Look, I’ll give credit where it’s due. When Ro Khanna calls Gaza a genocide—which he did, co-sponsoring Rashida Tlaib’s resolution in 2025 that officially recognized Israel’s actions as genocidal—he’s saying something real 1. When he went to the West Bank and got blockaded by armed settlers with American-made M4s, he did what every congressperson should do: see the occupation through Palestinian eyes, not the usual wine-and-dine tour where they kiss the Western Wall and come home to write a glowing op-ed 2.

Khanna’s team got surrounded by masked men with rifles. The IDF statement disputes the details—they say troops “dispersed the Israeli civilians” while Khanna says the soldiers sided with the settlers ³. But here’s the thing: even the IDF’s version admits armed settlers blocked a sitting congressman, kicked tires, cursed at them, laughed at them, and the army had to clear the road ³. That’s a horror show, and Khanna was right to call it out.

But here’s where the sincerity check bounces off the wall.

After over a hundred years of Palestinian dispossession—from the Nakba in 1948 to the systematic destruction of hundreds of Palestinian villages—the time for incremental politics is OVER. ⁴ Khanna wants credit for being “the good one.” The progressive who says the right things but stops short of the finish line.

The BDS Problem

Let’s talk about the big one. Khanna has never supported BDS ⁵. In fact, he told the Jewish News of Northern California that he’s “unequivocally, since Day 1, condemned ‘globalize the intifada'” and voted to condemn “from the river to the sea” ⁶.

The Zionism Two-Step

This is where it gets genuinely absurd. Khanna told J. Weekly in October 2025 that he supports Zionism—”self-determination for the Jewish people” and the “right for Israel to exist” ⁷. He said it’s antisemitic to oppose a Jewish state. Meanwhile, he’s co-sponsoring genocide resolutions and calling for Palestinian statehood ¹.

The Two-State Nonsense

If you still advocate for the two-state solution in 2026, please stop talking about Palestine. Your base has moved on. The two-state solution has been a coffin for Palestinian rights for decades. It’s what they wheel out when they want to sound reasonable while the settlements expand—and by the way, the IDF’s own numbers show 700,000 Jews living in settlements illegal under international law ⁸.

Khanna says he supports a two-state solution but not “Greater Israel” ⁷. What does that mean in practice? It means more negotiations, more incrementalism, more Palestinian suffering while everyone waits for a “viable state” that’s been made geographically impossible by settlement blocs.

The Politics of Convenience

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: being pro-Palestine is now politically smart for Democrats. The base has shifted. Polls show 58% of Democrats think the U.S. is “too supportive” of Israel ⁹. Khanna is eyeing a 2028 presidential run ¹⁰. Of course he’s going to climb on the backs of Palestinians to get to higher office.

TrackAIPAC endorsed him after he signed their PEACE Pledge ¹¹. Cute. But what does that actually mean? The group even admitted they only gave him a label saying “We encourage this representative to continue improving their legislative record” ¹¹. Compare that to AOC, who has a green card and a positive label. Khanna is halfway there, but he won’t take the full step.

The Bottom Line

I appreciate Khanna’s words. I appreciate that he went to the West Bank and saw the reality. But words and trips don’t mean a damn thing if you’re not willing to call for complete and actual justice for Palestinians.

That means supporting BDS. That means rejecting Zionism as a settler-colonial project. That means calling for the right of return. That means scrapping the two-state fantasy.

If you’re not there, you’re not going to stop Palestinian suffering. You’re just another politician using their pain to get a promotion. And the Palestinians have had enough of that.