Baltimore Jewish leaders criticize Moore over Netanyahu war crimes remarks

Baltimore Jewish leaders pushed back after Gov. Wes Moore said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had committed war crimes and needed to be accountable. The backlash inside Baltimore’s Jewish community was sharp enough that both The Jewish Times and The Jewish Exponent ran editorials headlined “Wes Moore’s Reckless Remarks.”

In the interview, Moore said, “Denying food to people and using it as a cudgel is a war crime,” then added, “I think absolutely he’s committed war crimes and I think absolutely he needs to be accountable.” The comments came as the war in Gaza remained tied to intense international legal scrutiny, and WBFF Fox Baltimore’s gallery caption noted that the International Criminal Court had issued a warrant for Netanyahu, accusing him of being a war criminal.

The criticism did not stay at the level of opinion pages. Baltimore Jewish Council materials also drew attention, signaling an organized local response from a major Baltimore Jewish institution as the remarks spread through the city’s civic and religious circles. For many Jewish Marylanders, the issue was not only Moore’s view of Netanyahu, but the tone of the accusation coming from a governor who has repeatedly spoken about antisemitism and Jewish safety in the state.

Moore has also publicly emphasized solidarity with Maryland’s Jewish community and denounced rising Jewish hate incidents in the state. He later appeared at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington’s “Stand with Israel” rally, a record of outreach that helps explain why his comments landed so hard in Baltimore. That contrast now leaves Moore navigating criticism from a constituency that has watched him speak out on Jewish concerns even as it recoils at how he described Netanyahu and the conduct of the war.