But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. How we check

Scott Wiener

Democrat · U.S. House, California District 11
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How this mark works

We track key votes on sending U.S. weapons and money to the government of Israel. A check means every tracked vote they cast came down against sending more, on the side of peace and de-escalation. A question mark means a mixed record: they sided with sending up to half of the time. An X means they voted to send more weapons and money in over half of their tracked votes, even as the way those weapons and dollars were being used became more and more obvious. At exactly half, money this election cycle from a lobbying group we track, or an endorsement from a group that backs sending weapons, makes it an X. Only votes actually cast are counted. Where a candidate has no recorded votes on these bills, the mark comes instead from a reviewed reading of their public record (money from the lobbying groups we track, endorsements, and their own words since January 26, 2024). There an X also covers fully backing the conduct of the war by the government of Israel without significant reservations, and a question mark also covers speaking about Israel without saying clearly where they stand on U.S. weapons and funding. A dash means No Position Found: we found nothing in their own words about Israel, Gaza or the war.

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Two reviewers, reading the public record as a whole, agree: He calls Gaza a genocide and rejects offensive arms sales to this Israeli government, but his own platform says defensive systems like Iron Dome and David's Sling should keep flowing. Reviewed by hand on 2026-09-28. This candidate has no recorded tracked floor votes.

Wiener's platform backs providing defensive systems like Iron Dome, paid for by Israel, and "strongly supports Israel’s existence as Jewish homeland," which he has defined as Zionism. He calls Israel's campaign in Gaza genocide and told CNN in October 2026 he does not support funding the Israeli military.

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Deep Dive

Wiener's 2026 campaign foreign policy platform states he "will not support U.S. funding for the destruction of Palestinian communities in Gaza or the West Bank" and will not support "offensive arms sales to an Israeli government not committed to peace." It says the U.S. should keep providing Israel defensive systems such as Iron Dome and David's Sling, and that "Israel, not U.S. taxpayers, should pay the cost of these life-saving defensive systems." The platform also opposes the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. Separately, as a funding decision, he has taken the Reject AIPAC pledge and is "neither seeking nor accepting support from AIPAC, due to significant policy differences." The platform page is undated; it was read again on October 17, 2026.

At a January 7, 2026 CA-11 candidate debate, Wiener declined to answer yes or no when asked whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. On January 11, 2026 he posted: "I've stopped short of calling it genocide, but I can't anymore," saying the Israeli government "has tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out and that qualifies as genocide." On a January 20, 2026 Haaretz Podcast episode he said he had earlier avoided the term because it has been weaponized against Jewish people. On CNN's Inside Politics on October 1, 2026 he said: "we should not be funding destruction, which is why I do not support funding the Israeli military." In early 2026 he stepped down as co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus after criticism over the genocide statement.

In February 2024 he joined Jewish Caucus colleagues in opposing a proposed Gaza ceasefire resolution in the state legislature (Jewish Insider reference date is the source's; see research page). On June 27, 2026 he was pursued by protesters shouting anti-Zionist slogans at a San Francisco Trans March and called the harassment antisemitic; this is safety context, not a weapons or funding position.

His platform says he "strongly supports Israel’s existence as Jewish homeland," and in a February 2024 post he defined the term: "“Zionism” is the belief Israel should exist as a Jewish homeland." No statement disavowing it was found. On campus speech, he criticized a UC Davis professor and a UCSF doctor over posts about "Zionist journalists" and "Zionist doctors" in February 2024, and in August 2024 he praised NYU for treating the demonization of "Zionists" as potentially antisemitic.

The money

Checked the five lobbying groups we track; no direct 2026 support found

2026 support from the five lobbying groups we track
Nothing recorded (as of 2026-07-23) from the five lobbying groups we track; earlier cycles and earmarked donations not yet tracked.
Support-only OpenFEC data. Opposition independent expenditures are excluded.

In their words

“I've stopped short of calling it genocide, but I can't anymore... the Israeli government has tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out and that qualifies as genocide”
Source ↗, 2026-01-11
“we should not be funding destruction, which is why I do not support funding the Israeli military”
Source ↗, 2026-10-01

Research log

The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.

U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel

  • Undated, 2026 campaign platform [Current position, dated by campaign context; page undated, read 2026-08-03, read again 2026-08-10]: "will not support U.S. funding for the destruction of Palestinian communities in Gaza or the West Bank"; no "offensive arms sales to an Israeli government not committed to peace"; supports defensive systems "such as Iron Dome and David's Sling, which protect ten million Jewish, Muslim, and Christian civilians." Verified verbatim at scottwiener.com/foreign-policy. Duplicates the summary already on the record, so it is not repeated.
  • 2026-10-01 [Current position]: On CNN's Inside Politics, in CNN's transcript: "we should not be funding destruction, which is why I do not support funding the Israeli military." This confirms in his own words the CBS report listed below.
  • Undated, 2026 campaign platform [read again 2026-10-17]: on defensive systems, "Scott believes that Israel, not U.S. taxpayers, should pay the cost of these life-saving defensive systems." Platform.
  • 2021-05-16 [Earlier record]: Statement on escalating violence acknowledged Israel's reliance on missile defense to protect civilians and expressed concern for Palestinian civilians facing Israeli strikes.
  • 2026-06-29 [Current position; EXCLUDED from card, source did not open]: In a CBS News interview Wiener reportedly said "I don't think that we should be funding the Israeli military. We shouldn't be funding the destruction of Palestinian communities." Only source is a Facebook post of the CBS segment (would not open); no usable link.

Characterization of the conflict

  • 2021-05-16 [Earlier record]: Supported a two-state solution with a "Jewish and democratic Israel living side-by-side, in peace, with a Palestinian state" and condemned Hamas attacks. Statement.
  • 2023-10-11 [Months after October 7, 2023]: Statement condemning the October 7 attacks as the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust; in following weeks he advocated a ceasefire and an end to escalation in Gaza.
  • 2026-01-07 [Current position]: At a CA-11 primary debate he declined to answer yes or no on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, drawing jeers. KQED.
  • 2026-01-11 [Current position]: Video and post: "I've stopped short of calling it genocide, but I can't anymore"; the Israeli government "has tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out and that qualifies as genocide." Verified against KQED; also a YouTube short.
  • 2026-01-20 [Current position]: On the Haaretz Podcast (audio, text unverified) he said he had avoided the term genocide because it has historically been weaponized against Jewish people, and that Netanyahu's actions in Gaza met the definition.
  • 2026-06-29 [Current position; source did not open]: In a broadcast interview he described Netanyahu's government as "extremists" and "messianic" who are "massacring Palestinians"; the only source is a Facebook post that would not open.
  • Undated, 2026 campaign materials [Current position, dated by campaign context]: characterized West Bank settlement expansion as illegal, designed to prevent a Palestinian state, and a step toward ethnic cleansing. Cited to the platform.

Rhetoric and lobbying

  • February 2024 [Current position; month-only date taken from the text itself]: As co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, joined colleagues opposing a proposed Gaza ceasefire resolution in the Legislature. Source cited by an initial search: Jewish Insider.
  • Early 2026 [Current position; inline approximate date]: Stepped down as Jewish Caucus co-chair after criticism over his genocide statement. Jewish Insider, KQED.
  • Undated, 2026 campaign platform: Signed the Reject AIPAC pledge; "neither seeking nor accepting support from AIPAC, due to significant policy differences." A funding decision, separate from his arms position. Platform.
  • 2024-02-21 [Position]: On X he defined the term: "“Zionism” is the belief Israel should exist as a Jewish homeland." Post. His 2026 platform says he "strongly supports Israel’s existence as Jewish homeland" (Platform). A search of his X account on 2026-10-17 found no post disavowing the term, and no first-person "I am a Zionist" either.
  • 2025-07-29 [Position]: On X he posted, in quotation marks, a statement condemning far-right Israeli politicians who advocate pushing Gazans out of Gaza: they "don’t represent Jewish values nor those in the Zionist vision that produced Israel’s Declaration of Independence." Post.
  • 2024-01-04 to 2024-08-27 [Reaction window and Position; campus speech]: posts criticizing a UCSF doctor's post about "Zionist doctors" (2024-01-04, post) and a UC Davis professor and the same doctor (2024-02-21, post), and praising NYU on 2024-08-27 for making clear that demonizing "Zionists", which he called "a word describing a large majority of Jews", can be antisemitic. Post.
  • Undated, 2026 campaign platform: Reaffirmed opposition to the global BDS movement. Platform.

Safety and antisemitism (context, not a weapons or funding position)

  • 2021-05-16 [Earlier record]: Described experiences growing up with antisemitism and threats received as an official. Statement.
  • October 2025 [Current position; inline month-only date]: Newsom signed a school antisemitism prevention bill Wiener championed as Jewish Caucus co-leader. Jewish Insider.
  • 2026-06-27 [Current position]: Pursued by protesters shouting anti-Zionist slogans at the San Francisco Trans March; left the event. J Weekly, Jewish Insider.
  • 2026-06-29/30 [Current position]: In CNN and CBS interviews he called the harassment "absolutely" antisemitic. Jewish Insider; the CBS Facebook source would not open.
  • Undated, 2026 campaign platform: Denounced antisemitism from the far right and far left. Platform.

Note: two localcandidates.org sources would not open; all claims relying on them are also covered by the platform page.

Also in this race

  1. ✓ Connie Chan (Democrat)

All California candidates.

But What Can You Do? tracks where 2026 candidates stand on U.S. weapons and funding for the government of Israel. Every claim on this page goes through at least two verification steps. Open Find Your Candidates for votes, funding and contact details.