Ro Khanna, a Democrat representative of California, went to the West Bank only to be detained by armed Jewish fanatics while visiting the ruins of the village of Khirbet Zanuta. According to the New York Times:
Suddenly, a car of men holding guns pulled up and blocked the narrow road out of the village. The men began taunting the congressman and his team, swearing at them in Hebrew and Arabic and kicking the tires of their minibus, according to accounts, photographs and video footage from Mr. Khanna, an aide and his security guard.
Ro Khanna recounted his experience:
“I felt powerless in that situation, which is not an easy thing, as I have a lot of privilege in life … Imagine how people feel every day, Palestinians under the occupation, if they could make an American congressperson feel powerless for 90 minutes.”
Israeli settlers, brandishing American made M4s, detained me & other Americans on my trip to Palestine.
When the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers & continued our detention.
They made a huge mistake.
You will be hearing more soon. https://t.co/rZw8bRAn64 pic.twitter.com/4z50Ye4I7K
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) July 11, 2026
Now lets observer whats happening here: its a change in the way politicians are engaging Israel. For decades the custom has been that a politician would visit Israel, bow before the Wailing Wall, meet with some diplomats, and talk about how much we must love and support Israel. The Ro Khanna story is the sudden shift from what we have become accustomed to. Khanna goes to Israel, goes to the West Bank, gets held by armed and violent Jewish fanatics, and declares:
“Israeli settlers, brandishing American-made M4s, detained me & other Americans on my trip to Palestine … When the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers & continued our detention,” he added. “They made a huge mistake. You will be hearing more soon.”
He does not recount that Israel was an amazing exemplary of democracy, nor does he speak of Israel as ‘America’s greatest ally.’ He describes being held by armed settlers, and he recounts how the how official military of Israel is siding with these fanatics. This is setting a new precedent for how American politicians are going to interact with Israel. The writing on the wall is that over 60% of Americans hold a negative view towards Israel, and this sentiment is seeping into the political landscape of America. We saw this already with Zohran Mamdani saying, in a debate panel with other Democrat nominees, that he would not visit Israel if he won the election to be mayor, and then he went on to win the election. Now we have Ro Khanna going to the West Bank and getting detained by Jewish fanatics, and he is now being praised for this. This is going to set a new precedent for politicians and we can expect more Ro Khannas to rise. The days of worshipping at the Wailing Wall are coming to an end.