Gavin Newsom denounces Israel as ‘apartheid’ state, calls for US to end support

California’s governor pivots on Israel, embracing hard-left opposition to the Jewish state while blasting the conflict in Iran.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

California Governor Gavin Newsom has accused Israel of being an “apartheid” state, in a major pivot on the Jewish state just months after declaring he was “crystal clear” in his “love for Israel.”

Newsom spoke with podcaster Jon Favreau at an event in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, which was held to promote his memoir, when he was asked to weigh in on the conflict with Iran and US support for the State of Israel.

Condemning Israel’s government and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Newsom said that the US needs to reconsider its ties with the Jewish state.

“It breaks my heart, because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path, where I don’t think you have a choice about that consideration,” Newsom said.

The governor went on to endorse claims by Israel’s critics, including The New York Times‘ Thomas Friedman, that Israel is an “apartheid” state.

“He’s got folks, the hard line, that want to annex the West Bank. Friedman and others are talking about it appropriately, [as] sort of an apartheid state.”

Newsom added that he is “disgusted by what’s happened in Gaza…how this war has been perpetuated by Bibi Netanyahu,” while touting the aid sent to the Gaza Strip in December 2023 by his administration in California.

Turning to the air campaign against Iran, Newsom blasted President Donald Trump’s decision to strike the Islamic Republic, while blaming Israel for the move, saying it was “pretty damn self-evident” that the Israeli government had convinced the president.

Newsom’s comments this week reflect a continuation of his shift on Israel, which has been marked by increasingly hostile rhetoric.

On February 22, Newsom slammed the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC, declaring that he has never accepted campaign contributions from the group and that he “never will.”

A month earlier, he told conservative pundit Ben Shapiro that he is “crystal clear in my love for Israel,” but also in his “condemnation of Bibi.”

In the wake of the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, Newsom had emphasized his state’s solidarity with Israel.

In an October 20, 2023, visit to Israel, Newsom said he came “offering California’s support.”

A year after the massacres, Newsom declared that his administration “stands beside Israel.”