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<\/a><\/p>\nPotential 2028 presidential candidate, California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an event held in Summerville, South Carolina, Sept. 3, 2026. (Sean Rayford\/Getty Images).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s overwhelmingly opposed to the current regime in Israel,\u201d Newsom said of the party, in a PBS News Hour interview with Amna Nawaz.<\/p>\n
Pressed by Nawaz on divisions among his colleagues on Israel, Newsom denied that the subject is \u201ceven controversial anymore,\u201d stressing that \u201cthe condemnation of what Bibi Netanyahu\u2019s doing is almost universal.\u201d The governor slammed the Israeli military\u2019s conduct in Gaza and condemned the settler violence that has expanded in the West Bank. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe want a democratic and secure Israel, and we want a secure and democratic Palestinian state as well right next door,\u201d Newsom said, adding that Netanyahu has proved counterproductive to achieving a two-state solution. <\/p>\n
Though he repeatedly maintained that Democrats are not divided on Israel, the governor acknowledged that \u201csome of the language\u201d by fellow Democrats \u201chas been weaponized.\u201d Certain \u201caspects of rhetoric\u201d from individual candidates, he added, are on \u201cthe spectrum of concern,\u201d Newsom said. <\/p>\n
A number of candidates from the party\u2019s far left place most if not all of the blame on Israel for a war in Gaza that has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths. and downplay the role of Hamas in launching the war with the Oct. 7, 2023 raid inside Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were abducted. Newsom\u2019s rhetoric is of a piece with party moderates who are critical of the Israeli government but who call for a secure Israel, reject Hamas and who resist pressure from the left to call Israel\u2019s actions \u201cgenocide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newsome nonetheless insisted that the party is unified on the issue. \u201cBut I think universally, everyone agrees, even if you don\u2019t think it\u2019s genocide, that it\u2019s been a moral catastrophe,\u201d he said of the war in Gaza. \u201cThe vast majority of us also agree about the atrocities on Oct. 7th and how horrific and unacceptable it was, and the terrorism that was perpetrated by Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newsom was among the many U.S. politicians to visit Israel in October 2023, meeting with survivors and families impacted by the attacks. <\/p>\n
During a March book tour, Newsom sparked a backlash when he said that some people were referring to Israel \u201cappropriately as sort of an apartheid state.\u201d He quickly walked back these remarks, telling Politico that he had used the term \u201cin the context of the direction that Bibi is going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI revere the state of Israel,\u201d he declared at the time. <\/p>\n
The governor warned, however, that if Netanyahu proceeds in the direction of West Bank annexation, apartheid could become \u201ca word you may hear others use.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to amplifying his condemnation of Netanyahu this weekend, Newsom also addressed the fact that fewer Democrats are accepting funds from political action committees affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group. <\/p>\n
As for Newsom himself, Track AIPAC, an organization that compiles Federal Election Commission data to flag pro-Israel campaign contributions, did not log any such donations to the likely presidential candidate. But the group did flag him as \u201cpro-Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a minority of Democrats that are accepting AIPAC,\u201d the governor said, noting a \u201cdramatic change\u201d over the last couple years. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe vast majority of Democrats I talk to, even Democrats in the past that have in the past have taken AIPAC money, are pledging not to now,\u201d Newsom added. \u201cThat\u2019s more of a mainstream position, interestingly, within the Democratic Party.\u201d<\/p>\n