CA Gov. Newsom says he regrets apartheid comment, ‘reveres’ Israel in new interview
Jewish Democrats had called on Newsom to clarify earlier remarks about the West Bank
Newsom came under fire from Jewish leaders over earlier comments about Israel. Photo by Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images
By Louis Keene March 24, 2026
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a new interview that he now regrets his use of the word “apartheid” earlier this month, clarifying a comment that had ignited a backlash among Jewish Democratic supporters.
But in a fuller overview of his feelings about Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Newsom — a likely 2028 presidential candidate — demurred when asked whether he identified as Zionist, saying instead that he reveres Israel and is proud to support it.
The new comments, which Newsom made on the Politico podcast On the Road with Jonathan Martin, followed vocal demands by Jewish leaders to clarify his use of a word they see as unfair or offensive in the Israeli context. And they added to a wider conversation about Israel among Democratic elected officials as support for Israel plummets in the party.
Newsom had said March 5 on the Pod Save America podcast that Israel had been talked about “appropriately as sort of an apartheid state,” referencing New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman’s assertion that annexing the West Bank would “make today’s Israel permanently indistinguishable from apartheid South Africa.” Newsom added in that appearance that a time may come when the U.S. should reconsider its military aid to Israel.
Coming from a leader seen by some as a Democratic party bellwether, the comments had appeared to shift the conversation leftward, alarming Jewish Democrats who viewed Newsom as a longtime ally.
Speaking to Martin, Newsom was asked whether he considered himself Zionist.
“Do I consider myself Zionist? I revere the state of Israel. I’m proud to support the state of Israel,” Newsom told Martin. “I deeply, deeply oppose Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership, his opposition to the two-state solution, and deeply oppose how he is indulging the far-right as it relates to what’s going on in the West Bank.”
Martin followed up by asking the term-limited governor whether he regretted the apartheid comment.
“I do in this context,” Newsom said. “I said it and I referenced why I used it — a Tom Friedman article, in that same sentence, where Tom used it in the context of the direction that Bibi is going.”
“Not the current state?” Martin asked.
“Correct,” Newsom said, “and that is a legitimate concern I have, that I share with Tom, that that direction — that if that vision and direction of the far right that Bibi is indulging, that if they see the full annexation of the West Bank, then that’s not something — then that’s a word you may hear others use.”
Whereas Newsom’s earlier comments had excited the party’s left flank, his interview with Martin reflected the Jewish Democratic standard for criticism of Israel — promoting a two-state solution, opposing annexation and challenging Netanyahu.
"Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief"
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
