In July, U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat, voted to block $3.3 billion in military assistance to Israel.
That was a major shift for Smith, who previously had supported Israel and received an endorsement from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.
Speaking to KUOW’s “Soundside” Tuesday, Smith said, while he initially supported the military package for Israel, he had changed his mind.
“I was persuaded by a number of my constituents that, given what Israel is doing in Gaza, and the West Bank, and in Lebanon right now, anything that signals that we want to strengthen that relationship before Israel changes its behavior on that is the wrong thing to do.”
This was part of a larger conversation on “Soundside” with Smith that also addressed AI regulation, the war with Iran, and the midterms.
In 2024, turnout for Democrats tanked in some areas where voters were most concerned about Gaza policy.
A Pew Research poll from April of this year found that 60% of U.S. adults have an unfavorable view of Israel. That number jumps to 80% among Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents.
Smith, who represents Washington’s 9th Congressional District, acknowledged that his opinion had changed in part due to hearing from his constituents. But he emphasized that his position also reflects a changing environment on the ground in Israel.
“ Israel is and has been legitimately under threat for a very, very long time, and I think people just sort of blow past that,” Smith said. “ Early on Israel was a socialist state actually, and they were very secular. That was the Israel that when I first started getting involved in politics in ’80 and the ’90s that I supported.”
But, watching Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to Oct. 7 changed Smith’s perspective.
“ The way they have responded, they have not offered any plausible future for the Palestinian people, and I think that’s a major, major problem.”
Smith said a rise in religious extremism within the government has also altered his view on supporting Israel.
He defends his support of Israel following the Oct. 7 attack, but he said Israel should have been willing to negotiate a peace settlement as they moved forward.
“ Israel has changed more than I have changed, is the argument that I would make.”
Smith is bullish on the Democrats’ odds to retake Congress in November. If that does happen, he is likely to chair the powerful House Armed Services Committee.
When asked about AI usage by the military, Smith said that, even as a ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, there’s a lot he doesn’t know right now.
“ Because of the many problems with the way Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth run the Pentagon — transparency, they don’t have it. We do not know exactly what they’re doing.”