Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said Wednesday he would reject further funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, echoing a position taken this week by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), under pressure from some members of the Democratic Socialists of America.

“The Iron Dom[e] is important & saves lives. Israel should be able to buy it on their own with a $45 defense billion budget,” Khanna said, closely following the stance taken by Ocasio-Cortez. 

“Israel is a first world country, and it can pay for the defensive systems it needs. We should not be subsidizing them, especially given their egregious violations of human rights law. Even Netanyahu has recognized the inevitability of Israel moving away from US aid.”

Both Khanna and Ocasio-Cortez are positioning themselves to run for higher office, and their pivots indicate how left-wing members are racing to adopt maximalist anti-Israel positions, as even some rank-and-file Democrats are taking a chillier view towards the Jewish state.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) has become one of the harshest critics of Israel in the House, in recent months associating with some of the leading anti-Israel figures within the Democratic Party — at one point proudly declaring his ties to a far-left antisemitic podcaster.

In his pushback to the U.S. war against Iran, he has caricatured those supportive of taking military action against the Islamic Republic as part the “Epstein class” — which critics have accused of being an antisemitic trope — while defending right-wing commentator Pat Buchanan from past charges of antisemitism. 

As a result, he is facing a primary challenge from tech entrepreneur Ethan Agarwal, who is accusing the congressman of embracing far-left views to seek national attention for a potential presidential campaign — at the expense of focusing on constituents back home in the Silicon Valley-based district.

“The district is being represented by a guy who could not care less about the people in the district, and that’s frustrating because I supported Ro when he first ran back in 2012,” Agarwal told Jewish Insider on Friday. “He’s completely [turned around] on basically everything that he said to his supporters.”

Agarwal said he sees Khanna’s activities, including his opposition to the Iran war and outspokenness against Israel, as plays for national attention, rather than representing the district that elected him.

Khanna “just totally does not give a s*** about the district. He’s running for president, and he wants to run to the left on every issue,” Agarwal alleged. “The district needs a representative that’s focused on the district itself, and that’s why I’m running for Congress.”

Those allegations of political opportunism were echoed in a recent Washington Post column by writer James Kirchick, who reported that Khanna professed to being a strong ally of Israel and the Jewish community earlier in his career when he was seeking a role in the Obama administration. The op-ed framed Khanna as a relentless self-promoter willing to change his views for attention and career advancement.

Khanna, in response to the allegations that he’s lost focus on his district back home, told JI he was “proud of my record representing California’s 17th district,” pointing to his work to secure $13.5 million in funding this year for projects including affordable housing, veteran housing, safe routes for children to get to school, clean water and transportation. He added that he has held nearly 80 town halls, is regularly meeting with local community leaders and is in touch with anti-ICE activists, and touted his constituent services and endorsements from local leaders and groups. 

“And I’m willing to take on powerful people when accountability is needed. When I called for the release of the Epstein files, many dismissed it and said no one in the district would care. They were wrong. Constituents raise it with me regularly because they want transparency and justice for survivors,” Khanna added.

Agarwal’s criticisms go beyond hitting Khanna for putting national issues ahead of local ones. He accused the congressman of engaging in shoot-from-the-hip social media commentary that has inflamed antisemitism at a time of heightened fears within the Jewish community. 

“Even if you weren’t running for Congress or trying to run for president — what is wrong with you?” Agarwal said. “If the congressperson of the district is advocating these kinds of things publicly, it stokes and it inflames the culture on the ground.”

“He thinks being racist against Jewish people is going to help him win the American left,” Agarwal added. “I don’t care if he’s right. I just think it’s unethical and immoral.”

Khanna responded that he has “consistently condemned antisemitism in all forms,” including speaking out specifically against various recent incidents, that he has been “been clear in my support for Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” that he has worked with Jewish leaders and visited synagogues within the district. 

“This issue is personal for me. My nieces and nephews are Jewish through my brother’s marriage, which has deepened my understanding of why it is so important to speak out against antisemitism in any form,” Khanna continued.

Defending his affiliation with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and far-left influencer Hasan Piker, Khanna said, “I do believe like Franklin Roosevelt and President Obama that we need to build a big tent, and Mayor Mamdani and Graham Platner are part of that. I also engage with media across the political spectrum, from Hasan Piker to Shawn Ryan to Theo Von to Sean Hannity, because we shouldn’t shy away from debates or discussions with people with different ideologies. We must engage.”

Agarwal has publicly linked Khanna’s rhetoric to an assault on two people speaking Hebrew in a San Jose restaurant earlier this week. The attack took place within Khanna’s district.

“It doesn’t take a genius to draw a line between those two things,” Agarwal said.

“We MUST capture and punish the perpetrators. Beyond that, we HAVE to turn down the dial of anti-Israeli rhetoric. [Khanna] acknowledge your role in this, and apologize for inflaming tensions,” he urged the congressman on X last week. “Take responsibility for creating the environment that enables these lunatics.”

In response, Khanna called the assault “horrific” and said it has “no place in our community,” adding that he had “unequivocally condemned” the attack and pushed for the attackers to be prosecuted.

“I’ve taken concrete steps to confront antisemitism locally. I’ve held multiple town halls and meetings with members of the Jewish community across the district to hear directly about their concerns and make sure they feel safe,” Khanna said.

He also highlighted his move two years ago to appoint a staffer in his office to serve as a point of contact for community members on antisemitism and a recent town hall he held with a local Jewish Democratic group. 

“My focus has been making sure that when antisemitism occurs, our community knows it will be taken seriously and addressed immediately,” Khanna continued.

While he didn’t weigh in on the broader strategic goals of the U.S. operation in Iran, Agarwal has argued that it’s an unequivocal good for the Iranian people and the world that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the joint U.S.-Israel operation, is dead, and criticized Khanna for trying to prevent or stop the U.S. operation against Iran.

“I am in support of the murder of Ali Khamenei because he was a brutal dictator and 20,000 Iranian Americans in [this] district — I spoke to many of them — agree with that,” Agarwal said. “I don’t know what happens from here. I think there’s open questions. I think there’s a good path, and there’s mistakes that can be made, but what I do know is that Iran is better off without him, and I think America is better off without him being alive.”

Khanna stood behind his advocacy for the war powers resolution, emphasizing the support it received among House Democrats, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and two moderate Jewish Democrats who initially opposed it. He said that the issue is a matter of constitutional authority. 

“I have been clear that the Iranian regime is brutal and destabilizing, as we have seen in its repression of its own people and the killing of thousands of protestors. But launching a war of choice in the Middle East without fully understanding the risks to our servicemembers or the potential for wider escalation has been reckless,” Khanna said. “People in my district understand the cost of these endless wars and oppose them. They expect their representative to stand up for the Constitution and to ensure that decisions are made carefully and with accountability.”

Agarwal has also blasted Khanna for his comments linking the Iran war to the Epstein case.

“What does [Jeffrey] Epstein have to do with the war in Iran? … aside from these being two topics he thinks are going to help him get elected president,” Agarwal said, adding that he believes that Khanna is using “Epstein class” as a broad pejorative to smear his political enemies, Israelis and the Jewish people.

Khanna told JI, “The ‘Epstein class’ refers to a group of wealthy and powerful elites who use their wealth and connections to operate as if they are above the law and not subject to the same accountability as everyone else. The phrase reflects the reality that Jeffrey Epstein and the people around him were able to operate for years without consequences,” and said “many prominent Jewish Americans” including Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and columnist Bill Kristol “have used the phrase after I coined it.”

“Attempts to twist the meaning of that phrase into something else is an empty political attack to distract from the real issue, which is accountability for powerful people who believe the rules do not apply to them, including rules of war,” Khanna said.

Agarwal also didn’t expound at length on Israel policy — emphasizing that his first responsibility in Congress would be on local issues in his district. He did say, however, that he believes that Israel is “our strongest ally in the Middle East” and that a stronger relationship between the two countries is good for the U.S., the U.S. economy and the district.

With a nearly decade-long record in Congress, a prominent profile and $15.5 million in donations on hand as of the end of the year, Khanna is strongly favored to win re-election. In the previous election, Khanna picked up 63% of the vote in the all-party primary, rising to 68% in the general election against a Republican challenger.

But with some prominent figures in Silicon Valley’s tech scene getting behind Agarwal, he might have a chance at making Khanna work harder for his re-election.

Agarwal argues that Khanna is also taking the election for granted, and that his alleged lack of attention to local issues will backfire on him, as well as his support for a wealth tax and his breaks with the local Israeli, Jewish, Iranian and other immigrant communities.

“I’m going to win this election by listening to the people in the district and being their advocate, as opposed to focusing on my national profile,” he said, pointing to Khanna’s national travel to 2028 presidential primary states.

As the U.S.-Israel air war against Iran continues, the Senate and House are set to vote this week on war powers resolutions that would aim to cut the U.S. operations short.

The resolutions, led by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rand Paul (R-KY) and Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), respectively, were originally introduced before the war began, in an effort to block military action and signal dissatisfaction with the then-looming war.

Now, the resolutions, if passed, would force the administration to end the nascent war, withdraw forces and cease operations against the Iranian regime.

It’s almost certain that the resolution will not pass the Senate; the House vote may be closer but it is also not likely to pass. And even if the resolutions were to pass, they would not have the two-thirds support necessary to overcome an inevitable presidential veto.

But the resolution will be an opportunity for Democrats — and a small number of Republicans — to go on record demonstrating their opposition to the war and dissatisfaction with the administration’s approach.

Democrats, even lawmakers like Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) who are relatively hawkish on Iran and have offered some positive feedback about the ongoing operations, are expected to  mostly vote for the war powers resolution.

They have cited concerns about the administration’s failure to brief Congress at large about its plans before launching the war, its decision not to seek congressional authorization for the operations and what they say is the administration’s failure to make the case for war to the American public.

Lawmakers are reportedly set to receive classified briefings on the war on Tuesday from Cabinet and other senior administration officials.

A small number of Democrats will likely vote against the resolutions, such as Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), an outspoken supporter of the war against Iran, and Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH), who backed limited operations against Iran and said yesterday he would oppose the resolution.

Two other Democrats, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), had said before the war started that they would oppose the war powers resolutions, but haven’t specified their plans now that active combat operations are underway.

The key difference between the text of the Senate and House resolutions is language in the Senate version specifically permitting the U.S. to continue intelligence sharing with and providing military aid for Israel and other allies. The House bill does not contain any such language, a potential issue for some supporters of Israel.

Most Republicans, with the exception of some isolationist-leaning lawmakers like Paul, Massie and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), have been offering full-throated support for the Trump administration’s actions and are likely to vote against the war powers resolutions.

Kaine said he expects the Senate vote will happen on Tuesday or Wednesday. The House isn’t set to reconvene until Wednesday, with a vote likely set for Wednesday or Thursday.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who has repeatedly made headlines for his sharpening criticism of Israel’s operations in Gaza while bashing pro-Israel groups, addressed two synagogues in his district this weekend about Israel policy and antisemitism, fielding questions from congregants.

Khanna, considered to be a 2028 presidential contender, addressed Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos after Friday evening Shabbat services, and Congregation Emanu-El in San Jose on Saturday. Khanna’s office shared excerpts of both events with Jewish Insider.

Though Khanna is co-sponsoring a resolution describing the war in Gaza as a genocide, he gave a somewhat equivocal response on the issue at Congregation Beth Am, saying that there is significant disagreement on the use of the term, even within his own family, and acknowledging that its usage is “emotionally charged.”

“I believe that people of good faith can disagree on what to call it. I have said that I would defer to the international bodies and that the United States should follow international law,” Khanna continued. “What I do know is that what happened, in my view, was not right. Even though Israel was attacked and Oct. 7 was a terrorist attack, I think [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s response was disproportionate.”

Asked about former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir’s famous maxim, “If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel,” Khanna said that the “history is so complex.”

He said that both Israelis and Palestinians have strong claims to the land, while acknowledging that Israel had previously agreed to a partition of the state while the Palestinians rejected the existence of Israel.

“Obviously it’s a complex situation,” Khanna said. “All I can say is, now it seems to be the best chance for peace — is for both people to have a state basically under a 1967 framework with some adjustments as the way forward. … I don’t think the cycle of violence can continue. I think we have to try.”

He said that would require backing from regional powers in the Arab League and Palestinian guarantees of Israeli security, as well as the removal of Hamas from power. But he also acknowledged that Israelis “don’t trust the idea, even the left, of giving Palestinians a state because of what happened on Oct. 7.”

He emphasized that he believes that Israel “should exist as a Jewish and democratic state,” emphasizing that others on the left disagree with him on that point.

Khanna argued that he had “initially defended for a few months [after Oct. 7] Israel’s right to self-defense” and faced protests for doing so, “but by December, when Netanyahu had destroyed about eight out of 10 of the Hamas battalions and when President [Joe] Biden had the first deal for hostages, I thought that the military solution to the war was over. I did not think they would achieve more militarily.”

He added that he does not think that it is possible to remove Hamas from power in Gaza by military means, and that the “cost of human life was way too high [in the war]  … that this was not advancing peace and it was not a proportionate response in terms of achieving a better outcome for people in Gaza or Israel.”

He said he did not think the U.S. should have continued providing offensive weapons to Israel while the war was ongoing.

Khanna said he has told Netanyahu that he may have won the battle against Israel’s terrorist enemies but is “losing the war. You’re losing every American under 50 and you need the United States.”

Khanna asserted that there is a significant generational divide among Jewish Americans and Americans on Israel and Gaza — “one of the starkest generational divides that I’ve seen, not just among the Jewish-American community, but in general.”

He suggested that New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s outspoken anti-Israel stance was a major reason the democratic socialist won the mayoral race, and that a “staggering amount” of young Jewish Americans supported Mamdani.

Polling has shown that a majority of Jewish New Yorkers voted against the mayor-elect and that a strong majority of Jews of all ages remain strongly connected to Israel.

Khanna said that he’s also seeing a similar trend among young Republicans, citing a conversation with a Republican friend, whose son told Khanna that Israel is the only issue on which he agrees with the congressman.

Asked about the future of Israelis living beyond the Green Line in the West Bank, Khanna — who has been pushing for the United States to unilaterally recognize Palestinian statehood — said that issue would have to be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Some of them, they probably would have to leave, like they did when [former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon vacated Gaza,” Khanna said. “Some, if they stayed, there probably has to be some negotiation or compensation for that.”

Some critics, including fellow Democrats, of Khanna’s statehood recognition proposal say that outstanding issues such as Israeli and Palestinian borders, which must be resolved in negotiations, are one reason not to recognize Palestinian statehood at this point.

Khanna said that there can be “zero tolerance for antisemitism” and that political leaders need to call it out, regardless of which side of the aisle it comes from. “It can’t become a political football,” he added.

The California congressman himself has on multiple occasions faced criticism for associating with known antisemites — including appearing at an anti-Israel conference alongside speakers who defended terrorism and posting on social media a clip that included a prominent antisemitic conspiracy theorist — backpedaling on those associations after the fact.

Khanna said he created a point of contact in his office for individuals facing antisemitic discrimination to report their experiences. Many who have contacted him, he said, have been young people — Jewish clubs unable to bring speakers to campus, students uncomfortable in their classrooms — as well as a Jewish person feeling uncomfortable at their place of employment.

“I have, in a number of instances, reached out and said I don’t think that that’s acceptable,” Khanna said. “We need to make sure that this community is accept[ing] and open to people of all different backgrounds.”

He also said that more education about the Holocaust is critical and that the Department of Justice must have the resources it needs to protect Jewish communities and prosecute antisemitic hate crimes and threats.

Khanna also spoke about what he views as the future of the Democratic Party — notably offering support for two moderate Democratic governors while implicitly distancing himself from his home state’s governor.

“The last thing we need is the pundits for the party picking who the next leader should be,” Khanna said. “We need people to go earn it. … Go campaign, go work hard, share your vision with people, see if it resonates, have a primary of 10, 15 thoughtful people sharing the vision for the country, and don’t anoint who the next leader should be. That will be a colossal mistake.”

He praised Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — both of whom are more moderate than Khanna — as “offering a vision of how we move forward.”

But he said he “completely reject[s]” those in the party who push for  fighting “fire with fire” — an implicit dig at California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has adopted a Trumpian posture on social media to criticize the president and Republicans.

Khanna said he wants to pursue a “positive vision” to “heal this country” and “move this nation forward,” focusing on a “unifying economic message” — ”I call it economic patriotism as a new national purpose. Americans working together to build up every town so that every family has a chance of success in a modern economy, and so we can be a cohesive, multiracial democracy that leads the world.”

Though he has said he believes that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should step down from his leadership position and called for “the old guard to make way” and let a “new generation of leadership” take charge, he said that he would support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as speaker of the House if the Democrats retake the chamber. 

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a potential 2028 presidential candidate, is sparring with AIPAC on social media over ads the group ran criticizing his support for a House resolution describing the war in Gaza as a genocide.

“AIPAC just poured money into a series of ads in my district calling me a liar for speaking out about the truth in Gaza,” Khanna said in a video posted to X on Tuesday. “They’re asking you to disbelieve what you’ve seen on your own phone with your own eyes. AIPAC wants to weaken me electorally and prevent me from having a seat at the table in the leadership of our country.”

Khanna went on to link the ad campaign to a range of other issues unrelated to AIPAC, saying that he will not “cave to special interests” on health care, tech and artificial intelligence; bend to “the Epstein class, rich and powerful men who are totally disconnected from ordinary Americans and believe the rules don’t apply to them”; or accept PAC, lobbyist or corporate funding.

The ad in question, which ran on social media and digital platforms, proclaims in bold text: “Ro Khanna is lying to you.” It references his support for the Gaza genocide resolution, led by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), stating, “Claims of genocide are a dangerous attempt to distort facts and rewrite history.” AIPAC is running identical ads against a series of far-left Democrats supporting the same resolution.

AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann said that Khanna is echoing antisemitic tropes.

“The war in Gaza has profoundly impacted millions of Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans, yet rather than helping build a better future of peace, Rep. Khanna is instead rewriting history and parroting a dangerous blood libel,” Wittmann said in a statement. “The only genocide in this war happened on October 7, when Hamas openly admitted it wanted to kill every Israeli man, woman, and child it could. Our ad simply informs his constituents about his support for legislation that is based on a lie, and it evidently got under his skin.”

In a post on X, AIPAC added, “The same ad is running featuring other cosponsors. You’re not that special.”

Wittmann did not say how much money AIPAC had spent on the ads. According to Meta’s ad library tool, the group spent between $900 and $999 running the ad on Facebook and Instagram.

Khanna has made attacks on AIPAC, and criticism of Israel more generally, a significant part of his legislative message in recent months, at times associating with extreme anti-Israel and antisemitic figures.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) distanced himself from antisemitic influencer Ian Carroll after the congressman posted to social media an excerpt from a YouTube documentary that featured separate clips of himself and Carroll.

Carroll, described in the documentary as a researcher, is an antisemitic conspiracy theorist who has engaged in Holocaust distortion. He has claimed that Israel and Jewish people are involved in a malign global conspiracy, control the U.S. government and were responsible for the 9/11 attacks. He has also asserted that pedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein was a “clearly a Jewish organization working on behalf of Israel and other groups.”

In the excerpt shared by Khanna alongside his own comments, Carroll stated that recipients of pro-Israel support are “operat[ing] our government on behalf of someone else,” referring to AIPAC and Israel. Khanna himself discussed his concerns about interest group spending in U.S. elections.

“This was a documentary made by Tommy G who interviewed me. I did not speak to or meet Ian Carroll. I stand by my words and should be judged by them,” Khanna said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “I vehemently disagree and reject any views blaming Israel for 9/11, denying the Holocaust, or conspiracies about a Jewish syndicate exerting control.”

In the documentary, Khanna described the U.S. as “complicit” in the destruction in Gaza and stated that Israel has committed war crimes in the enclave and that the International Court of Justice should examine and adjudicate the issue.

“The Hamas terrorist attack was awful, and I said that people who committed those crimes had to be brought to justice and the hostages had to be released,” Khanna said. “But that happened months in. Netanyahu has been bombing for 2 years.”

“Who says, ‘We’re going to starve the people so much that they suffer that we’re going to force the surrender?’ It’s sick, and your tax dollars, my tax dollars, are funding them,” Khanna added.

The documentary itself, posted by a YouTube videomaker with the handle Tommy G, is filled with antisemitic tropes. The thumbnail for the video frames Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a puppetmaster with strings controlling several men in suits, posed in front of the White House, flanked by Israeli and AIPAC flags. There are also several dollar bills superimposed over the image.

The documentary highlights anti-Israel arguments — including some conspiracy theories — and repeatedly brushes off or attempts to rebut arguments from pro-Israel voices featured in it. Anti-Israel voices receive the majority of the screen time in the video.

The narrator, Tommy G, opens the documentary by highlighting claims of a coverup or Israeli foreknowledge of the Oct. 7 attack, and plays up alleged Israeli abuses in Gaza.

While condemning Hamas’ actions, he suggests that the terrorist group’s actions could be seen as reasonable or provoked by Israel’s own actions, framing the group — as well as the Taliban in Afghanistan — as “freedom fighters” and “resistance movements.”

Tommy G also makes passing mention of — and does not interrogate — baseless claims that Israel may have been involved in the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

The documentarian describes Carroll as “one of the internet’s top conspiracy analysts,” who critics “label an antisemite … but to others he is a fearless journalist that speaks on what some perceive as an extremely strong Zionist pressure on our government.”

He also suggests that it is inherently suspicious that many lawmakers have traveled to Israel.

And he concludes the documentary by stating, “A lot of us feel deep in our gut something is off here, something is wrong here and I will not be intimidated into not asking questions.”

Carroll himself suggests in the documentary a connection between the pro-Israel cause and the John F. Kennedy assassination, that Israel had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attack and that Israel dispatched Jeffrey Epstein to cultivate relationships with U.S. leaders and blackmail them.

Another anti-Israel voice in the documentary is Anthony Aguilar, a former Gaza Humanitarian Foundation contractor whose key claim of Israeli and GHF abuses has been disproven.

Aguilar states in the documentary that American politicians aren’t allowed to talk about Israel and that shows “who controls you.”

Other featured guests include Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Hank Johnson (R-GA), as well as Code Pink leader Medea Benjamin, an IDF reservist and a U.S. doctor who volunteered in Gaza. 

Mace, Johnson and the IDF reservist all spoke in defense of Israel. 

The video includes a clip of Norman Finkelstein, an antisemitic scholar who has voiced support for Hezbollah and accused Jews of exploiting the Holocaust.

In the documentary, Paul suggests, falsely, that the U.S. has created “easier” rules around lobbying disclosures for countries the U.S. considers to be allies and that many pro-Israel activists are dual-citizens, part of a segment of the documentary that attempts to interrogate why AIPAC is not registered as a foreign lobbying group.

The group’s members and leaders are American citizens who act on their own recognizance, rather than at the instruction of the Israeli government.

Khanna, pushing back on the narrative framing AIPAC supporters as foreign agents, states in the documentary, “They’re American citizens. If you’re an American citizen and you’re articulating a point of view, that’s your right. … They’re American citizens. They’re lobbying for their interests. They’re lobbying for the Netanyahu government’s interests because they think that’s what benefits America. And they’re paying millions of dollars, which under Citizens United is legal.”

Khanna argues in the documentary that spending from outside super PACs on behalf of favored candidates should be outlawed.

The California congressman, rumored as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has also recently faced scrutiny for his appearance at ArabCon, where other speakers defended Hamas and laughed off the idea of condemning its Oct. 7 attacks.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) distanced himself from some speakers and attendees at the ArabCon conference that he attended in Dearborn, Mich., while defending their First Amendment right to free speech.

The conference, held last week, included a series of speakers who had previously expressed support for terrorism and made antisemitic comments. Several panelists laughed at the notion of condemning the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, defended Hamas as “Palestinian resistance” and said the group should not be condemned and defended convicted terrorists and terrorist financiers, according to excerpts of the event shared online.

In another video circulating online, an audience questioner is met with cheers and applause from other audience members for urging speakers to stop condemning Oct. 7 and Hamas. And another speaker claimed that law, medicine and engineering are “Zionist-controlled fields.”

During his own separate panel at the event, Khanna dismissed the notion that there were any “pro-terror radical[s]” speaking at the event or attending the conference, referencing criticism he faced prior to the event.

“I don’t agree with everyone who spoke at the conference, but I do believe in free speech. You can’t just be for free speech when it’s convenient. I’ve unequivocally condemned the Oct. 7 attacks and called for the release of the hostages,” Khanna said in a statement to Jewish Insider on Monday, when pressed about whether he considered the comments of other speakers and attendees to constitute pro-terror radicalism.

Online, Khanna pushed back against critics of his appearance at the conference for intercutting his comments with offensive remarks by other speakers. “You know I spoke on a different panel and wasn’t there for this and I have condemned Hamas attacks and Oct 7. Attack my ideas, but play it straight,” he said.

The California Democrat has said he was unaware of any other remarks made at the conference, and that he was “in and out for my panel from 10-11 on Saturday. It was a 3 day conference.”

Forty-seven progressive House Democrats, led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), signed onto a letter to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for the U.S. to recognize a Palestinian state on the heels of similar decisions by European allies last week.

“It has long been acknowledged by much of the international community and previous U.S. administrations of both major political parties that a Palestinian state recognized as a full and equal member of the community of nations is necessary to fulfill the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people and ensure the state of Israel’s survival as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people,” the letter, which was first reported on by Jewish Insider, reads.

The lawmakers argue that because the current Israeli government opposes a two-state solution — a position currently shared by much of Israeli society — and is “actively undermin[ing]” the prospects of an independent Palestinian state, “meaningful action is necessary to join the majority of the world in codifying Palestinian statehood and to unlock the potential for a broader regional peace and security arrangement.”

Trump vowed last week week that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.

The letter also claims that recognizing Palestinian statehood would make reform of the Palestinian Authority “far more achievable and sustainable.”

Signatories to the letter include Reps. Becca Balint (D-VT), Donald Beyer (D-VA), André Carson (D-IN), Greg Casar (D-TX), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Judy Chu (D-CA), Danny Davis (D-IL), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Bill Foster (D-MA), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), John Garamendi (D-CA), Chuy García (D-IL), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Robert Garcia (D-CA), Al Green (D-TX), Val Hoyle (D-OR), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), James McGovern (D-CA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Emily Randall (D-WA), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).

Dexter and Garcia were both beneficiaries of significant outside spending from AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC in their primary races, running against farther-left anti-Israel opponents.

Balint and Schakowsky are both Jewish. Davis, Evans and Schakowsky are retiring from Congress at the end of their current terms.

Many of the furthest-left lawmakers in the House, including some of the Jewish state’s most outspoken critics, did not sign onto Khanna’s letter, nor did some of the more moderate Democrats backing a concurrent effort to place strict restrictions on U.S. aid to Israel.

The letter is backed by groups including American Muslims for Palestine, DAWN, Emgage Action, Indivisible, J Street, MoveOn, MPower, Muslim Public Affairs Council, New Jewish Narrative and the Quincy Institute.

There is a notable split on this issue within the Democratic caucus: Khanna’s letter follows a letter from 30 moderate pro-Israel Democrats condemning unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state as “performative” and saying that doing so risks “emboldening Hamas, entrenching division, and undermining the very legitimacy and peace such recognition purports to advance.”

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is set to speak later this month at ArabCon, an annual convention hosted by the Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, joining a lineup that includes numerous speakers with records of support for terrorism and antisemitism.

Khanna, in recent months, has grown more vocal in his criticism of the Israeli government and the war in Gaza, and is leading an effort to call for U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state. Khanna is seen as having aspirations for higher office.

Among the controversial speakers on the ArabCon lineup are Electronic Intifada Executive Director Ali Abunimah, CAIR San Francisco Executive Director Zahra Billoo and activist Linda Sarsour.

Abunimah has repeatedly praised and supported terrorist attacks on Israel as a form of “resistance” and claimed that there is “no credible evidence of a single rape on Oct. 7.” He has also claimed that Zionism is antisemitic and a spiritual continuation of the Holocaust. 

He advocates for a one-state solution that would see Israel erased and has dismissed Palestinian Authority leaders who support peace with Israel as “collaborators.”

Billoo was voted off of the national Women’s March board over her past commentary, including praising and defending Hezbollah and Hamas for attacking Israel, and condemned Jewish federations, the Anti-Defamation League, Hillel chapters and “Zionist synagogues” as “enemies” engaged in fomenting Islamophobia, police brutality and various other issues inside the United States.

Sarsour has argued that Zionists should be excluded from progressive spaces and movements, repeatedly faced accusations of antisemitism, praised a convicted terrorist and supports a one-state solution.

“I have never been to a conference where I agree with every speaker, but speaking at ArabCon is important,” Khanna said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “I will discuss my efforts to recognize a Palestinian state without Hamas as part of a two state solution. Recognition of Palestinian statehood — alongside continued efforts to secure Israel’s safety and guarantee its future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people — is essential to achieving peace.”

Other speakers on the ArabCon agenda include Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Dearborn, Mich. Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, Zeteo CEO Mehdi Hasan and “The Young Turks” hosts Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur.

The American‑Arab Anti‑Discrimination Committee’s newly tapped national legal director, Jenin Younes, on Thursday called journalist Bari Weiss a “modern day Goebbels” in response to reports that Paramount is closing in on a deal to acquire Weiss’ The Free Press and give her a senior editorial role at CBS News.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is circulating a letter to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio among House lawmakers calling for the United States to recognize a Palestinian state.

Khanna, a prominent progressive voice in the House with aspirations for higher office, has become increasingly vocal in recent weeks about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and in his criticism of the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC.

“We are writing to request that the United States officially recognize a Palestinian state, as this tragic moment has highlighted for the world the long overdue need to recognize Palestinian self-determination,” a draft version of the letter obtained by Jewish Insider reads. “Just as the lives of Palestinians must be immediately protected, so too must their rights as a people and nation urgently be acknowledged and upheld.”

The letter had nine co-signatories, in addition to Khanna, as of Thursday evening.

The signatories said they welcome French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state, and urged other governments to do the same. The U.K. and Canada said this week that they intend to do so as well, given certain conditions.

“It has long been acknowledged by much of the international community and previous U.S. administrations of both major political parties that a Palestinian state recognized as a full and equal member of the community of nations is necessary to fulfill the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people and ensure the state of Israel’s survival as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people,” the letter continues.

U.S. policy has long opposed the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state outside of a negotiated two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians.

“A viable Palestinian state will need to fully recognize Israel and adopt a framework to guarantee Israel’s security, including the disarmament of and relinquishing of power by Hamas in order to be broadly embraced by the community of nations,” the letter continues. “We will need to work closely with the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Authority, our Arab allies, and Israel to make this feasible.”

The letter argues that “recognizing Palestinian statehood and obligating Palestinian leaders to abide by the international law binding on states and their governments will make that far more achievable and sustainable than decades of statelessness and repression have.”

The letter has been co-signed by Reps. Greg Casar (D-TX), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Al Green (D-TX), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) — all prominent progressive lawmakers in the House — since opening on Tuesday evening.

In a statement to JI, Khanna said, “This is the moment for the United States to officially recognize a Palestinian state. All 22 states in the Arab League this week called for a non Hamas Palestinian state that recognizes Israel.”

He said that his office had begun outreach on the issue this week, but did not plan to send the letter until the United Nations General Assembly in September, when France and others said they plan to formally recognize a Palestinian state. He described the response from his fellow lawmakers as “overwhelming.”

“It’s disappointing someone would leak the letter thinking it would sabotage the effort,” Khanna continued. “But you cannot sabotage an idea whose time has come.”

Khanna said in a memo to colleagues about the letter, “Recognition of Palestinian statehood — alongside continued efforts to secure Israel’s safety and guarantee its future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people — is essential to achieving peace.”

He continued, “As the devastating toll of the war in Gaza continues to mount, this tragic moment has underscored the urgent need to acknowledge Palestinian self-determination and take meaningful steps toward a just and lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Previously, a resolution supporting Palestinian statehood, introduced in the House by Green in December 2023, received five co-sponsors — Watson Coleman, Frost, Doggett, Escobar and Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN).