Leaders in the Bay Area Jewish community are urging former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to speak out or otherwise address her endorsed successor Connie Chan’s decision to lean into Israel and AIPAC-related attacks on her Jewish Democratic opponent, state Sen. Scott Wiener, which some in the Jewish community view as antisemitic.

Pelosi has been a longtime ally of the area’s Jewish community and, until her final years in office, a reliable supporter of Israel, though she recently voted for an amendment to cut off U.S. aid to Israel. Pelosi — a top surrogate for Chan, who is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors — has not commented on Chan’s stances or rhetoric on Israel, and did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Jewish Insider on Wednesday and Thursday.

Tyler Gregory, the CEO of the Bay Area Jewish Community Relations Council and executive director of Bay Area Jewish Action, told JI he hopes Pelosi will “educate [Chan] about where the line is between criticizing the Israeli government and amplifying antisemitic tropes.”

“I don’t think Nancy Pelosi’s support for Connie Chan has anything to do with our community’s agenda,” Gregory continued. “We would ask Nancy Pelosi, who I believe has the Jewish community in her heart, to guide Connie Chan on these issues in the same way she is on many other issues.”

He said he plans to raise the issue with Pelosi directly.

Tali Klima, a spokesperson for Bay Area Jewish Coalition-Action, a separate grassroots group, urged Pelosi to speak out publicly.

“We call on Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who currently represents this district and has endorsed Chan, to publicly reject Chan’s antisemitic rhetoric,” Klima told JI. “Pelosi has been a longtime friend of the Jewish community. As a respected leader, we urge her to use her platform to make clear that Jew hatred has no place in public discourse and stand up to the growing normalization of antisemitism in our community.”

Ian Krager, a spokesperson for Chan’s campaign, said Chan is “unequivocal that there is no place for antisemitism, anti-Jewish hate, or harassment of Jews in our politics or our society, and our campaign strongly rejects and denounces any efforts to target Jewish people or communities.”

Krager added, “At the same time, criticism of AIPAC, its political spending, or scrutinizing the influence of any political organization or political lobby is well-founded. Connie believes voters deserve to know who is funding political campaigns and what interests candidates are accountable to. That standard applies across the board, regardless of the organization involved.”

Chan’s tactics gained particular attention this week when a fundraising message by Chan’s campaign — first shared by former Democratic Majority for Israel co-chair Todd Richman — circulated on X. The message read, “when children and families are being killed with American dollars, there is no room for careful political hedging.”

“I support a total arms embargo on Israel. I reject all corporate and lobbyist PAC money. And I will never stay silent on human rights. My opponent, Scott Wiener, continues to oppose a full arms embargo and receive donations from the Israeli lobby,” the message continued. “I know this makes me a target and the only way our grassroots campaign beats dark-money Super PACs is when everyday people stand up together.”

The message also touted the endorsement Chan received from TrackAIPAC, the anti-Israel group which has been accused of antisemitism for its pattern of targeting individual American Jewish donors and candidates for their political activity.

TrackAIPAC previously criticized Chan and accused her of receiving support from AIPAC or its affiliates, but she received the group’s endorsement after signing its anti-Israel pledge. Wiener is not endorsed by AIPAC. The only Israel advocacy group that is supporting his campaign is J Street.

Wiener, despite having shifted significantly to the left on Israel policy issues under pressure during the primary campaign, has continued to face antisemitic attacks from the far left, including being harassed into leaving a transgender community event in June.

Gregory, of the JCRC and Bay Area Jewish Action, said that Chan’s use of anti-Israel and anti-AIPAC rhetoric and ties to TrackAIPAC are “disgusting,” saying she’s “politicizing our community and lifting up an antisemitic Twitter account. TrackAIPAC, I think, is antisemitic.”

With the race tightening, Gregory predicted that rhetoric is only going to get uglier over the coming months, and “I think it’s unfortunate that now our community’s issues have become front and center, and in the way that [Chan’s] talking about this.”

Krager, the Chan spokesperson, said that Chan “has also been clear that she will not tolerate harassment or attacks against Jewish candidates, elected officials, donors, or community members” and “condemns conspiracy theories about American Jews and any effort to conflate Jewish identity with the positions of a particular political organization.”

“Connie is running to represent every San Franciscan. She has always been and will continue to be committed to engaging directly and respectfully with San Francisco’s Jewish community,” Krager continued. “She stands firmly against antisemitism while also standing up for the right to debate U.S. foreign policy and the role of money and influence in our politics.”

Gregory attributed Chan’s activity largely to ignorance on her part, explaining that he does not think she knows much about the Middle East and hasn’t engaged much with the Jewish community, something he said the community is trying to change.

“I think she’s amplifying bad advice she’s getting from people aligned with our detractors. She’s taken endorsements from unsavory groups,” Gregory said. “I’m still hopeful that we’ll have the opportunity to sit down with her and educate her about those red lines. So it’s not surprising, without a lot of that education, that she’s just kind of taking this campaign strategy hook, line and sinker.”

Klima, the Bay Area Jewish Coalition-Action spokesperson, said that she’s “shocked by Connie Chan’s messaging promoting the antisemitic organization Track AIPAC.”

“This organization targets Jewish politicians and community members, and spreads conspiracy theories about American Jews. The hypocrisy of vilifying AIPAC is particularly striking given that Chan is endorsed by the radical organization CAIR and received huge donations from several PACs,” Cohen said. “We’re equally concerned about the ongoing attempts to push Jewish politicians out of public life here in the Bay Area, including the attacks against Scott Wiener and harassment directed at him on social media by local accounts.”