{"id":2479948,"date":"2025-08-28T14:02:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T18:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ritchie-torres-blasts-gotcha-interview-on-israel-and-gaza\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T14:03:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T18:03:34","slug":"ritchie-torres-blasts-gotcha-interview-on-israel-and-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ritchie-torres-blasts-gotcha-interview-on-israel-and-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Ritchie Torres blasts \u2018gotcha interview\u2019 on Israel and Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fritchie-torres-blasts-gotcha-interview-on-israel-and-gaza%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2479948&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article reports on an interview involving Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) discussing the conflict between Israel and Gaza. Torres walked out of the interview, criticizing it as a &#8220;gotcha interview,&#8221; stating that the interviewer lacked understanding of the topic.The interviewer, Jewish YouTuber Adam Friedland, shared his personal experience growing up a Zionist while also empathizing wiht Palestinians due to their treatment, and expressed concern about increasing antisemitism in America linked to support for Israeli actions in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>Torres emphasized that while criticism of the Israeli government is valid, antisemitism and harassment against American Jews are never justified. The exchange was tense, ending without a handshake, with Friedland apologizing but insisting on his advocacy for Palestinian civilians.<\/p>\n<p>The interview took place amid Democratic Party divisions over the Israel-Gaza conflict, highlighted by recent retractions of party resolutions on the issue. Torres has been vocal about the urgent need for humanitarian relief in Gaza. <br \/> <!DOCTYPE html><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Ritchie Torres blasts &lsquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >gotcha interview&#038;rsquo<\/a>; on Israel and Gaza<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2213244\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3494146\/panicked-democrats-fracture-gaza-israel-what-comes-next\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ritchie Torres<\/a> (D-NY) walked out of an interview on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3783181\/congress-opens-investigation-wikipedia-foreign-efforts-manipulate-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the subject of Israel and Gaza,<\/a> where he claimed the interviewer &ldquo;didn&rsquo;t know what [he] was talking about.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;m here to be lectured now,&rdquo; Torres said on <em>The Adam Friedland Show,<\/em> published on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3784995\/house-oversight-crime-bills-trump-dc-takeover\/\">House Oversight prepares tranche of DC crime bills as Trump cracks down on district<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3782387\/house-gop-expands-antisemitism-investigation-university-of-california-system-documents-request\/\">House GOP expands antisemitism investigation into UC system with sweeping documents request<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3780029\/maxwell-frost-democrats-start-2026-early-avoid-transactional-campaign\/\">Maxwell Frost urges Democrats to start 2026 early to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-bidens-legal-strategy-takes-shape-as-tax-trial-looms-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden\u2019s legal strategy takes shape as tax trial looms - Washington Examiner\">avoid &#038;lsquo<\/a>;transactional&rsquo; campaign<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>YouTuber Adam Friedland, who is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Jewish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jewish<\/a>, told Torres about his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/honk-for-jesus-comedy-takes-on-christian-megachurch-culture\/\" title=\"\u2018Honk for Jesus\u2019 comedy takes on Christian megachurch culture\">experience living<\/a> in Israel. Friedland explained that he &ldquo;grew up a Zionist&rdquo; but also saw how Palestinian people were &ldquo;demeaned and dehumanized and surveilled constantly,&rdquo; which prompted him to sympathize with Palestinians.&nbsp; According to Friedland, &ldquo;hatred of Jewish people has exploded&rdquo; in America.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s because of our support of what looks to be an absolute brutality [in Gaza],&rdquo; Friedland said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You think that&rsquo;s a justification for antisemitism? You think Israeli government policy is a justification for antisemitism? My view is there&rsquo;s no justification for antisemitism,&rdquo; Torres said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If you have disagreements with the Israeli government, you should voice your criticism of the Israeli government. But there is no justification for intimidation or harassment against American Jews,&rdquo; Torres said.<\/p>\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q0Eeht171HQ?si=UxVoyQ-OK8PGyRpA\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>    <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m telling you as a Jew right now that we are receiving a lot more hate because of what the people with a flag that has a Jewish star on are doing to other people right now,&rdquo; Friedland said in reference to the war in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Gaza\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The interview ended without a handshake between the two. Friedland apologized several times but insisted his &ldquo;conscience is clear&rdquo; in advocating for civilians in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve just been hostile,&rdquo; Torres told Friedland. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fine. Don&rsquo;t worry. It&rsquo;s just been a gotcha interview.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think you had an agenda to speak about this,&rdquo; Torres said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not my No. 1 topic. I was not elected on Israel. You don&rsquo;t get elected in the South Bronx and the Northeast Bronx [on Israel.]&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3494146\/panicked-democrats-fracture-gaza-israel-what-comes-next\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>&lsquo;THEY&rsquo;RE PANICKED&rsquo;: DEMOCRATS FRACTURE OVER GAZA, ISRAEL, AND WHAT COMES NEXT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This interview comes as Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3780645\/dnc-ken-martin-retracts-pro-israel-resolution-democrats-gaza-tension\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">retracted a pro-Israel resolution<\/a> this week after a conflicting resolution that called to recognize a state of Palestine failed. Torres has issued <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3494146\/panicked-democrats-fracture-gaza-israel-what-comes-next\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">increasingly urgent calls<\/a> for humanitarian relief.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has reached out to Torres for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ritchie Torres criticizes &#8216;gotcha interview&#8217; on Israel-Gaza<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2631,"featured_media":2479949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AP24182577946635-scaled.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[20083,62176,4671,5894,38012],"class_list":["post-2479948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-gaza","tag-gotcha-interview","tag-israel","tag-politics","tag-ritchie-torres"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AP24182577946635-scaled.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2479948"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2479952,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479948\/revisions\/2479952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2479949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2479948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2479948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2479948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}