Overview
- Posting a video on X on Sunday, the San Francisco state senator said he now believes Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, reversing his refusal to answer the question at last week’s candidate forum.
- He cited the devastation and death toll in Gaza and remarks by some Israeli officials as reasons for adopting the term, while acknowledging its particular pain for many Jews given the Holocaust.
- The reversal means all three leading Democrats seeking to replace Nancy Pelosi in California’s 11th District have embraced the genocide characterization, a charge rejected by Israel and the United States.
- Rivals Connie Chan and Saikat Chakrabarti criticized the timing as opportunistic, Jewish groups denounced the use of the term, and a pro-Palestinian organization welcomed the statement but pressed for policy action to restrict U.S. weapons to Israel.
- Coverage places the episode in a broader trend of Democrats recalibrating rhetoric under primary pressure, with Rep. Dan Goldman in New York softening past certainty by calling for an investigation rather than declaring a conclusion.