesn’t care that the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]….that’s an organization which, you all know, trains our NYPD in military tactics to occupy Bronx civilian streets. It’s a disgrace.”

 

According to one report from Amnesty International, the NYPD does train with the IDF. We reached out to the NYPD for comment. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

We asked Matthew Smith, a Belmont resident, and Fordham University student, why he wanted to attend the latest rally. He replied, “I moved here from the Midwest, actually came here for the promise of a progressive New York, one that supports all people.”

 

Smith said of Torres, “He vetoes any bill that supports a ceasefire, a humanitarian ceasefire that would save so many lives. He personally blocked me on social media, one of his constituents, because I called him out from the beginning on his clear Islamophobia, clear hatred toward the Palestinian people.”

Also attending the rally was Julie Norris of Mott Haven, who told Norwood News, “I live in The Bronx, and we see how The Bronx is crumbling to the ground. Literally day to day, our schools are crumbling, our subways are crumbling, buildings are falling down, and people need to know why this is happening.” As reported, a residential and commercial building partially collapsed in the Morris Heights section of The Bronx on Dec. 11. Click here to read neighbors’ reaction.

 

Norris continued, “The reason that’s happening is because of sell-out politicians like Richie Torres. [They] are just sell-outs and slimy and have their own interests at heart, but they’re sell-outs to people who are funding a genocide.”

 

Hours after the rally concluded, it was announced that IDF soldiers had accidently killed two of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas from Israel on Oct. 7. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, as of the date of writing, the death toll in Gaza stands at 19,000 Palestinians, including 7,000 children, plus 50,000 injured.

 

According to the United Nations, there are currently 1.5 million Palestinians living in 58 refugee camps, but the number of those displaced is estimated at 5.8 million.

 

In 2017, former U.S. President Donald Trump was sued for blocking people from his personal social media account. However, in July 2019, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals determined that Trump used his Twitter account to conduct official government business and could not block constituents based on their political views. He was sued again in 2020. The Supreme Court dismissed the case in 2021 but said the court could take up the questions posed in the case in the future.

Also in July 2019, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) was sued for similar actions, but that suit was dropped when Ocasio-Cortez apologized and unblocked the constituent in November 2019.

 

In October, the U.S. Supreme Court listened to two related cases involving the blocking of members of the public on social media. One case involved school board members in California, and another a city manager in Michigan. A decision on whether a public official can block someone from their social media accounts is expected by the end of June 2024.

 

We reached out to Torres for a comment on the rally as well as the specific remarks made about him by protestors. He replied, saying, “I remain hard at work delivering for the people of The Bronx, whether it is securing over a billion dollars for the public hospital system, securing over $25 million in federal funding for Montefiore (the largest health care provider and employer in The Bronx), securing over $150 million for environmental justice, or establishing multiple programs educating and employing our youth.”

 

The congressman added, “I strongly disagree with protestors who defend the terrorism and barbarism of Hamas. There is no justification for murdering and maiming civilians and children, raping women, and butchering babies. I will continue to stand for peace between Israelis and Palestinians and against the terrorism of Hamas.”

Torres concluded, “The notion that AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] has contributed a half a million dollars to my campaign is a factually false claim based on a misunderstanding of federal campaign finance law. AIPAC has both a PAC and a SuperPAC. The PAC CANNOT contribute more than the legal limit of $10,000, and the SuperPAC has spent nothing on my behalf.”

 

When Norwood News previously reviewed the congressman’s campaign contributions, we found that 18.1 percent of contributions to his campaign were from AIPAC, a total of $222,040, the second highest contributor after Act Blue (a Democratic Party PAC). We reached out to the congressman for comment and will share further updates, should we receive them.

 

To read our previous coverage on the local impact of the latest war in the Middle East, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, here, as well as some opinion pieces here and here.

For those wishing to donate to help humanitarian efforts in the Middle East, UNICEF is coordinating aid for those affected by the conflict. Visit https://www.unicefusa.org/ for details.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.