Pelosi-backed candidate calls for US arms embargo on Israel

Connie Chan, the Democratic candidate endorsed by former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has called for a full arms embargo on the Israeli government. Chan made the statement during a televised debate before mail-in ballots were sent to voters in California’s 11th congressional district. She said she would vote on her first day in Congress to end what she described as genocide in Gaza and an apartheid state.

Chan, a San Francisco supervisor, is competing with California state Senator Scott Wiener to succeed Pelosi, who is not seeking re-election. The district’s contest is taking place amid wider divisions among congressional Democrats over US support for Israel. Wiener has also described Israel’s assault on Gaza as genocide.

He said he would oppose funding for the Israeli military and the supply of bombs or other offensive weapons. Chan said humanitarian aid should be prioritised and that she would not support funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defence system. She also criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and its treatment of Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Pelosi, 86, has long supported Israel, opposing boycott and sanction efforts and voting for military aid while serving in Congress. Her endorsement of Chan contrasts with Chan’s stated position on arms transfers. The race comes as Congress considers competing approaches to US-Israel relations.

Nearly all Senate Democrats recently supported an unsuccessful effort to require a State Department report on Israel’s human-rights practices, while House members introduced the Stop the Settlements Act, which would impose sanctions connected to settlement construction.