We're not sure why Ro Khanna -- who, last we checked, was a United States Congressman for California -- decided that now would be a great time to visit the West Bank in Israel (or, as he calls it, 'Palestine'), but maybe it had something to do with him fleeing for his political life away from all of his fervent support of the disgraced Graham Platner.
Or maybe Khanna thought he could use the trip to launch a Presidential campaign by staging a detention stunt worthy of Weather Potato-turned-Palestine Potato, Greta Thunberg.
The latter seemed to be the case as Khanna today hilariously tried to act tough by telling Israelis that they messed with the wrong guy (LOL). And wouldn't you know it, his tale of detention was accompanied by a convenient breaking news story from The New York Times.
Israeli settlers, brandishing American made M4s, detained me & other Americans on my trip to Palestine.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) July 11, 2026
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
If Khanna's tale reeks of a staged propaganda stunt to you, congratulations on having a properly working nose.
Reading the firewall-protected companion piece from the NYT, it is clear that Khanna WANTED to be detained. Right from the opening, the article mentions Khanna as a presidential hopeful, which is almost as funny as The Bulwark touting Platner for the same office.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Khanna, the congressman from Silicon Valley who is exploring a 2028 presidential run, was visiting the ruins of Khirbet Zanuta, a tiny Palestinian Bedouin village in the southern West Bank that was abandoned after escalating attacks from settlers and then demolished.
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. A photographer for The New York Times traveling in a different vehicle also saw the interaction. Soon, a Jeep with more men arrived.
When two cars from the Israeli military pulled up, Mr. Khanna assumed the soldiers were there to help him pass. Instead, the soldiers smoked cigarettes, chatted with the men and after the settlers left, moved a car to block the road, he recounted.
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Well, would you look at that. Just by coincidence, we're sure, Khanna had a NYT photographer with him.
Strangely, however, neither the article nor Khanna's social media feed includes any videos or photos of the Israelis taunting him, swearing at him, or kicking his vehicle.
We won't hold our breath waiting for those.
'I felt powerless in that situation, which is not an easy thing, as I have a lot of privilege in life,' said Mr. Khanna, who was eventually allowed to continue his journey after calls to the U.S. embassy and Israeli police. 'Imagine how people feel every day, Palestinians under the occupation, if they could make an American congressperson feel powerless for 90 minutes.'
Oh, this is just too funny.
The rest of the article reads like a press release for Khanna, touting his qualifications for President, after he bravely overcame his feeling of 'helplessness.'
Maybe his courage can be attributed to the fact that his account of the situation doesn't hold up to ANY scrutiny.
Congrats on your theater production.
— Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) July 11, 2026
Ro Khanna, the newest Pallywood Star.
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) July 11, 2026
Sounds like there’s more to the story..
— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) July 11, 2026
Of course, there is.
Not that the 'journalists' at The New York Times could be bothered with any of that.
You waited at a bus stop for 15 minutes.
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) July 11, 2026
People wait longer for a Starbucks coffee. https://t.co/TeMeruPJUd
This is what Democrat politicians do instead of working to make life better for their constituents.
— Sensurround (@ShamashAran) July 11, 2026
I'm going to guess nobody knew Ro Khanna was there, and had he go through diplomatic channels he'd have been just fine. https://t.co/t23xxWFies
Who are you in Israel? Nobody.
— Shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) July 11, 2026
Was this a formal CoDel? Did you have Israeli Govt or military with you?
If the answers are all know, then you got what you deserved. https://t.co/wl6XGIcpsr
There is no indication from Khanna or the accompanying press release ... err, NYT report ... indicating that he properly informed Israeli authorities, or anyone, of his visit.
And he's surprised when the Jewish people living in the area (NOT 'settlers,' by the way) were a little suspicious of an unmarked minibus with unknown people inside it?
He may want to forget October 7, but the Jews have not.
Way to tell only half the story. You don't mention whether the area in Judea and Samaria was under military restrictions, whether it was a closed military zone, or whether the visit had been coordinated with Israeli authorities as is often required in an active conflict area. We… pic.twitter.com/f1Vt2MFt51
— MOT (@nachal_giyus86) July 11, 2026
In fact, it seems as though Khanna deliberately took his bus to an area where he knew there would be armed Jews.
You were detained in a private road in the Hebron Hills because you knew exactly where to go to find the hotheads with guns. You were not captured. pic.twitter.com/rACn0OJrAX
— Ohio Rob (@TheOhioRob) July 11, 2026
These last two posts were in response to vehemently antisemitic Khanna supporter Cameron Kasky, who is like an even dumber version of David Hogg. He was also on the trip.
Notice how he and Khanna include an identical detail in their accounts.
Ro and I visited the destroyed village of Zanuta and the site of an EU-funded school that got burned down by settlers.
— Cameron Kasky (@camkasky) July 11, 2026
It was here that we got intercepted and captured by settlers wielding American-made rifles. The IDF showed up to back up the settlers, not the U.S. congressman. pic.twitter.com/4ZWssgB2p5
'American-made rifles.'
That is not an accident. That is deliberate and coordinated.
Unfortunately, it is yet another detail of the story that appears to be patently false.
When one willingly drives into a combat zone, one willingly takes on the risks of such venture.
— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) July 11, 2026
No one with an IQ over 100 is buying your feeble theatrics, Ro.
Also: pic.twitter.com/qOp2U5FPwS
Oh. So, not American-made at all.
We're shocked -- SHOCKED! -- that Khanna and Kasky (which sounds like an awful Vaudeville duo) would lie about such an easily disprovable point.
https://t.co/3ZWGxOvhyl pic.twitter.com/oDkSaCCHWy
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) July 11, 2026
No, but their credibility did.
Again.
Through all of this, neither Khanna, Kasky, nor The New York Times bothered to wonder why Israelis in the West Bank might want to arm themselves.
— Edu (@EduMontesin) July 11, 2026
Cry more. You are an outspoken supporter of the people trying to genocide them.
— Jim (@Ifitsthisname) July 11, 2026
You were stopped at a checkpoint like everyone else. They called the cops on you, and you were rightfully detained by their standards.
— Franky Bobo (@moonraker_yes) July 11, 2026
Then you were released, not raped or tortured, you were offered water and food, and were not even handcuffed.
They just do not whan your grift…
Even the part when Khanna said that the Israeli police didn't help seems to be total fiction, as they were the ones who helped Khanna establish his bona fides with authorities.
Finally, many people had questions about what Khanna was doing halfway across the world in the first place.
What are you doing in “palestine” on the US taxpayer dime?
— Margot Elaine 👰🏻♀️ #graftedin (@DoNotCastPearls) July 11, 2026
He couldn't have been in 'Palestine' because it doesn't exist. But even leaving that aside, it appears that the area he purposefully visited isn't even inhabited by Palestinians, but Jews and Bedouins.
Why are you wasting time and taxpayer money with this performative nonsense when your state of California is in utter disarray?
— V (@V35000) July 11, 2026
How does this help lower costs for working class families in CA?
— Apple Lamps (@lamps_apple) July 11, 2026
None of it does.
There is only one purpose that Khanna's stunt served: himself.
You are happy this happened. In fact you came to Israel for the sole purpose of making Israel look bad. You purposely created a scene for the perfect clip to use for your campaign fundraising.
— May Mintz (@mintz_may) July 11, 2026
We see you. 👀👀🤡🤡
YOU are a US congressman. You represent a district in California. How, may I ask, does this help your district?
— Obitodd (@ObiToddForever) July 11, 2026
Conclusion: performative nonsense which you hope to use for a Presidential run. What a disgraceful display of desperation.
The fact that the NYT article was already written before Khanna even bothered to tweet about his 'horrible ordeal' says it all.
Of course, he got what he wanted. All of the worst antisemites on social media have been amplifying his fake story, from Hasan Piker to Cenk Uygur to Glenn Greenwald.
We would include some of their takes here, but then we would have to ask our readers to delouse afterwards, which takes a lot of time. If anyone is interested, you can view their abhorrent reactions in the quote tweets of Khanna's original post.
But since Khanna or anyone else assisting his obvious agitprop couldn't come up with any images of the Congressman being harassed or mistreated, we found an image that sums up his trip overseas perfectly.
— TimOnPoint (@TimOnPoint) July 11, 2026
Nice try, Ro Khanna. But you've been ridiculously dishonest for far too long for anyone (who doesn't already hate the Jews) to fall for your latest theatrics.
But hey. Good luck with that presidential campaign you just launched in the most repugnant way possible.
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