‘A JEW IS A JEW’: Anti-Israel Jewish lawmaker harassed by anti-Israel mob

One activist demanded State Sen. Scott Wiener say “Free Palestine,” before screaming at him inside a San Francisco bar.

By World Israel News Staff

A Jewish Democratic lawmaker from California was twice confronted and harassed by anti-Israel activists last week despite his long record of sharply criticizing Israel, including declaring earlier this year that he believes the Jewish state committed genocide during its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

California State Sen. Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco and is widely considered the frontrunner to succeed retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi in Congress, spoke out about the incidents in a media statement.

The confrontations came despite Wiener having repeatedly distanced himself from the Israeli government’s conduct during the war. In January 2026, he stated that he wanted to “clarify that I do believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.”

He added that “the Israeli government has tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out. And that qualifies as genocide.”

Those statements, however, did not appear to satisfy the activists, who have angrily confronted Wiener in public.

In a video filmed inside of a San Francisco bar, an anti-Israel activist is seen approaching Wiener and repeatedly demanding that the senator say, “Free Palestine.”

The activist became increasingly agitated after Wiener declined to repeat the slogan.

Wiener said in a media statement that the individual “screamed abuse at me and our staff before being ejected by the bar’s employees.”

The politician added that the encounter was not the first involving the same activist.

In December 2023, that same man “stalked me on a plane and in an airport, shouting at me about my ‘tainted bloodline,'” in an apparent reference to Wiener’s Jewish heritage.

A second incident occurred later that week in San Francisco’s Dolores Park, shortly before the start of a transgender rights march. Videos circulating on social media showed Wiener being surrounded by a crowd of demonstrators as they shouted accusations over his position on Israel.

“You’ve been terrible, you’ve been terrible on Gaza,” one person in the crowd is heard screaming at Wiener. “You do not belong here anymore, Scott.”

Weiner said the demonstrators “began harassing me, both verbally and physically, including physical contact” and “made statements about my ‘Israeli handlers,’ among many other inaccurate, extreme, and vile statements.”

He reiterated that he respects “anyone disagreeing with me, opposing me, or protesting me,” but “when opposition and disagreement transition to harassment, including cornering me, touching me, or trying to physically bully me out of a public event, that crosses a line.”