Democrats 'overwhelmingly' opposed to current Israeli regime, California governor says

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a 2028 presidential hopeful, has said that Democratic Party was overwhelmingly opposed to the current Israeli regime and wanted a “secure democratic Palestinian state” right next door to a “democratic and secure” Israel. In an interview with PBS News Hour’s Amna Nawaz, Newsom, who once called Israel an "apartheid state” and later retracted those comments, said: “It’s not even controversial anymore. The condemnation of what Bibi Netanyahu is doing is almost universal.” “There's not controversy within the party on that,” Newsom said, while acknowledging that “some of the language” by fellow Democrats “has been weaponised”. Newsom, one of the many American politicians who visited Israel in October 2023 and met families impacted by Hamas attacks, said certain “aspects of rhetoric” from individual candidates are on “the spectrum of concern”. He said that the party is unified on the issue. “But I think universally, everyone agrees, even if you don’t think it’s genocide, that it’s been a moral catastrophe,” he said of the war in Gaza. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters “The vast majority of us also agree about the atrocities on 7 October and how horrific and unacceptable it was, and the terrorism that was perpetrated by Hamas.” Referring to the ongoing settler violence in the occupied West Bank and Netanyahu’s opposition to a two-state solution, Newsom said: “We want a democratic and secure Israel, and we want a secure and democratic Palestinian state as well right next door. I don’t think that is a real divisive thing.” Newsom also told PBS News Hour that fewer Democrats were accepting donations from the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) lobby group. “The 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,” Newsom added. “That’s more of a mainstream position, interestingly, within the Democratic Party.” Diplomatic Isolation Israeli opposition politicians have accused Netanyahu's government of driving the country into unprecedented global isolation after the United Kingdom announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the British decision to sanction settlements was "wrong", but turned his criticism on Netanyahu's government, accusing it of leading Israel "into unprecedented diplomatic isolation". The government, he said, was "doing nothing but issuing rebukes and threats that no one takes seriously". Gilad Kariv, a Knesset member from the left-wing Democrats party, also blamed Israel's far-right government for the sanctions, pointing to Israel's dispossession of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. Kariv said the government was leading Israel into "international isolation," adding that Netanyahu had become politically "leprous" on the world stage. "The citizens of Israel must not pay the price for his corrupt alliance with the nationalist fanatics," Kariv said on X, referring to Netanyahu's far-right coalition. Michael Ben-Yair, a former Israeli attorney-general, went further, welcoming the British measures despite saying he did not welcome punitive action by one of Israel's allies. Writing in the Financial Times, Ben-Yair said the measures were necessary to preserve the possibility of a political solution that could provide "peace and security for the seven million Jews and seven million Palestinians living between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River". He argued that the measures distinguished between Israel's legitimacy as a state and its occupation of Palestinian territory, which he described as "morally, politically and legally unacceptable". His comments came as Israel announced a series of retaliatory measures against Britain following Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's announcement of sanctions targeting settlement activity. Miliband said the British government could no longer simply "call out" injustice and suffering, but had to act to oppose the expansion of Israeli settlements. "Today we refuse to be bystanders to further suffering and to the destruction of the two-state solution," he said. The measures were announced alongside a joint statement by 12 countries, including Britain, France, Canada, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, backing further restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements.