Bass and Raman Put Jewish Safety, Gaza and BDS on the Record Before the Runoff

With mail ballots arriving and the November 3 runoff for mayor of Los Angeles approaching, both candidates came before the Jewish community on Tuesday night, September 29, at the Skirball Cultural Center. Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman answered questions on Israel, antisemitism and the safety of Jewish Angelenos.

The 2026 Jewish Los Angeles Mayoral Forum was organized by Jewish Federation Los Angeles together with the Skirball, in partnership with the local offices of AJC, ADL and Jewish Family Service, according to LAist. The candidates did not debate each other. Each sat for a separate 45-minute conversation with Spectrum News host Alex Cohen, with Raman going first. JTA reported that about 1,000 people attended and that the event was also livestreamed.

The forum came as Raman, who represents Council District 4, led Bass 39% to 28% in the most recent UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and Los Angeles Times poll of likely voters, with 33% undecided, as reported by FOX 11.

Where they split: Gaza and BDS

The sharpest differences of the night came on Israel.

Raman was asked about her past description of Israel's conduct in Gaza as genocide and about her appearance on the show of streamer Hasan Piker. According to JTA, she said she understood the historical weight the word carries, especially for Jewish listeners, and that she had used it because experts, including Israeli scholars, had applied it. Asked to define the term, she said she was not an expert on those issues. Israel rejects the genocide charge and denies deliberately targeting hospitals, JTA noted. On Piker, Raman said candidates need to reach voters where they are, pointing to his young Los Angeles audience.

Asked about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, Raman described BDS as a legitimate form of peaceful protest and cited the First Amendment, JTA reported.

Bass, asked directly whether the term genocide applies, said she does not believe it does. When asked what she would do if a sanctions policy against Israel came before the City Council, Bass said "the pencil would hit," which JTA described as an apparent reference to a veto. She added that on foreign conflicts, her focus as mayor is their effect on Los Angeles, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Voters leaving the Skirball told FOX 11 that the genocide question and BDS were what stood out. Their reactions split. One undecided voter said he was now leaning toward Bass. Another attendee told the station she was shocked that the mayor denied it was a genocide.

On Jewish safety, closer ground

On antisemitism and communal security, the two candidates sounded more alike, NBC Los Angeles reported. Both spoke about strengthening the Los Angeles Police Department and how officers are deployed.

Bass told the audience the city does not have enough police officers and called public safety her top issue, according to JTA. She said her administration has pursued LAPD recruitment while expanding alternative responses for calls that do not need armed officers. She also said her office had already called for increased patrols and security around Jewish holidays and community events.

Asked how she would carry out California's new Safe Worship Zone Act, which sets limits on protest activity near houses of worship, Bass said she would convene the city's working group on Jewish community safety and its interfaith council, then work with LAPD on implementation, JTA reported.

Raman condemned the rise in antisemitism, including in her own district, and said it comes from across the political spectrum. She said she was the first person at City Hall to condemn the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, and that she wants Jewish and Israeli-American residents to feel safe in Los Angeles. As a progressive, she said, she never wants progressive politics to be confused with antisemitism.

Both candidates also spent much of their time on housing, homelessness and disaster response.

Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of Jewish Federation Los Angeles, said afterward that the forum gave attendees a clearer picture of where the candidates stand and would help them choose on November 3, JTA reported.

Sources

• At LA mayoral forum, candidates weigh in on Israeli genocide charges and antisemitism, JTA via J., September 30, 2026

• Bass, Raman address Jewish Angelenos at mayoral forum, NBC Los Angeles

• LA mayoral candidates clash over use of 'genocide' term, Gaza, antisemitism at forum, FOX 11 Los Angeles

• Bass, Raman to appear at LA mayoral forum hosted by Jewish groups, LAist