'DSA jihadi': LA mayoral candidate torched after defending 'genocide' comment during Jewish forum
Nithya Raman defended her use of "genocide" to describe Israel's actions in Gaza and backed the BDS movement at a tense Jewish community forum.
Nithya Raman, the far-left Los Angeles mayoral frontrunner, defended her appearance on controversial streamer Hasan Piker's program and stood by her use of the term "genocide" to describe Israel's actions in Gaza when pressed by a Jewish audience Tuesday night, raising alarm among some Jewish voters.
Raman's appearance before hundreds of attendees at a Jewish community mayoral forum quickly turned into a series of pointed exchanges over Israel, antisemitism and her past comments on the war in Gaza. Pressed over her appearance on Piker's show, Raman said candidates need to "meet people where they're at" and rejected the suggestion that appearing on his platform signaled an endorsement of his views.
She also reaffirmed her use of the word "genocide" to describe Israel's actions in Gaza, saying she relied on unnamed "experts" who have used the same terminology. Later in the forum, she defended the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as "a legitimate form of peaceful protest."
Both Raman and incumbent Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass attended a candidate forum hosted by several Jewish organizations Tuesday evening, during which they were questioned on a range of topics but largely about antisemitism, public safety, homelessness, Israel and other issues of particular concern to the Jewish community ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
"Nithya Raman's remarks should alarm every Jewish voter in Los Angeles," StopAntisemitism founder and Executive Director Liora Rez told Fox News Digital, arguing that "'meeting people where they're at' is not a defense" for appearing on Piker's program.
The Wednesday night forum's moderator noted that many in the audience viewed Raman's appearance on Piker's show as "deeply hurtful," citing the streamer's past remarks about Jews and praise for groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda. Asked why she chose to appear and whether she worried it could be perceived as an endorsement of his views, Raman said she has consistently spoken out against antisemitism but believed candidates should engage voters across different platforms.
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"I do believe that as an elected representative who's seeking higher office, you have to go and speak to voters," Raman said. "I think it's important for us as elected officials and as people running for office to go and speak to them even when you disagree with parts of those individuals... and meet them where they're at."
Raman's explanation echoes a rationale Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has offered when defending his own appearances with Piker, arguing candidates should engage audiences on platforms where voters already are.
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The moderator then shifted to Raman's broader views on the Israel-Gaza war, noting that she had repeatedly described Israel's actions as "genocide" and asking her to define the term and address Jewish voters who viewed the language as deeply inflammatory.
Raman acknowledged that "the word 'genocide' is a deeply painful word" and said she understood its historical significance, but maintained she used the term because other experts had done so and because she felt compelled to speak out after seeing "the targeting of hospitals" and "the deaths of children."
"I have used that term and I'm not an expert on these issues, and so I have looked to experts on these issues — international experts, Israeli experts — who have used that language, and that is what guided me in using that term in describing what's happening in Gaza," Raman said.
But, in comments to Fox News Digital, Rez said "that charge is not supported by the facts," arguing "casualty figures supplied by Hamas-controlled authorities, often presented without distinguishing civilians from combatants, do not establish a deliberate campaign to destroy the Palestinian people."
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During the Tuesday night forum, Bass offered a sharply different view on the term and rejected its use in regard to the war in Gaza when pressed on the matter.
Meanwhile, when asked where she differed from the anti-Israel positions of the Democratic Socialists of America, whose Los Angeles chapter has endorsed her mayoral campaign, Raman defended the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, as "a legitimate form of peaceful protest" before arguing that Israel-related issues were not part of her municipal platform and pointing to disagreements she has had with DSA on other issues.
Rez rejected Raman's characterization of BDS as "a legitimate form of peaceful protest," arguing the movement "is a discriminatory movement that singles out the world's only Jewish state for isolation and elimination."
Local Los Angeles activist and Jewish mother of two, April Silverman, slammed Raman's appearance at the forum on X, arguing the mayoral frontrunner is not aware of "the concept of knowing your audience and reading the room."
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"Nithya Raman couldn’t even pretend in front of a room full of Jewish Angelenos to be anything other than an antizionist radical," said Shana Meyerson, a podcast host who has a show called "The Unapologetically Jewish Podcast."
"She also doubled down on her 'genocide' accusations despite admitting she 'isn’t an expert,' and could not define what genocide is," Meyerson added. "Another DSA jihadi laughing in the face of Jewish Americans."