Israel-Gaza Conflict in Focus During Auchincloss Town Hall

December 9, 2024
• U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a vocal advocate for Israel, fielded several questions related to violence in the Middle East Sunday. The Newton congressman also shared recent legislative action and priorities as he enters his third term.

An hour-long conversation between Auchincloss and constituents at Newman Elementary School grew contentious after several attendees pushed back on the Democratic congressman’s support for Israel and sought clarity on his views on U.S.-Israel relations.

During a Q&A portion of the town hall, Auchincloss reiterated his diplomatic allegiance to Israel and the need to eradicate Hamas, the organization controlling the Gaza Strip. Should President-elect Donald Trump also extend support to Israel, Auchincloss said he’d put aside party differences to support that policy.

“Politics stops at the water’s edge, or at least it should… We cannot allow the heavyweight match between Democrats and Republicans to undermine the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Auchincloss said.

Auchincloss represents 35 municipalities, including Needham, Newton, Brookline and surrounding communities.

A Needham constituent expressed his concern regarding the death toll in Palestine, as more than 44,000 Palestinians have died since Oct. 7, 2023, according to figures provided by the Gaza Health Ministry. When asked whether he supports the use of starvation on civilians in Gaza, Auchincloss called the entire situation “a tragedy.”

“It’s a tragedy when a Palestinian child dies. It’s a tragedy when an Israeli child dies. It’s a tragedy,” he said. “The way to help the Palestinian people and the way to help the Israeli people is to remove from the levers of influence and power the organization that is an internationally recognized terrorist death cult that has, as part of its founding mandate, the destruction of Israelis and of Jews globally, and has done nothing over the last 15 years except to eviscerate its own people, the Palestinian people, as well as attack the Israeli people.”

Auchincloss stressed the need to broker a hostage deal and for “the advent of post-war governance in Gaza that excludes Hamas” and is Palestinian-led, he said.

After a couple more questions related to Israel, Auchincloss announced he would not comment any further on the topic, leading one attendee to express frustration.

“I just want to start out saying that I think it’s incredibly unfair that you said that you’re going to cut off questions relating to Israel,” said the Brookline resident, who did not share her name. “This is one of the most pressing issues of my lifetime, and it affects me and others on a very deeply personal level.”

The speaker, who identified herself as Jewish American, said she protested on college campuses to demonstrate solidarity with Palestine and has not experienced antisemitism there. She asked why the congressman is “spreading blatant lies about false rising antisemitism,” a question which he ignored. Other audience members reacted with groans.

“I’m very glad that she hasn’t experienced any antisemitism,” Auchincloss said in response. “I wish that for everybody else as well on college campuses.”

Concerned over the rise in antisemitism on college campuses reported by the Anti-Defamation League, Auchincloss hopes to have an independent civil rights commission provide recommendations to address the issue. He also plans to protect university research funding.

Before the confrontation, Auchincloss said he supports people’s right to exercise their First Amendment rights when it comes to advocacy for Palestine. He voted against the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 because he felt “it bent too far away from freedom of expression.”

He also weighed in on issues local to Needham, including rezoning in connection with the MBTA Communities Act. A proponent of Yes for Needham — a group in support of the more expansive Neighborhood Housing Plan zoning map — sought Auchincloss’ thoughts on the housing shortage ahead of the Jan. 14 referendum, which may overturn the rezoning votes taken at the Annual Town Meeting.

Auchincloss committed to withholding infrastructure funding for communities in his district that fail to comply with the MBTA Communities Act and state law. Auchincloss recently earmarked $1.1 million for Needham’s stormwater projects and previously allocated another $2 million for the redesign of the Center Street/Central Avenue Bridge.

“The solution is supply. We need to build more housing,” he said. “Any other answer is not getting to the root cause of the problem.”

Before entering his third term in January, Auchincloss reviewed three of his legislative priorities: gun violence, higher education and both pharmaceutical drugs and fentanyl.

Having served as a Marine officer, Auchincloss said he is familiar with assault weapons and their capabilities. While he believes “these weapons of war have no place on our streets or near our schools,” he doesn’t believe Republican leadership would support an assault weapons ban. He and his colleagues did pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which prevents 18 to 21-year-olds with a criminal background from purchasing assault weapons.

Auchincloss co-chairs the Fentanyl Policy Working Group, and views the drug as the “most addictive chemical in the history of mankind.” Through collaboration with his colleagues, he aims to prohibit China’s exportation of fentanyl components.

“It’s a 9/11 every week,” he said, “and I view this as state-sponsored poisoning of the American people, and it needs to end.”

Auchincloss held another town hall in Newton later that afternoon.