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Israel was the subtext of a fiery debate between 6th Congressional District candidates Rep. Kevin Kiley and Dr. Richard Pan on Monday night, an hour-long event hosted by The Bee that saw Kiley try multiple times to bait Pan into answering a controversial question:
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Has Israel committed genocide against Palestinians?
Pan wouldn’t allow himself to be cornered into answering yes or no, a sign of the outsized role that Israel plays in American politics.
Would the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, suddenly flood the Pan-Kiley race with pro-Israel money if Pan had followed the lead of an increasing number of Democrats and answered “yes” to the genocide question?
It’s happening just down the road from Sacramento in California’s 14th Congressional District, where Aisha Wahab, progressive Democrat running to succeed disgraced gubernatorial hopeful Eric Swalwell, has characterized as genocide Israel’s military aggression and, she opposes unconditional financial support to Israel.
In response, AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups have been generously funding Wahab’s opponent, Melissa Hernandez, president of the Bay Area Rapid Transit board. Hernandez has received more than $5 million from various pro-Israel groups, and counting.
This kind of money is enough to change the outcome of an election. By AIPAC’s own count, its money has defeated nine Congressional candidates since 2024.
To Kiley’s question about Israel’s existence, Pan’s answer was clear. “I’ve always said Israel has a right to exist and has a right to defend itself,” Pan said.
“Perfect,” Kiley replied.
‘Just answer the question’
Later in the debate, Kiley quickly rejected the notion of genocide perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians. Pan, on the other hand, did not say. Instead, he focused his criticism on the Trump administration. “We don’t have credible leadership from the United States,” he said.
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“Just answer the question,” Kiley said about genocide. “What’s the answer?”
“What I said is that we have a terrorist attack on the civilians in Israel, and we have a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and that we should seek peace in the Middle East,” Pan replied. That was his answer. And despite a second prodding by Kiley, Pan was sticking to it.
Kiley, a former Republican from Rocklin now running as a No Party Preference candidate, finds himself in a fight for his political life ever since a nationwide gerrymandering wave triggered by Trump prompted California voters to do the same in 2024 by approving Proposition 50 in 2024. Kiley is running in a reconfigured 6th District that includes his hometown, greater Natomas and parts of West Sacramento.
Democrats drew this district to be favorable to a party candidate. In the debate, Kiley attempted to portray Pan as the lone extremist on the stage, giving a flavor of the fall campaign ahead.
Pro-Israel money, particularly funnelled through independent committees, generally attacks the weaknesses of the opponent. Kiley not only attacked Pan on Israel, but for being a former Democrat in the Legislature whose votes made California a more expensive place to live.
Overall, Monday’s debate reinforced how Kiley is the gifted politician, while Pan remains a learned, recovering physician. Pan is new to much of this district. For the Democrat, despite the gerrymandering, this is no walk in the park.
Pan’s word salad on genocide may cause some eye-rolling. He won’t be getting holiday cards from the party faithful who find the aggression tantamount to the extermination of human beings. Pan would be content simply with winning the votes of people who believe Israel is committing genocide.
The good doctor is happy to pick a fight with Kevin Kiley on any stage. Israel, not so much. And there are millions of reasons why.
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