AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Even before Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran, candidates running for office were having to navigate shifting attitudes on U.S. policy towards the Middle East, specifically about Israel's war in Gaza. This has been especially true for Democrats whose voters are increasingly critical of Israel's aggressive military actions. KQED's senior political correspondent Scott Shafer in San Francisco has been following this story and joins us now. Hi, Scott.
SCOTT SHAFER, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: So can you just first give us a sense of the political landscape for Democrats out here in California, like, in some of the more competitive midterm races?
SHAFER: Yeah. Well, here in San Francisco, we've got a pretty lively race for the House seat now held by Nancy Pelosi. She's retiring at the end of the term. The top three candidates vying to replace her appeared at a forum sponsored by the San Francisco Working Families Party a few weeks ago. And there was a lightning round where the candidates were asked to hold up a yes or no sign to a series of questions, including this one - is Israel committing genocide in Gaza? And two candidates said yes. The third candidate, state Senator Scott Wiener, who is Jewish, declined to answer yes or no.
CHANG: Wow. How did that go?
SHAFER: Well, Wiener got some boos in the room, and then afterwards, he got more criticism. And then a few days later, he released a video saying the question was too complicated and didn't lend itself to a yes, no answer, that the word genocide was first used to describe what Nazi Germany did during World War II. So it was hard for him to use it here. But he added in that video message, the devastation and death toll can't be ignored.
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SCOTT WIENER: And to me, the Israeli government has tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out, and that qualifies as genocide.
SHAFER: And I should say, Ailsa, that Israel strongly denies accusations that it's committed genocide in Gaza, says that it's targeting Hamas militants not civilians. But many voters see the destruction, the death of women and children on TV. And to them, that's genocide, whether or not it meets a legal definition.
CHANG: Well, how are you seeing groups like AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group - how are you seeing them respond to these voter criticisms of Israel since the whole war in Gaza began?
SHAFER: Well, AIPAC isn't just opposing candidates who criticize Israel. In some cases, they're actually opposing Democrats who mostly support Israel, but who would consider conditions on use of U.S. military aid. You know, take the case of the Democratic congressional primaries happening today in Illinois. Public radio station WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times analyzed four of those House races. They found that AIPAC donors and affiliates have spent almost $14 million on the group's preferred candidates in the House races that they examined, and that number has grown since their original reporting.
And they noted that big campaign spending isn't new for AIPAC, but the group is operating more covertly than ever. Those ads don't mention the Middle East at all, but they're focusing instead on things like immigration and affordability, but in ways that target candidates who support limiting or conditioning military funding for Israel. Now, AIPAC - I should say - did not respond to WBEZ questions about its candidates selection criteria.
CHANG: Interesting. OK, so it sounds like it remains to be seen how big an issue this will be for voters, but the California governor, Gavin Newsom, recently used the word apartheid in describing Israel's policies in the West Bank. How much of a surprise was that to you?
SHAFER: Well, it was a surprise, and it is something, we should say, that Israel strongly opposes. Newsom was asked whether the U.S. should consider putting conditions on military aid to Israel. And he was quoting New York Times' columnist Thomas Friedman who, while very critical of the Netanyahu government in Israel, is also a strong supporter of Israel. And, you know, Newsom added that Friedman appropriately compares treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank with apartheid. You know, Newsom said that Netanyahu's policies was leading Israel down a path that's making it harder for many Democrats to support. It's really all part of Newsom's pivot toward the national stage and voters outside California. I think it shows how Democrats are adjusting or at least explaining their positions to fit the changing political landscape on attitudes towards Israel.
CHANG: That is KQED's Scott Shafer. Thank you so much, Scott.
SHAFER: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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