In the crowded Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, former Rep. Tom Malinowski’s position on U.S. aid to Israel has ignited fierce criticism from progressive opponents, who accuse him of enabling genocide to appeal to influential voter blocs.
In a November interview with Jewish Insider, Malinowski said he would continue providing U.S. support should
Declining to label Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide, Malinowski, a former State Department official seeking a comeback after losing his seat in 2022, has publicly declared himself “as pro-Israel as I have ever been.”
His platform calls for the U.S. to act as a “counterweight” to Israel’s far-right government and to make “case-by-case judgments” on military assistance. He has acknowledged that, hypothetically, evidence of genocide could necessitate conditions on aid.
This carefully calibrated stance, aimed at a district with a sizable pro-Israel constituency, has become his greatest vulnerability.
Critics argue Malinowski’s policy framework provides a moral and political shield for ongoing violence, which also displays hypocrisy that puts him on the same page as Donald Trump.
“As the Washington director of Human Rights Watch, Tom Malinowski fought for justice in Israel-Palestine. All that changed once he got to Congress,” wrote Peter Beinart, the editor-at-large of Jewish Currents, in a story entitled How a Defender of Palestinian Rights Lost His Way. “It wasn’t the first time Representative Malinowski has proven less than sympathetic to the organization he once helped lead.”
“The Israeli government has tried to destroy Gaza and to push Palestinians out, and that qualifies as genocide,” said State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Jewish congressional candidate, who condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government over the devastation they’ve inflicted on Gaza.
“Hamas should not be running Gaza,” Wiener, a prominent gay Democrat who is running to succeed Nancy Pelosi, added, “but the Israeli government’s killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians, including children, is an absolute moral stain and horrifying to me.”
The most prominent Jew in Congress, Senator Bernie Sanders, has introduced multiple resolutions targeting Netanyahu’s government, seeking to halt U.S. arms sales and compel reports on human rights violations in Gaza.
Sanders argued that Israel’s actions, particularly the “indiscriminate bombing” and obstruction of aid, breach the Foreign Assistance Act and Arms Export Control Act, citing civilian casualties (including women and children), and other violations of international human rights standards
Sanders is bringing his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to New Jersey on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, headlining a rally for his former 2020 campaign political director, Analilia Mejia, the congressional candidate he endorsed in the February 5 special election.
“New Jersey families are working harder than ever and have less to show for it,” said Mejia, who declined to comment about Malinowski’s support for genocide.
“Malinowski’s entire career has been about accommodating power, not challenging it,” said Lisa McCormick, a progressive activist whose group Democrats for Change has endorsed Malinowski’s rival Mejia.
“He wraps continued support in the language of oversight, but the result is the same: unconditional backing for the slaughter of women and children,” said McCormick. “In the face of what the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, sees as a plausible risk of genocide, Malinowski’s position is one of complicity.”
The criticism hinges on a stark contrast with Malinowski’s past.
Before his political career, he was a leading advocate at Human Rights Watch, where he repeatedly argued for conditioning U.S. military aid to Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.
After Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International lodged apartheid accusations against Israel, Malinowski said, “words like ‘genocide’ & ‘apartheid’ go beyond criticism of Israeli gov’t policies; whatever their technical meaning, they invite rejection of the state and idea of Israel itself. With the fuel of latent anti-Semitism all around us, such words can be like sparks to a fire.”
His shift in Congress has been called a “remarkable about-face” by former colleagues.
His hypocritical defense of the genocide caught the attention of Mehdi Hasan, the most prominent Muslim U.S. cable news journalist who was openly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, whose program on MSNBC was cancelled the month after Israel initiated a massive military campaign in retaliation against Hamas.
“[I]t’s not whataboutism if you think we should be shouting about both,” said Malinowski, in response to the journalist’s social media post. “And yes, those House members have, to their credit. But “the people who protest” broadly don’t care and there is zero public pressure on the US and Europe, even though we have huge leverage with UAE.”
The campaign controversy reflects a wider Democratic schism.
Malinowski has dismissed calls from the party’s left flank to cut offensive aid or recognize Palestinian statehood as counterproductive, arguing the focus must be on a ceasefire and post-war planning.
He has also condemned campus protests that “morph into calls for an end to Israel.”
“This is about representing all constituents and pursuing a durable security outcome,” a Malinowski campaign spokesperson stated.
“Tom’s record shows a consistent commitment to both Israel’s security and the humanitarian needs of Palestinians, rejecting the false choice between them.”
The special election to replace now-Gov. Mikie Sherrill has national implications as a bellwether for Democratic alignment on Israel.
Malinowski, emphasizing his foreign policy experience, positions himself as a pragmatic check on Trump-era excesses, pointing to his support for congressional oversight of the administration’s strikes in Iran and its handling of the Venezuela operation.
Yet for voters like those in McCormick’s coalition, his Middle East posture overshadows all else.
“You cannot champion human rights while providing the diplomatic cover for human destruction,” McCormick said. “The voters see this contradiction clearly.”
The primary will test whether Malinowski’s experienced, modulated approach resonates more than the unambiguous condemnation demanded by his critics.
The winner of the February 5 special primary election will face token Republican opposition from Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway.
If Malinowski wins, he may face House Ethics Committee penalties for violations related to his stock trading, because an investigation of which was left unresolved when he lost re-election in 2022.