The California governor’s waffling on the “apartheid” slur reflects the dilemma faced by “moderates,” as well as their apologists as the party’s base embraces antisemitism.
For Democrats who are already immersed in the run-up to the 2028 presidential election, Israel isn’t so much a country in the Middle East as it is a landmine. California Gov. Gavin Newsom provided a classic example earlier this month of how hard it is to navigate the issue for politicians who want the support of both pro- and anti-Israel voters.
Newsom set off something of an explosion when, while promoting his autobiography Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, written to promote his presidential prospects. At a Los Angeles event, he told the hosts of the Pod Save America left-wing podcast that those who are smearing Israel as an apartheid state are doing so “appropriately.” In the same interview, he spoke of considering supporting a ban on military aid to the Jewish state, even in the midst of war, and implied that he thought that Israel was pushing the United States into a war with Iran in which it had no stake.
When faced with strong and immediate pushback from pro-Israel Democrats over his seeming willingness to join the growing ranks of anti-Zionists who help fuel antisemitism with blood libels about Israel, Newsom predictably backed down.
Pro-Israel, but anti-Netanyahu?
In a fawning interview with the liberal Politico website, Newsom said that he regretted the statement. He insisted that what he really meant was that he agreed with New York Times columnist and inveterate Israel-basher Thomas L. Friedman, whom, he said, has written that Israel is heading toward apartheid under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his right-wing and religious supporters who oppose a two-state solution. While refusing to label himself as a “Zionist”—a word that has become a term of abuse on the political left—Newsom still claimed to “revere” Israel and decreed that he was “proud” to support it.
