A Jewish podcaster asked Nancy Pelosi how he could keep faith with a party whose voices he hears as antisemitic, and her answer drew a line between what she called wrong and what she called the party's true center. In a moment that reflects an old and painful argument about Jewish belonging in politics, the former Speaker named two rising Democrats, Zohran Mamdani and Abdul El-Sayed, and said their positions on Israel as a Jewish state do not speak for congressional Democrats. Whether that boundary holds will be tested as voters and colleagues decide how much room the party has for this disput
Pelosi Calls Mamdani, El-Sayed Israel Comments 'Wrong,' Says They Don't Reflect House Democrats
"It's more than concerning. It's wrong."
Mark
Pelosi used the word "wrong" about two politicians. Why does that matter?
Mimi
She's the former Speaker, so a direct rebuke carries weight, and she tied it to the whole House caucus, saying members disassociate themselves from such statements.
Luke
Worth noting that's her characterization. She didn't name any House members who've done so.
Mark
She also said she knows of no one on her side engaged in antisemitism. Does that clash with her other comments?
Mimi
Some will read it that way. She hedged, saying it may be only appearance, and if there are any, only a few.
Luke
And Deutsch, not Pelosi, framed the Jewish-state position as antisemitic. She said the views were wrong, not that she called them antisemitic.
Mark
What have Mamdani and El-Sayed actually said?
Mimi
Mamdani told ABC on June 28 he backs equal rights but not a state that privileges one religion, citing Saudi Arabia too. El-Sayed said in May he struggled with the question.
Luke
Those are the two on-record statements cited. We don't have fresh comment from either man on Pelosi's remarks.
Mark
And the rabbi's criticism?
Mimi
Menken says her answer shows she doesn't grasp the problem.
Luke
That's one advocacy group's view, and the piece doesn't say how widely it's shared.
Il Polso
- A podcast host pressed Nancy Pelosi on whether he can keep supporting Democrats whose words he considers antisemitic, and the question landed hard.
- Pelosi called Mamdani's and El-Sayed's Israel positions 'wrong,' pushing back on the word 'concerning' and drawing a visible line inside her own party.
- Both men have refused to say plainly whether Israel should be a Jewish state, and the refusal has become the center of the fight.
- A rabbi's warning that Pelosi may be missing antisemitism among colleagues sharpens the dispute, while El-Sayed's Michigan Senate primary is set to test whether the party's boundary holds.
A Jewish podcaster asked Nancy Pelosi how he could keep faith with a party whose voices he hears as antisemitic, and her answer drew a line between what she called wrong and what she called the party's true center. In a moment that reflects an old and painful argument about Jewish belonging in politics, the former Speaker named two rising Democrats, Zohran Mamdani and Abdul El-Sayed, and said their positions on Israel as a Jewish state do not speak for congressional Democrats. Whether that boundary holds will be tested as voters and colleagues decide how much room the party has for this dispute.
On a Thursday episode of the "On Brand" podcast, host Donny Deutsch asked former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a pointed question: as a Jewish man, how could he keep backing a party whose politicians say things he considers antisemitic? He named New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Pelosi said the word "concerning" was too weak. "It's more than concerning," she said. "It's wrong."
She told him these views do not reflect Democrats in Congress, and that when a House member voices them, colleagues distance themselves. She hoped Mamdani would succeed as mayor but disagreed with parts of what he has said, and of El-Sayed she said simply that voters would decide whether he reaches Congress.
The record on both men is consistent. Mamdani has said he supports Israel as a state with equal rights but cannot endorse it as a Jewish state, because he opposes any state privileging one religion. El-Sayed has said he struggled with the question and suggested a Jewish state conflicts with the liberal values the country claims. Earlier in the conversation, Pelosi had said she knew of no one in her party engaged in antisemitism, and that only a few might say things that can be read that way.
Rabbi Yaakov Menken of the Coalition for Jewish Values called Pelosi one of the community's best friends in the House, but said it was alarming that she seemed blind to antisemitism among colleagues. "If she is indeed one of our best friends, should we not be scared by that?" he asked. El-Sayed's Senate race will show whether Pelosi's line holds. Fox News Digital reached out to all parties and had received no response at publication.
On Thursday, on the "On Brand" podcast, host Donny Deutsch put a question to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: how can he, as a Jewish man, keep supporting the Democratic Party when some of its politicians say things he considers antisemitic? "When you say Israel doesn't have the right to be a Jewish state, that's antisemitic as far as I'm concerned," Deutsch said.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, asked him for examples. Deutsch named two: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democrat running for the U.S. Senate. He called their comments "concerning." Pelosi said the word wasn't strong enough. "It's more than concerning," she said. "It's wrong."
She went on to say the views do not reflect Democrats in Congress. Of El-Sayed she said, "we'll see if he gets elected to the Congress." Of Mamdani she said she hopes he succeeds as mayor but does not agree with some of what he has said. When a House member says such things, she added, the other members disassociate themselves from it.
The record on both men is consistent. Before his election, Mamdani repeatedly sidestepped questions about whether Israel should be a Jewish state. In a June 28 interview with ABC News, he said he supported Israel as a state with equal rights but would not endorse it as a Jewish state. "Any state that privileges one religion over the other is one that I can't tell you I support, whether it be Israel or Saudi Arabia or anywhere else," he said.
El-Sayed has also repeatedly declined to say whether Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state. At a May appearance with Jewish supporters, he said he "struggled" with the question and suggested the idea of a Jewish state was not consistent with the liberal values the country claims to hold.
Earlier in the same conversation, Pelosi had taken a different tone. She said she knew of no one on the Democratic side engaged in antisemitism, and that it may only appear that way or be what people are charged with. If there are any, she said, it is only a few, and they sometimes say things they shouldn't that can be interpreted that way.
She also played down how far any such statements travel inside the party. "People represent their districts, and we have to respect that," she said, adding that the job title is representative but does not shape the Democratic consensus. She said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has been very clear on that point.
Fox News Digital contacted representatives for Pelosi, Mamdani and El-Sayed and had received no response at the time of publication.
Rabbi Yaakov Menken, executive vice president of the Coalition for Jewish Values, called Pelosi one of the Jewish community's best friends among House Democrats. But he said it was alarming that she did not seem to recognize antisemitism among her colleagues. He said she wants such voices marginalized yet has turned a deaf ear to them and to rabbis trying to explain the scale of the problem. "If she is indeed one of our best friends, should we not be scared by that?" he asked.
What to watch is El-Sayed's Senate race, which will show whether Pelosi's line holds, that such views sit outside the House Democratic consensus.
Citazioni salienti
It's more than concerning. It's wrong. And it isn't a reflection of the Democrats in the Congress of the United States.— Nancy Pelosi
If she is indeed one of our best friends, should we not be scared by that?— Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Coalition for Jewish Values
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