{"id":46063,"date":"2026-01-13T12:28:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=46063"},"modified":"2026-01-13T13:32:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T21:32:56","slug":"46063","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/01\/13\/46063\/","title":{"rendered":"Scott Wiener changes course, calls war in Gaza \u2018genocide\u2019 as House race kicks off"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(Image from keepintouch@ebar.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0David Hernandez<\/a>,Staff Writer <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jan 11, 2026 (SFChronicle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gift Article<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

State Sen. Scott Wiener speaks during a Congressional District 11 candidate forum in San Francisco.Scott Strazzante\/S.F. Chronicle<\/em><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Scott Wiener referred to Israel\u2019s war in Gaza as genocide for the first time Sunday, changing course after he got heckled at the first major congressional candidates forum<\/a> last week. Wiener is one of three top Democratic candidates vying to replace Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve stopped short of calling it genocide, but I can\u2019t anymore,\u201d Wiener wrote<\/a>, in part, on X. The post was accompanied by a 90-second video clip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

X video clip: https:\/\/x.com\/i\/status\/2010464312792404192<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor many Jews, associating the word genocide with the Jewish state of Israel is deeply painful and frankly traumatic, but despite that pain and that trauma, we all have eyes \u2026 and we all have ears,\u201d he said in the video. \u201cTo me, the Israeli government has tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out, and that qualifies as genocide.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jewish senator noted he previously referenced \u201ctotal destruction\u201d and \u201ccatastrophic levels of death\u201d to describe the war in Gaza.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wiener\u2019s post came after he drew jeers from the audience during a lightning round of questions at last week\u2019s face-off between candidates in the race. The hot-button question was: \u201cIs Israel committing genocide in Gaza?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supervisor Connie Chan and former congressional staffer Saikat Chakrabarti held up signs that said, \u201cyes.\u201d Wiener didn\u2019t hold up a \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno,\u201d telling reporters afterward that his position was more detailed than the format allowed for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His pivot also came after a profile on him published Sunday in the Atlantic<\/a>. The story mentioned that he did not characterize the bombings of Gaza as genocide as well as the criticism he drew during the forum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chakrabarti criticized Wiener\u2019s change of heart. \u201cGenocide shouldn\u2019t be something you say yes or no to based on the reporter you are talking to or how your poll numbers look,\u201d Chakrabarti said<\/a> on X. \u201cThis is about moral clarity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emily Hyden, Chakrabarti\u2019s campaign manager, elaborated in a statement, saying Wiener referred to the war in Gaza as genocide only \u201cwhen it looked like it would benefit his political career.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is exactly what\u2019s wrong with opportunist establishment politicians who have failed our party,\u201d Hyden said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julie Edwards, spokesperson for Chan\u2019s campaign, echoed the sentiment. \u201cPeople getting killed didn\u2019t move him, but boos at a forum did. This is about politics, not principle,\u201d Edwards said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wiener responded to the other candidates\u2019 comments by saying \u201cmajor international pronouncements should come from long, thoughtful conversations and deep introspection, not lighting round questions at a forum.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I did here, and that\u2019s how I\u2019ll govern as a member of Congress,\u201d he said, adding that his stance was \u201cthe natural progression\u201d of his past comments condemning the war.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jan 11, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Hernandez<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breaking News Reporter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Hernandez covers public safety for the San Francisco Chronicle. Before joining the Chronicle in December 2023, he reported on crime, law enforcement and criminal justice for the San Diego Union-Tribune. A graduate of San Diego State University, he is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He was born and raised in Santa Cruz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Image from keepintouch@ebar.com) By\u00a0David Hernandez,Staff Writer Jan 11, 2026 (SFChronicle.com) Gift Article State Sen. Scott Wiener speaks during a Congressional District 11 candidate forum in San Francisco.Scott Strazzante\/S.F. Chronicle Sen. Scott Wiener referred to Israel\u2019s war in Gaza as genocide for the first time Sunday, changing course after he got… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46063"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46063"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46077,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46063\/revisions\/46077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}