LOS ANGELES — Nithya Raman walked into a Jewish community mayoral forum Tuesday night and got torn apart over the same two words she has spent her campaign trying to explain away: "genocide" and "Hasan Piker."
Raman, the Democratic Socialists of America-backed Los Angeles City Councilwoman challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the Nov. 3 election, appeared before hundreds of attendees at the 2026 Jewish Los Angeles Mayoral Forum alongside Bass. The event, hosted by several Jewish organizations, was billed around antisemitism, public safety, homelessness and Israel. For Raman, it became a cross-examination, according to Fox News and The Times of Israel.
'Meet People Where They're At'
The moderator noted that many in the audience viewed Raman's appearance on streamer Hasan Piker's program as "deeply hurtful," citing Piker's past remarks about Jews and his praise for groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda. Asked why she went on and whether voters might read it as an endorsement of his views, Raman said she has consistently spoken out against antisemitism but insisted candidates must "meet people where they're at" — a rationale that drew immediate return fire.
"Nithya Raman's remarks should alarm every Jewish voter in Los Angeles," StopAntisemitism founder and executive director Liora Rez told Fox News Digital, arguing that "'meeting people where they're at' is not a defense" for going on Piker's show.
Raman's explanation tracks the one Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has offered when defending his own appearances with Piker — that candidates should engage audiences on the platforms where voters already are. The audience at Tuesday's forum did not appear to share that reasoning.
Pressed on the Word She Keeps Using
The moderator then moved to Raman's repeated description of Israel's actions in Gaza as "genocide.
That answer — refusing to define the accusation she has leveled and outsourcing the definition to unnamed experts — landed as what critics on social media quickly branded a "DSA jihadi" performance from a candidate now leading in some Los Angeles polls. The label spread across conservative accounts within hours of the forum.
Bass also took questions on Israel, antisemitism and public safety. The Center Square's coverage of the debate noted the two candidates clashed over both international and local issues as the race tightens. Raman has separately vowed to do more to reverse a slump in Hollywood, per reporting on her campaign.
BDS and the November Ballot
Raman has also backed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a position she did not walk back Tuesday night when pressed on Israel. BDS supporters characterize the campaign as a nonviolent pressure tactic against Israeli policy; its opponents, including major Jewish organizations, describe it as an effort to delegitimize Israel's existence. Raman has not repudiated the movement.
The forum was one of the last major opportunities for both candidates to face Los Angeles's Jewish voters before early ballots go out. How those voters break is an open question — Los Angeles's Jewish community is large, organized, and, on the evidence of Tuesday night, furious at one candidate in particular.
Our Take
Here is the thing about "meet people where they're at": it is a slogan that works fine for a city council race in Silver Lake. It does not survive a mayoral forum where the person you went to meet is a streamer with a documented soft spot for Hamas, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda, and where the audience knows exactly who he is.
Raman has spent months trying to have this both ways. She wants credit for condemning antisemitism on one hand while keeping the DSA coalition that funds her campaigns on the other — a base for which calling Israel's Gaza campaign "genocide" is not a slip of the tongue but a litmus test. Tuesday night was the bill for that arrangement coming due. You cannot tell an auditorium packed with Jewish Angelenos that you're not an expert on genocide when you've been using the word as a campaign talking point for a year.
And note what she did when the moment came: she didn't own it, defend it or walk it back. She hid behind "other experts." That's not leadership. That's a candidate who knows exactly what her base wants to hear and exactly what the audience in front of her doesn't.
November 3 is the answer to all of this. LA voters get to decide whether a DSA candidate who platforms Piker and won't define the word "genocide" gets the keys to the second-largest city in America.
Patriots, this is a local election with national stakes. Los Angeles isn't a left-wing fever dream, it's a real city with real voters — including a Jewish community that just got a front-row seat to what Raman actually believes. If you live in LA, vote. If you've left, call someone who still lives there. This one matters.
