Democrat congressman Ritchie Torres of New York has been one of his party's most vocal supporters of Israel in recent weeks, so it was a surprise when he voted Thursday against a resolution condemning the antisemitic, pro-Hamas demonstrations taking place on college campuses across the United States.

The resolution, which was introduced last month by Republican Burgess Meredith, condemned "the support of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations at institutions of higher education, which may lead to the creation of a hostile environment for Jewish students, faculty, and staff." It also urged "the Secretary of Education to direct the Office for Civil Rights to investigate and, where appropriate, take action immediately."

Burgess' resolution, which had 52 original cosponsors, passed with 396 votes in favor, 23 against, and 14 not voting. Predictably, among the nay votes: AOC, Cori Bush, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib.

It's unclear why Torres mistakenly voted against the resolution or when he realized it, but he took to X to admit making the error:

On the House floor, I mistakenly voted against a resolution condemning campus antisemitism. As a visible and vocal advocate against antisemitism on college campuses, especially in the wake of October 7th, I have submitted a correction for the record.

I have no use for pro-Hamas…

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) November 3, 2023

Torres has been one of the few in his party willing to take on "The Squad," the viciously antisemitic group of gals who seem to be the unofficial spokesbabes of the Democrat Party. RedState's Sister Toldjah documented one occasion last month when Ilhan Omar, in full meltdown mode in the days following the October 7 terror attack on Israel, called out Torres for his pro-Israel stance.

When asked why she didn't support Israel's right to retaliate against Hamas, Omar became unhinged:

How many more killings is enough for you? Is it 1,000 more, 2,000 more, 3,000 more? How many more Palestinians would make you happy if they die? Will you be fine if all of the people of Gaza are gone? Would that make you happy? Would that be the thing that makes you proud? And maybe that's the question you should ask Ritchie. Is he okay? How many more Palestinian lives is he comfortable with? Because I am not comfortable with any more."

Why was she calling out Torres specifically? Because he didn't fall into line with The Squad's decidedly pro-Hamas reaction to October 7. That didn't seem to intimidate him, judging by his response to Omar:

“I obviously resent those comments. You know, every casualty is a tragedy. Every war is a humanitarian crisis. But we have to keep in mind the causes of the war.  Israel did not start the war. The war was imposed upon Israel by the barbaric terrorism of Hamas, which butchered 1,400 Israelis, including babies.  You know, my colleague, Representative Omar has voted against Iron Dome, which is a missile defense system that protects Israeli civilians from relentless rockets.  Were not for Iron Dome interceptions, there would be far more dead Israelis, far more by orders of magnitude.  And so the policy positions that she has taken would've led to even more dead Israelis and more dead Palestinians.”

It's delightful to watch a Democrat actually have the nerve to take on The Squad. The House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, who has received campaign donations from AIPAC and voiced his support for its mission, seems to be struggling to keep the pro-Hamas wing of his party in check.

And, of course, it goes without saying: Kudos to Ritchie Torres for owning up to his mistake and not pulling a fire alarm to distract attention.