GOVERNMENT

Ritchie Torres

US Congressman, New York

Ritchie Torres is the Democratic US Representative-elect for New York's 15th congressional district, which encompasses a large part of The Bronx. A native of The Bronx himself, Torres is a gay Afro-Latino and unabashed progressive – but his unstinting support for the State of Israel has earned him the enmity of many on the left who support the anti-Zionist BDS movement. However, as a Bloomberg News profile pointed out, Torres did not pay any political price for his vocal backing of the Jewish state, as his “constituents cared far more about his plans for bringing people out of poverty and affordable housing.” When it comes to the Middle East, Torres believes fervently that the “progressive position is to promote a Jewish state and a Palestinian state, not to end the existence of Israel as a Jewish state.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)