Gavin Newsom turns on Israel with blistering attack on ‘apartheid’ state

Gavin Newsom has turned on Israel as he launched a blistering attack on Benjamin Netanyahu and what he called an “apartheid” state.

The California governor made the comparison during a book event for his memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery,” on Tuesday night.

He said: “The issue of [Netanyahu] is interesting. He’s got his own domestic issues. He’s trying to stay out of jail. He’s got an election coming up. He’s potentially on the ropes.

“He’s got folks, the hard line, that want to annex the West Bank. I mean, [Thomas Friedman] and others are talking about [Israel] appropriately as sort of an apartheid state.”

Newsom, who said in September of last year that he had a “deep reverence” for Israel, took the leftist turn against the country while the US works with Netanyahu over the bombings in Iran.

He hedged when asked about whether America should rethink its military support for Israel, saying it “breaks my heart.”

But he added that Netanyahu and others are “walking us down that path where I don’t think you have a choice about that consideration.”

Newsom later mocked Israel’s attempts at regime change in Iran, which resulted in the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“We’re talking about regime change?” Newsom said. “For two years, they haven’t even been able to solve the Hamas question in Israel.”

The California Democrat is a 2028 presidential contender hoping to boost his status ahead of the coming primaries.

Stances on Israel and Palestine rocked the 2024 presidential election, and many contenders, like Newsom, want the masses to know where they stand.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to President Donald Trump in 2024 in part due to an indecisive Israel-Palestine stance, stayed nuanced on the issue late last year.

When asked whether Israel committed genocide in Gaza, she said people should “step back and ask this question and be honest about it, yeah.”

The Post reached out to Newsom for further comment.

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