On 3/3/26, Governor Newsom made comments referring to Israel as “sort of an apartheid state” and suggested that a time may come when the U.S. should reconsider its military aid to Israel, during an interview for the Pod Save America podcast.  Two days later, Governor Newsom clarified that he had been referencing a column by New York Times writer Thomas Friedman about the direction Israel was headed.

California Jewish Democrats acknowledges Governor Newsom’s clarification, stating his love for Israel, punctuated by his disapproval of its current leadership. While we share some of the Governor’s frustration with the current government of Israel, there are better and more accurate terms to express those concerns. Invoking the "apartheid" libel and reducing Israel’s ability to respond to its enemies was not the best way to do this, as shown by the fact that his earlier statements were enthusiastically welcomed by anti-Israel extremists.  (View the Governor’s C-SPAN interview.)

Governor Newsom is a longtime supporter of the Jewish Community, most recently signing AB 715, the landmark bill to support Jewish students – and we look forward to our continued dialogue and collaboration.

 At this critical time for the Jewish community, we ask that Governor Newsom provide a comprehensive statement clarifying his remarks referencing apartheid and reassure our community of his continued support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. And we further ask the Governor to meet with the Jewish community leadership asking for this definitive statement of clarification.