House member Ro Khanna (D-CA) makes believe he’s presidential material, but instead looks increasingly qualified as a political clown. His act is so full of cheap tricks, we’re no longer surprised when he stumbles and embarrasses himself.

That’s what happened last week in Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”), where Khanna orchestrated what he hoped would be a scandal of sloppy Israeli overreach. Instead, the blunder was his, since his antics exposed him as a dishonest amateur attempting to embarrass Israeli authorities, who actually kept their cool.

The Congressman falsely alleged that he and his entourage were “detained” by armed Israeli settlers and IDF soldiers. Sounds ominous. In fact, his group was not “detained,” but were temporarily prevented from proceeding into a militarily sensitive area. Though Khanna failed to follow standard practice of coordinating his journey with the U.S. embassy and the Israeli government, Israeli authorities ultimately enabled his group to continue their trip without hindrance.

Nonetheless, legacy media outlets ran with Khanna’s narrative, giving it front page coverage with headlines such as CBS’s “Congressman Ro Khanna says he was detained by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.”

Khanna’s failed sideshow in Judea and Samaria followed his high-profile embarrassment at having enthusiastically supported the Maine Senate candidacy of Nazi-sympathizing antisemite Graham Platner. Platner ignominiously dropped out of his Senate race because of a credible accusation of rape, among other sexual misconduct charges.

Khanna’s misadventure in the disputed territories was clearly meant to distract from his Platner disgrace, but instead revealed a decidedly evil side to his shabby bravado. If Khanna’s latest act were just one more slanderous attack on the Jewish people—already the world’s greatest target for hate crimes—we might laugh. But we don’t.

Khanna’s “Epstein class” dog-whistle and Israel slanders. As Commentary-columnist Seth Mandel has noted, Khanna popularized the dog-whistle-term “Epstein class,” which is now “the internet’s new favorite way to imply that all Jews are degenerate child molesters.” In March, for example, Khanna posted on X, “The Epstein class thinks it runs America. They treat the rest of us as dispensable. We need to stand up against wars of choice & elite impunity.”

Khanna has also maligned Israel with his claim that “I agree with the UN commission’s heartbreaking finding that there is a genocide in Gaza. What matters is what we do about it — stop military sales that are being used to kill civilians.” Two facts undermine Khanna’s slander: First, the report that alleged genocide was authored by the UN Human Rights Council, indisputably the most notorious anti-Israel UN body, which issues lies about Israel literally every month. Second, neither the International Criminal Court nor the International Court of Justice has found sufficient evidence to support the accusation of Israeli genocide in Gaza.  In addition, the Congressman has underwritten anti-Israel candidates, most notably Graham Platner. Even after Platner’s sex scandals emerged, Khanna defended him, only withdrawing his support three days after Platner suspended his Senate campaign.

Nevertheless, the damage to Khanna’s reputation was already done. Needing a distraction from the Platner scandal, he arranged a trip to Judea and Samaria, obviously hoping to embarrass Israel and garner the support of far-left, Israel-hating Democrats. Instead, he humiliated himself.

Khanna’s clown show in Judea and Samaria. Khanna refused to coordinate his trip with the Israeli government or the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, as is customary when American officials travel in Israeli-controlled territory. His guide was none other than Nadav Weiman, head of the anti-Zionist group, Breaking the Silence, which frequently publishes unverified allegations against the IDF.

After his trip, Khanna sent a fundraising email, which said “If this can happen to an American member of Congress, imagine what life is like for Palestinians.” It’s true, perhaps, that Palestinians trying to tour restricted areas under IDF control may encounter delays in their trips, but what of that? In short, Khanna’s trip to Judea and Samaria was a cheap provocation to promote himself—which backfired.

Mainstream media supported Khanna’s bogus story. Khanna alleged that he and his entourage were violently detained by armed Israeli settlers, whom he described as “hoodlums.” But they were not detained. They were simply blocked from proceeding by Israeli members of a force mandated to monitor events in what the group’s guide surely knew was a militarily sensitive area. Khanna and company could have turned around and left whenever they wanted to, but they chose to remain. Furthermore, footage from the bodycams worn by Israeli officers who arrived on the scene confirmed they committed no violence whatsoever against Khanna’s party.

Eventually, Israeli police unblocked the road and Khanna and his group were allowed to proceed. In short, the Israelis didn’t give Khanna the show he wanted. The Congressman was left with no true evidence of Israeli provocation to report, so he fabricated some and sold it to legacy media, who promptly published it.

In just days, headlines like CNN’s “Democratic Rep. Khanna says Israeli settlers and IDF soldiers blockaded him in West Bank for over an hour” were published. But still, Khanna’s efforts to tarnish Israel’s reputation were not enough for far-left Democrats.

Khanna not radical enough for terror-supporting far-left. Indeed, the Congressman received heavy criticism from the anti-Israel left following an interview with Drop Site News in which he refused to substantiate that Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel was “legitimate resistance,” despite persistent prodding by interviewer Jeremy Scahill, who argued that Khanna justified Israelis killing Palestinians, but not vice-versa. In essence, Khanna found out that all his anti-Israel rhetoric and appeasement stunts aren’t enough to please the far-left, who demand no less than a total commitment to terrorist bloodshed.

Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that despite Khanna’s desperate, fumbling anti-Israelism, he’s not good enough for either wing of his party—not the growing cadre of radical progressives—some 103 of whom just voted against funding security for our greatest ally Israel, nor the moderate majority, exemplified by Senator John Fetterman, who has just threatened to leave the Democratic Party if it becomes too anti-Israel. Which leaves Khanna to swing in the breeze.

If you agree we need to spread this truth, please use your email browser to forward this Hotline issue to fellow lovers of Israel—and encourage them to join us by subscribing to the Hotline at no charge.

Best regards,
James Sinkinson, President
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)

P.S.      As you know, we at FLAME are constantly fighting to defeat our enemies’ slanders against Israel. But I hope you agree that it’s just as important for us lovers of Israel to spread the word about the amazing triumphs of Zionism. I believe that in addition to defending Israel from media and politicians’ lies, we need also to help the world understand Israel’s righteous cause and its power for good—we need as well to trumpet Israel’s miraculous achievements. God knows, Americans will never learn about Israel’s good deeds in mainstream media, like the New York Times, CNN or NPR! I believe we need to stand tall because of who the Jewish people are . . . be proud of what Israel does for the world. For this reason, I hope you’ll approve of FLAME’s new hasbarah—our explanatory message called “How Zionism’s Miracle Benefits Us All.” With your agreement and support, FLAME will soon begin running this message as a paid editorial ad in major mainstream newspapers nationwide. This ad tells the truth about Zionism’s unmatched power to create economic prosperity, global security, world health and democratic freedoms. It also explains why the enemies of Zionism are not just foes of Israel, they are also the enemies of human progress. Please review this convincing, fact-based editorial, which FLAME is about to publish to millions—in leading social media, as well as in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronicle, Denver Post and Los Angeles Times. This piece will also be sent to all members of Congress, the President and Vice President. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel’s behalf is critical, I urge you to support us with a donation.