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Nithya Raman’s ‘genocide’ remarks rattle Jewish crowd at LA mayoral forum

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Cite

Farr, D. (2026, September 30). Nithya Raman’s ‘genocide’ remarks rattle Jewish crowd at LA mayoral forum. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/29/us-news/nithya-raman-defends-genocide-stance-rattleing-jewish-crowd/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-30 · by Daniel Farr

Quick Summary

At a mayoral forum in Los Angeles aimed at Jewish voters, Nithya Raman defended her use of the term "genocide" to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza, despite an uneasy reaction from the crowd of about 1,000 people. LAPD recorded 46 anti-Jewish hate crimes in the first five months of 2026, a 12% increase over the previous year. Raman emphasized her stance against antisemitism and noted that she was one of the first to condemn attacks on October 7. The forum featured both Raman and Mayor Karen Bass, with polls showing Raman leading in voter preferences ahead of the November runoff election.
Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

At a Jewish Los Angeles Mayoral Forum held at the Skirball Cultural Center in June 2026, Nithya Raman, a progressive City Councilwoman and mayoral candidate, defended her use of the term "genocide" to describe Israel's actions in Gaza. This sparked unease among the roughly 1,000 attendees. In contrast, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass distanced herself from Raman’s stance on both BDS and the characterization of Israeli actions as genocide. The forum highlighted the increasing sensitivity around antisemitism; LAPD recorded 46 anti-Jewish hate crimes in Los Angeles from January through May 2026, marking a significant rise compared to previous years.

Written for “Nithya Raman Controversy” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Nithya Raman Controversy
Politics · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 22 claims Outlet record 69/100
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 30 claims Outlet record 70/100
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 5 of 29 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss different events related to political discourse on Israel, but they describe distinct occurrences with different speakers and motions.”
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different events: one focuses on Nithya Raman's remarks at a mayoral forum, while the other covers Connie Chan's stance on Israel during a congressional debate.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A describes Nithya Raman's remarks at a specific mayoral forum, while Article B discusses the broader narrative and propaganda around calling Israel’s actions in Gaza 'genocide'.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 4 of 87 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different incidents, one about a mayoral candidate's remarks at a forum and the other about a celebration in Gaza following an attack.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15921 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Daniel Farr
105 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 California Democrats, meanwhile, say the money will help fuel their election efforts, including a campaign against a Trump-backed ballot measure.
🔮 Her conviction followed a six-day jury trial that ended in May 2026.
🔮 The probe escalates the administration’s battle to stop California from counting ballots tied to people federal officials believe may be ineligible to vote, with US Attorney Bill Essayli warning that disputed ballots could disappear into the final tally.
🔮 California’s billionaire tax is looking like a long shot, with prediction-market traders betting the controversial measure will go down in flames as voters prepare to decide 14 statewide propositions next week.
🔮 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass rolled out relief for residents struggling with utility bills, while her challenger, Nithya Raman, pressed for an audit of the city’s power and water department. Sign up for the California Morning Report newsletter The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now. Thanks for signing up!
🔮 The website says the checks were written before York’s arrest and that recipients have not said whether they will return them.
🔮 Los Angeles’ mayoral race has turned into a multimillion-dollar mudslinging match, with deep-pocketed unions, wealthy donors and police groups flooding the airwaves with ads ahead of Election Day.
🔮 The investigation followed a warning from forecasters Wednesday that a brief tornado was a remote possibility as a storm system moved toward Southern California.
🔮 Los Angeles’ left-leaning City Council wants to explore launching a government-run bank despite the city facing a projected $100 million budget gap — drawing a blistering rebuke from one councilmember who questioned whether City Hall can handle its own finances.
🔮 Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman was left scrambling when asked to name a police chief she admires — an awkward moment for the councilwoman already facing blowback over her praise of controversial former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates.
Also by Daniel Farr
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 105 articles by Daniel Farr →

Topics

California Gaza Israel Jewish Los Angeles

Subjects

Raman PERSON · 9× Los Angeles GPE · 4× Bass PERSON · 3× California GPE · 1× Gaza GPE · 1× Israel GPE · 1× Jewish NORP · 1× LAPD ORG · 1× Nithya Raman PERSON · 1× anti-Jewish NORP · 1×

Narrative

The Los Angeles City Councilwoman defended her decision to call Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide” at the 2026 Jewish Los Angeles Mayoral Forum, prompting an uneasy reaction from parts of the roughly 1,000-person crowd at the Skirball Cultural Center. “The word genocide is a deeply painful word.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30
🔮 Nithya Raman walked straight into one of the most explosive issues of her mayoral campaign Tuesday night.

Claims (25 extracted, 1 hedged)

Nithya Raman walked straight into one of the most explosive issues of her mayoral campaign Tuesday night. asserted
Raman → walk → campaign
The Los Angeles City Councilwoman defended her decision to call Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide” at the 2026 Jewish Los Angeles Mayoral Forum, prompting an uneasy reaction from parts of the roughly 1,000-person crowd at the Skirball Cultural Center. “The word genocide is a deeply painful word. asserted
Councilwoman → defend → Center
I understand its historical context and the weight of that historical context for the world, not just this for the room but for the world,” Raman said. asserted
Raman → understand → world
I used it 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.” asserted
that → use → children
The issue carried particular weight at a forum aimed squarely at Jewish voters, especially as Los Angeles continues to deal with rising anti-Jewish hate. asserted
Angeles → carry → hate
LAPD recorded 46 anti-Jewish hate crimes from Jan. 1 through May 31, 2026, putting the city on a pace roughly 12% above the previous year. uncertain
LAPD → record → year
Raman sought to draw a line between her views on Gaza and antisemitism. asserted
Raman → seek → Gaza
“I know that antisemitism is rising across the entire country and in this city,” she said. asserted
she → know → city
“I believe it is coming from every side of the political spectrum, right and left.” asserted
it → believe → spectrum
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters “I never want progressive politics to be conflated with antisemitism.” asserted
politics → download → antisemitism
She also pointed to her response following the Oct. 7 attacks. asserted
She → point → attacks
“I was the first in City Hall to condemn the attacks. asserted
I → condemn → attacks
I condemn them without reservation and I will speak up.” asserted
I → condemn → reservation
The forum put Raman and Mayor Karen Bass under a bright political spotlight with just weeks before the Nov. 3 runoff. asserted
forum → put → runoff
They appeared separately in conversations with Spectrum News anchor Alex Cohen, answering the same core questions and taking questions from selected audience members. asserted
They → appear → members
The gathering was hosted by Jewish Federation Los Angeles, the Skirball Cultural Center, ADL Los Angeles, Jewish Family Service LA and AJC Los Angeles, along with 45 community partners. asserted
gathering → host → partners
Rabbi Noah Farkas and Skirball CEO Jessie Kornberg opened the event. asserted
Farkas → open → event
She won 34% in the June 2 primary, compared with 29% for Raman, becoming the first sitting LA mayor since 2005 forced into a runoff. asserted
She → win → runoff
A Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times poll showed Raman ahead 39% to 28%, with 33% undecided. asserted
% → show → ?
Raman led younger voters, while Bass had stronger support among voters 65 and older. asserted
Bass → lead → voters
The same poll showed Bass with a 28% favorable rating and 63% unfavorable. asserted
poll → show → rating
Raman registered 40% favorable and 39% unfavorable. asserted
Raman → register → ?
Both campaigns have raised about $2.5 million. asserted
campaigns → raise → million
Outside groups spent millions more, including the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which spent money against Raman. asserted
which → spend → Raman
Raman also pointed to the appetite for change behind the race, saying voters who backed Spencer Pratt reflected “the desire for change in Los Angeles.” asserted
who → point → Angeles
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