By Stephen Witt, Los Angeles County Politics
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman (D-Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Hollywood Hills, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Studio City) split sharply on Israel Tuesday night at the 2026 Jewish Los Angeles Mayoral Forum.
Raman stood by her view that the war in Gaza is a genocide, and Bass rejected the term outright.
The two also parted ways on the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. Raman called BDS a legitimate form of peaceful protest but said it plays no role in her campaign. Bass said she would oppose any effort to divest city funds from companies doing business with Israel.
About 1,000 people packed the Skirball Cultural Center for the forum, where Spectrum News anchor Alex Cohen interviewed each candidate separately.
“And I used it [genocide] because other experts have used it to describe what’s happening, and I used it because I felt compelled to speak out about issues that we saw, the images that are coming, the targeting of hospitals, the deaths of children,” said Raman.
Bass said her focus on foreign conflicts is how they affect Los Angeles. She said she does not consider the war a genocide, then pointed to growing up alongside Jewish classmates at Hamilton High School whose parents and grandparents survived the Holocaust.
David Englin, senior regional director of ADL [Anti-Defamation League] Los Angeles, told LACP after the forum that the genocide split was plain to him. The BDS exchange was not. Englin stressed that ADL is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and does not support or oppose candidates, but said he came away clear on Bass’s position and unsure of Raman’s.
“I walked away from that exchange unclear on her position on BDS,” said Englin.
Englin, a former Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Air Force veteran, and past president of the Los Angeles County Business Federation, took over ADL’s Los Angeles office in October 2025.
Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of Jewish Federation Los Angeles, called the forum a win for democracy and said the Jewish community does not support BDS when it targets Israel. He declined to grade either candidate, saying both had moments of clarity and moments where they struggled.
“From a personal perspective, I think definitive answers are better answers, no matter what that answer is,” said Farkas.
Farkas also said Tuesday that calling the war a genocide crosses a red line for elected officials, but that the Federation will work with whoever wins, according to the Forward.
Raman fielded the BDS question from an AJC Los Angeles board member, who asked where she differs from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the group she belongs to. She defended BDS as protected speech, cited fiduciary limits on what a mayor can do with city pension funds, and said DSA has criticized her on policing and market-rate housing.
“But this issue is not part of my policy platform. It’s not part of my focus on the municipality,” said Raman.
Bass took the same question later in the evening and answered in one line.
“I would oppose that,” said Bass.
Cohen also pressed Raman on her May appearance with streamer Hasan Piker, whom critics have accused of antisemitism. Raman said she pushed back on him during the interview and that candidates must reach voters where they are. Asked whether she would appear with a streamer known for hateful remarks about Muslims, Christians or Indian Americans, she said she would.
“I would hope so. I think I would evaluate each of these requests on a case-by-case basis,” said Raman.
Raman clashed with Cohen again on homelessness. Pressed to name how long a person should be allowed to refuse shelter before enforcement, she declined to give a number and said no legal pathway exists to force someone indoors.
“I operate in reality. I don’t operate in a hypothetical situation,” said Raman.
Bass said LAPD’s staffing of roughly two officers per 1,000 residents is not enough, and credited herself with clearing hiring bottlenecks in the city’s personnel department. On the Palisades fire, she called her absence from the city one of the worst moments of her life.
Both candidates pledged to carry out the Safe Worship Zone Act, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Sept. 25. The law bars anyone within 100 feet of a house of worship’s entrance from approaching a person within 8 feet without consent.
Bass said she will convene her Jewish Community Safety Working Group within two to three weeks to plan enforcement with LAPD. Raman said she would add trained LAPD staff for religious-community safety in every bureau and division.
Jewish Federation Los Angeles, the Skirball, ADL Los Angeles, Jewish Family Service LA and AJC Los Angeles co-hosted the forum with 45 community partners.
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk begins mailing ballots to all registered voters Oct. 1 ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Drop boxes open the same day, and Vote Centers open Oct. 24. Voters can find more information at LAVOTE.GOV.
