Local Jewish Leaders Condemn Democrat 1st Congressional District Candidate's Anti-Israel Comments

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Progressive Democratic state Rep. Heath Howard, whose anti-Israel politics are at the center of his campaign for Congress, has stepped up his rhetoric, saying Israel doesn’t have a right to exist and that there should be no Jewish state.

Now Jewish leaders across New England are speaking out, too, condemning Howard’s comments and accusing him of adding to a climate of fear already facing their community.

“To suggest that Israel has no right to exist is not a nuanced policy position,” Benjamin Sharoni, consul general for Israel in New England, told NHJournal Tuesday. “It is a denial of history, reality, international law, and the very principle that grants legitimacy to every nation on earth.”

Howard told WMUR, “I don’t think that Hamas has a right to exist. I don’t think Israel has a right to exist. I think that people have a right to exist.” When asked what would happen to the Jews if Hamas were able to achieve “From the River to the Sea,” Howard rejected the notion of a Jewish state. “I think we need a secular state.”

Howard made his comments on WMUR over the weekend. At the same time, new data from the Anti-Defamation League showed that antisemitic incidents remain elevated.

On Tuesday, the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire released a statement calling Howard’s remarks “deeply troubling.”

“In particular, statements asserting that Israel ‘does not have a right to exist,’ comparisons framing Israel as an ‘apartheid state,’ and the characterization of the current conflict as unequivocal ‘genocide’ are deeply troubling to many members of New Hampshire’s Jewish community,” the federation said.

“Such language does not merely criticize policy decisions; it calls into question the legitimacy of the world’s only Jewish state and, intentionally or not, contributes to an environment in which many Jewish individuals feel isolated, targeted, or unsafe.”

On Friday, the New Hampshire Federation participated in a press conference with other Jewish groups in the region on the continued surge in antisemitism since the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. The number of vandalism and harassment incidents is still far higher today than in 2022.

Confronted with the comments of Jewish leaders, Howard softened his tone.

“I unequivocally condemn Hamas’ violence against civilians,” Howard told NHJournal. “However, that does not justify indiscriminate violence against Palestinians. There is rampant antisemitism in this country, which is disgusting. That does not take away from the fact that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

“I will always forcefully oppose antisemitism and Islamophobia in all forms and remain committed to protecting Granite Staters from hate, threats, and violence.”

The 25-year-old Strafford representative’s remarks are the latest among a series of efforts to establish himself as the most “pro-Palestinian candidate” in the NH-01 Democratic congressional primary. He’s denounced his fellow Democrats for accepting money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, long a major donor to Democrats. And he’s referred to the founding of the nation of Israel as the “Nakba,” the Arabic word for “catastrophe.”

Many Jews see the founding of Israel as the response to one of humanity’s greatest catastrophes, the Holocaust.

“Israel is a sovereign state, a member of the United Nations, and the national home of the Jewish people,” said Sharoni. “Invoking universal rights while calling for the dismantling of a recognized state is not humanitarianism. Those who are genuinely committed to the rights of people must begin by acknowledging the right of nations to exist and defend their citizens.”

Antipathy toward Israel is growing in the Democratic Party. Just 20 percent of Democrats nationwide have a favorable view of Israel compared to 58 percent of Republicans, according to a March 2026 poll from Pew Research.

All of the New Hampshire Democrats currently seeking federal office in 2026, including U.S. Senate candidate Chris Pappas, support a recent attempt to stop the U.S. from selling weapons to Israel. Meanwhile, the Jewish state continues to face threats from Iran, Hezbollah, and other radical Islamist groups.

Still, about 70 percent of America’s Jewish voters continue to identify as Democrats. Republicans say the embrace of anti-Israel—and sometimes openly antisemitic—candidates in the Democratic Party should have Jewish voters rethinking their partisan politics.

“Democrats across the country are falling over themselves in a mad dash to the far left to appease their rabidly antisemitic, anti-Israel base, and New Hampshire state Rep. Heath Howard is the latest example,” Sam Markstein, Republican Jewish Coalition’s political director and spokesperson, told NHJournal. “Rep. Howard’s comments fluffing Hamas terrorists and saying that Israel doesn’t have a right to exist are totally indefensible and wildly ignorant.”

“Day after day, more and more Jewish Americans are fleeing the Democratic Party, and for good reason,” Markstein added.

The New Hampshire Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.