In reversal, Jewish US House candidate Scott Wiener says Israel committed ‘genocide’

After declining to say whether he believed “Israel is committing genocide in Gaza” during a debate last week, California congressional candidate Scott Wiener announced on Sunday that he does, in fact, believe Israel’s actions in Gaza constituted a genocide.

Wiener’s demurral at the Wednesday debate, during which his two Democratic opponents endorsed the genocide charge without hesitation, elicited jeers from the audience. The candidates were asked to hold up a sign reading “yes” on one side and “no” on the other.

Wiener, 55, a longtime state senator representing San Francisco, flipped his placard over in his hands a few times, showing neither answer. Afterward, he said he thought the lightning-round format was inappropriate for such a complex question but that he believed Israel’s actions in Gaza represented “an absolute moral stain.”

Facing ongoing criticism over his stance, Wiener — a leader of the Jewish Caucus in California’s legislature — issued a video statement on Sunday saying that he had come to a clear conclusion.

“I want to clarify that I do believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza,” he said at the beginning of a 90-second video posted to social media.

Wiener is running for the seat being vacated by Nancy Pelosi, a former Democratic speaker of the US House and pro-Israel stalwart. His comments mean that all three Democratic candidates for the seat in the deep-blue district have firmly taken the position that Israel is committing genocide.

The United States rejects the charge, as does Israel, which stresses that it takes measures to avoid killing noncombatants while fighting Hamas, which it accuses of waging war from within civilian population centers.

For years, I’ve condemned Netanyahu and his extremist government and the devastation they’ve inflicted on Gaza. It’s why I’ve been clear I won’t support U.S. funding for the destruction of Palestinian communities. I’ve stopped short of calling it genocide, but I can’t anymore. pic.twitter.com/71nIt6K527

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— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) January 11, 2026

Wiener said that while he has “harshly opposed Israel’s escalations in Gaza,” and used other terminology to condemn Israel’s conduct, he previously avoided the term “genocide” because of the legacy of the Holocaust.

“As a Jew, I am deeply aware that the word ‘genocide’ was created in the wake of the Holocaust, which was the industrial extermination of 6 million Jews. For many Jews, associating the word genocide with the Jewish State of Israel is deeply painful and frankly traumatic,” he said.

He said his thinking has now changed.

“But despite that pain and that trauma, we all have eyes, and we see the absolute devastation and catastrophic death toll in Gaza inflicted by the Israeli government. And we all have ears, and we hear the genocidal statements by certain senior members of the Israeli government. And to me, the Israeli government has tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out, and that qualifies as genocide.”

Wiener’s statement comes as harsh criticism of Israel has become de rigueur among Democrats amid a bottoming out of support among Democratic voters — along with a shallower decline in support among Republicans. A poll conducted last year found that just a third of Democrats have a favorable view of Israel.

Monday marks the one-year anniversary of October 7 — the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Anti-Israel protesters have chosen this anniversary to call for the elimination of Israel — home to half of all Jews — & to protest in front of a Jewish-owned business in SF. pic.twitter.com/GaYuXDxkla

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) October 4, 2024

Wiener has previously condemned anti-Israel activism multiple times and has faced sustained protest from pro-Palestinian activists over his liberal Zionist stances. He has said he experienced antisemitism since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that launched the war in Gaza. He has also long faced right-wing scorn as well as antisemitism-laced criticism over his support for transgender rights.

Wiener’s accusation of genocide represents a reversal not just from the debate, but from a profile of him published in The Atlantic on Sunday, the same day he posted the video. The article noted that he did not accuse Israel of genocide and quoted him speaking with derision about the pressure Jews face to condemn Israel.

“If part of your Jewishness is, you know, that you support the homeland of the Jews and the home of one-half of all Jews on the planet, then that makes you a bad Jew,” he told The Atlantic. “If you’re not willing to use the exact language that we want you to use, then you’re a bad Jew.”