In a wide-ranging interview during which he defended his record on key Jewish issues, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna told J. on Thursday that he supports Zionism, which he defined as self-determination for the Jewish people.
Khanna, a member of Congress representing Silicon Valley, is facing scrutiny from segments of the Jewish community for staking out positions on Israel to the left of most House Democrats, and for associating himself with critics of Israel who veer into antisemitism.
On Oct. 9, Khanna shared a video clip on X that featured an antisemitic influencer, Ian Carroll. Khanna later said he had “no idea” who Carroll was when he made the post. Last month Khanna appeared at the ArabCon conference in Dearborn, Michigan, during which speakers called for the dissolution of Israel and laughed at the suggestion that one should condemn the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
Khanna was one of scores of speakers at the Dearborn event, joining Israel critics including Mehdi Hasan, Ana Kasparian, Zahra Billoo and Rabab Abdulhadi.
Khanna distanced himself from extremist elements within the pro-Palestinian movement in his interview with J., saying he has repeatedly defended Israel’s right to exist.
“I have unequivocally, since Day 1, condemned ‘globalize the intifada,’” he said, referencing a phrase that has dogged New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who has declined to condemn it. “I have never supported BDS,” Khanna added, speaking of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel. Khanna also noted that he voted to condemn the chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” in April of last year, parting with 43 other Democrats including progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
Since taking office in 2017, Khanna has been a progressive supporter of the American-Israel alliance and of military aid for Israel’s defense. But he has said that his views on Israel have shifted under Netanyahu.
“I have been deeply disturbed by Netanyahu, Likud and this war,” he wrote on X recently. He has called the Israel-Hamas war a genocide.
He led the congressional effort over the summer to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, which critics said could be perceived as a reward for the Oct. 7 attack. Khanna also voted against a $14 billion funding package for the Israeli military in April 2024, (a measure he called a “blank check” to Netanyahu). He also has outspokenly condemned the influence of pro-Israel lobbying organization AIPAC.
Some, including former supporters in the Jewish community, say they are parting ways with the congressman.
Emma Brill, a Jewish legal professional, Sunnyvale resident and self-described lifelong Democrat, said she voted for a Republican for the first time in 2024.
“He’s stirring up anger against the Jewish community,” Brill said. “It shows his lack of regard for his constituents.”
Tye Gregory, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area, criticized Khanna’s Oct. 9 social media post sharply earlier this week. Gregory took aim at the post, which Khanna meant to highlight his refusal to take money from AIPAC and other PACs, but which included a clip of Carroll vilifying AIPAC (the video clip was excerpted from a much longer video, published on YouTube).
Carroll is a media-savvy antisemitic influencer who has 1.3 million followers on X and appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast in March, when he appeared to place blame for the Holocaust on Jews. Carroll has written that Israel “controls the US and Global Politics” via a “Zionist mafia” and has blamed Israel for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the assassination of Charlie Kirk and other crimes.
“This leftward shift we’ve seen from him is not something we could have predicted,” Gregory said. “You can be critical of the Israeli government without weaponizing it with antisemitic tropes.” (Khanna said he and Gregory have since scheduled a meeting to discuss the matter.)
Khanna said he believes he has strong mainstream support in the Jewish community. Indeed, the progressive, pro-Israel political lobbying group J Street released a statement unequivocally backing Khanna and stating that allegations of antisemitism should not be weaponized against critics of Israel.
“Congressman Khanna has been a staunch advocate in the fight against antisemitism and all forms of hate,” J Street director Jeremey Ben-Ami told J. in a statement. “Simply appearing in the same documentary as someone does not constitute an endorsement of their views.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
I’ve been speaking to folks in the Jewish community who have been pretty disappointed with some of the things you’ve been saying and positions you’ve been taking, both policy-wise and in some of the rhetoric.
I have overwhelming support in the Jewish American community. I have so much support from tech leaders, from people who are supportive of J Street. If you just look at my support — we just filed this quarter — I have extraordinary support, not just in my district, but around the country.
I find some people who are upset. But I think I actually represent the mainstream of where the community is, at least in the Democratic Party.
Some people were quite shocked to see Ian Carroll pop up on your social media feed. You’re aware that there’s an antisemitic conspiracy theory that the American government is under the thumb of Zionist forces, right?
I had, genuinely, no idea who he was. I had never met him, never spoken to him. The broader point I was making was about PAC money, lobbyist money, not taking it. And not taking money from AIPAC. And that was what I said in the video. But once I came to know who he was — I, of course, unequivocally denounce his comments that somehow Israel was to blame for 9/11. I mean, that’s ludicrous. I didn’t know about some of the crazy things he said. I unequivocally reject the conspiracy that Jewish Americans are controlling the government. That’s antisemitic, and I 110% reject that.
Carroll said in the video you published that AIPAC is operating “our government on behalf of someone else.”
Well, no, in that video — I say that AIPAC … I can send you the exact comments, the exact video, which people didn’t look at.
I fundamentally believe that people at AIPAC are representing what they believe is in the best interest of America. They are citizens of this country. They have every right to participate. I meet with them every time they come to DC. I meet with them in the district. I don’t take their money, and they’ve been attacking me online, on Twitter, since I led the letter for the recognition of the Palestinian state.
I think we should ban PAC money and lobbyist money. I’ve said we shouldn’t have super PACs in Democratic primaries. I’ve been very clear on that.
You’ve stated that Israel has committed a genocide. Bernie Sanders has said the same thing, and other folks have said it, too. Do you think Israel’s intent in the war, that is hopefully coming to an end, is to destroy Palestinians as a group, rather than its stated aims?
What I said is I would defer to the U.N. and the [International Court of Justice]. The U.N. commission called it a genocide, because the life expectancy there went from 70 to 45, and there was a destruction of the homes, and they thought Netanyahu had a disproportionate response that was negligent about the lives of civilians.
I’ve said that I will fundamentally defer to the ICJ finding, which comes out in a year and a half. But I’m much more concerned about what we do to stop the war and rebuild two states, than I am about, you know, the exact label.
While many people disagree with some of the tactics of the Netanyahu government and believe it went overboard, there’s a mainstream belief in the Jewish community that to claim Israel did the same thing to Palestinians that Hitler did to the Jews is a strange sort of historical inversion.
I don’t draw an equivalence [with] what Hitler did, which was a horrific evil. What I said is that I defer to the U.N., and what they found. But I respect and understand that there are people of goodwill, and in the Jewish American community, who may not want to use that description because of the emotional connotation that word [genocide] has. I certainly respect that people may not see it that way. But I believe the United States should be deferring to the U.N. and ICJ findings on this issue.
Why did you join the ArabCon conference in September?
People know this about me. I’ve gone on Ben Shapiro, I’ve gone on Tucker Carlson. I’ve gone on Benny Johnson, and people were criticizing me because they’re saying he was paid by the Russians. My brand, my politics, political philosophy is I will go and have a conversation anywhere.
The conference advertised you as a keynote, and you lent a lot of legitimacy to that event. You weren’t there to counter those who supported Oct. 7 or who said it was justified.
What I said once I went there is that I unequivocally denounce the viewpoint that there was any justification for Hamas. I believe Hamas is a terrorist organization. I believe that Oct. 7 was a terrorist attack. I believe that Palestine, Gaza, should be governed without Hamas. I think that there needs to be a demilitarized Palestinian state. I believe that what Hamas is doing today, now, in terms of not returning the dead remains of Israeli hostages, is outrageous, and they’re killing Palestinian civilians.
I think what happens is that people aren’t seeing what I’ve said — from consistently being against Hamas, what I’ve said consistently about a demilitarized Palestinian state, what I’ve said consistently about globalizing the intifada, what I’ve said consistently about Israel’s right to exist securely as a Jewish democratic state.
What they’re upset about is that I voted against the $14 billion in aid to Netanyahu; that I said that Netanyahu has committed horrific crimes against women and children; that I’ve called for the recognition of a Palestinian state. So, fine, they’re emphasizing that, and they’re not emphasizing all the other things I said.
One thing the Jewish community is grappling with, that I’ve been covering over the past two years, is the demonization of Zionists.
I’ll tell you very clearly what I believe. I believe that Zionism is self-determination of the Jewish people, and the right for Israel to exist. And I support that. What I don’t believe is if it means Greater Israel.
I believe there needs to be a two-state solution. I’m for the self-determination of the Palestinian people, and I’m for the self-determination of the Jewish people. And I’ve always said that my understanding of Zionism just means the self-determination of the Jewish people to have a Jewish state.
The original antisemitism was denying the Jewish people based on religion. Then, under Nazism, it became denying the Jewish people based on race. And today, antisemitism is denying the idea of a Jewish state. And I reject all three of those antisemitism premises.