Fury hits GOP as it claims Democratic ex-soldier with Jewish children is backing Hamas

The Republican congressional committee that supports incumbent GOP members has accused a Democratic former soldier of supporting Hamas.

Due to redistricting, Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) is now in a race against a colleague, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) In a post, the GOP is claiming that Ryan said, "I support Hamas."

The Friday blog post from the National Republican Campaign Committee attributes the statement as a direct quote from Ryan, and tries to justify it by saying that Ryan voted against a bill that would condemn President Joe Biden for pausing the aid package to ensure human rights laws are being followed.

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Only 16 Democrats voted for the bill. Ryan supported the funding and arms package for Israel in the April vote.

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But the NRCC claims that voting against the GOP's condemnation bill is the same as saying he supports Hamas.

The GOP's problem is that Ryan, a West Point graduate, has a history of fighting antisemitism because his children have been raised Jewish.

Eight months before Hamas kidnapped and killed hundreds of people in Israel, Ryan was talking to Jewish Insider in Feb. 2023 about his efforts "to combat antisemitism, counter Iranian malign activities and support the U.S.-Israel relationship."

Ryan explained on X that, beyond the love of his family, he fought groups like Hamas directly. The New York lawmaker served two tours in Iraq as a military intelligence officer and spent two years in Afghanistan working for a military subcontractor.

For him, comments like these are personal because terrorist groups like Hamas killed friends and colleagues while he was in combat, his congressional biography says.

"I put my life on the line for our country, and lost friends and fellow soldiers in combat to Iran-backed terror groups like Hamas. I read their names daily on the memorial bracelet I wear," Ryan wrote.

He then called on D’Esposito, "If you have any respect for our veterans," that he demanded the "shameful lie" be taken "down immediately" by the Republican Party site.

D’Esposito never served in the military, but he was a New York Police Department officer, where he received complaints of excessive force and had charges filed against him for an improper search, ProPublica reported.

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