What was US Senate candidate from California Steve Garvey doing in Israel?

Since the March Senate primary, when Steve Garvey managed to outmaneuver several prominent Democratic challengers and advance to the November election, the Dodgers and Padres legend has been remarkably quiet.

He has focused heavily on fundraising in an effort to match the financial prowess of his opponent, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), taking part in several television interviews and even appearing at the Congressional Baseball Game in a full Dodgers uniform.

Last month, she began posting photos and videos from a weeklong visit to Israel. On the trip, she met with families whose loved ones were killed or kidnapped in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and another 250 were taken hostage by militants.

Many remain detained in Gaza, likely in a maze of tunnels beneath its main population centres.

“You’re in a country that’s under siege and in a real war,” Garvey told The Times. “I wanted to go so I could talk about it with a deeper sense” of authority.

In California, however, Garvey's campaign strategy has at times been moderate and, at the very least, a bit different from those of previous Senate candidates.

In the spring, Garvey skipped the state Republican convention and continued to remain coy about his support for former President Trump, for whom he said he voted in 2016. Last month, Garvey said in a television interview that he did, in fact, vote for Trump in the March presidential primary instead of people like Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

According to a spokesman, Garvey will not attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Schiff leads Garvey (62% to 37%) among likely voters, according to a May poll by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Garvey launched his campaign on Oct. 10 and said the attack in Israel only deepened his desire to visit the country, where he visited a kibbutz near the Gaza border that was attacked and the site of a music festival that had been attacked, among other places. The former baseball player had little to say about Israel’s military campaign in response to the attack; the international community has roundly criticized the brutality of the Israel Defense Forces’ offensive in Gaza.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the war has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians. The ministry's tally does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Garvey said it was not his place to tell Israel how to carry out its offensive. He said that if he were a senator, he would attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress later this month.

Some Democrats have said they would boycott.

From a purely political perspective, strategists said the trip was smart because it gave Garvey much-needed attention. But, they said, Garvey’s efforts to label Schiff, who is Jewish, as a lukewarm supporter of Israel would likely fall on deaf ears. After a primary opponent, Rep. Barbara Lee, endorsed Schiff, Garvey criticized the two Democrats because the Oakland representative was one of the first to propose a permanent cease-fire, even though Lee and Schiff disagreed on this issue.

Unlike Schiff, Garvey has been unable to make clear whether he supports a two-state solution, under which Israel would recognize a Palestinian state and vice versa. Schiff has long believed in a two-state solution.

“The question always arises whether there could be a two-state solution today. No, because one of them wants to annihilate the other,” Garvey said.

Republican strategist Kevin Spillane highlighted how the American Israel Public Affairs Committee poured $5 million into an outside group supporting Schiff. The war has shaken many communities, but Spillane said voters seem more animated by issues such as the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, housing and the economy.

“Israel is a strength of both candidates,” Spillane said.

“Maybe Garvey has some research that he can criticize Schiff for, but this is not a major contrast and something like immigration would be more logical and, frankly, more resonant with California voters,” Spillane said.

During her visit, Garvey received briefings from Israel Defense Forces officials, the family of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Burbank resident Samara Weiner. Garvey’s campaign released a video of Weiner saying she had previously voted for Schiff but would now support the Republican. Weiner, who is a lawyer, also works with the Israel Softball Association trying to strengthen its team ahead of the 2028 Olympics.

“He was pandering too much to the far left of the Democratic Party,” Weiner told Fox News. “He was breeding anti-Semitism, which was leading directly to violence against Jews, my community. I didn’t see Adam Schiff voting for the guns that Israel needs to protect itself.”

Schiff has voted multiple times to increase Israel's defense funding, including this year when he supported legislation allocating more than $26 billion to Israel along with aid to Gaza. He also sponsored legislation that would give Israel an additional $2 billion for its Iron Dome defense system.

A television screen shows images of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), left, and his opponent in the U.S. Senate race, Republican candidate Steve Garvey.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

Schiff has been criticized by the left for not calling for a ceasefire and for saying Israel has a right to protect itself. He has said he broadly supports President Biden's strategy for addressing the war, which involves pressuring Israel to reduce civilian casualties, demand the release of hostages and find a diplomatic solution to end the war.

The veteran Burbank lawmaker’s campaign raised far more money than Garvey’s, and while they ended up tied in the primary, the Democrats’ huge advantage in voter registration in California gives Schiff a nearly insurmountable lead. It’s doubtful that attacking Schiff’s position on Israel would be an effective way for Garvey to close that gap.

“Following the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, I have supported providing Israel with all the necessary materiel to defend itself, end Hamas’s hold on Gaza, and secure the release of all hostages, while also seeking to protect innocent civilians and provide humanitarian assistance,” Schiff said in a prepared statement. “Unlike Mr. Garvey, I support a regional arrangement in which Saudi Arabia recognizes Israel and Israel recognizes a path to a Palestinian state. Such a two-state solution holds the promise of a lasting peace.”