Congressional Candidate Scott Wiener Betrays Jewish Voters Over Gaza

His declaration isn’t a principled evolution after deep reflection; it’s political cowardice, a flip-flop, driven by boos thrown at him last Wednesday, January 7, 2026 during a candidate forum he attended. On stage, his opponents gleefully labeled Israel genocidal, yet Wiener hesitated to concur. His refusal to answer the question was telling, drawing jeers from the crowd.

CA State Senator Scott Wiener, assumed political leader of San Francisco’s Jewish community has betrayed Jewish voters. He’s incessantly present at cultural events, holiday observances, yet he failed to answer this simple question at Wednesday’s congressional forum. Shame! pic.twitter.com/FT65KkvkCT

— Richie Greenberg (@greenbergnation) January 9, 2026

He knew the weight of the genocide word then. But now, a mere few days later, he’s facing electoral uncertainty. Congressional rivals like Saikat Chakrabarti and Connie Chan, also on stage, are willing to wield the word as a weapon against the Jewish state, the nation Wiener traveled to in 2022 for a nephew’s bar mitzvah and then returned to February 2024 as part of a Jewish delegation to see the impact of the attack on Israel by Hamas. He proudly prayed at the  Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest spot, in Jerusalem.

Adding insult to injury is Wiener’s clear exploitation of his Jewish heritage for political gain. For years he has paraded through local synagogues, schmoozing at Shabbat services and High Holiday events, and inserted himself into gatherings like Hanukkah celebrations in Union Square as recently as one month ago – all to burnish his image as a “proud Jew” connected to the community. But after this betrayal, he no longer should feel welcomed in these sacred spaces; his presence is a mockery, a hollow performance void of genuine respect for Jewish values of justice and self-preservation for our Israeli brethren.

On October 7, 2023, over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were brutally slaughtered in the deadliest assault on Jews since the Holocaust. Hamas militants didn’t just “infiltrate” Israel, they raped, tortured, beheaded, burned, murdering civilians in their homes, at a music festival, and then kidnapped 251 hostages, many held for years in unspeakable conditions in Gaza’s tunnels. Wiener’s statement danced around this horror, focusing instead on critiquing Israel’s retaliatory response instead of the actual atrocity perpetrated against them.

Hamas has genocidal intent. It is literally enshrined in their charter calling for Israel’s destruction. Senator Wiener shamefully ignores this fact. Now, by accusing Israel of genocide this weekend while ignoring Hamas’s role in provoking and prolonging the conflict, he aligns himself with radicals who chant “from the river to the sea,” seeking erasure of Israel. He is in the same hateful camp as former city supervisors Dean Preston and Hillary Ronen as well as AROC, whose heated anti-Israel rhetoric has long fanned the flames of division and antisemitism in the Bay Area.

The majority of San Francisco’s observant, orthodox and Hassidic Jewish residents live on the city’s West side, including the Richmond and Sunset districts. Congregations are overwhelmingly supportive of Israel and mirror (or exceed) the over 80% of America’s Jews which are unapologetically Zionist.

We must collectively reject and condemn Mr. Wiener’s shocking declaration. He must resign his co-chair position in the California Legislative Jewish Caucus immediately.

San Francisco’s Jewish voters, who have backed Wiener starting from member of the Board of Supervisors through his state senate tenure, deserve better than this opportunistic stab in the back. True leadership condemns terror unequivocally, defends a democracy’s right to security and self-defense, and rejects divisive rhetoric that endangers Jews worldwide. Wiener has failed on all counts, proving he’s unfit for Congress.