Kat Abughazaleh is 26 years old, has personally faced the wrath of the world’s richest person, and is up against two career politicians in a congressional district that has not been competitive since 1998—a year before Abughazaleh was born. But that hasn’t stopped the social media influencer-turned-aspiring politician from running for Illinois’s 9th Congressional District.
Abughazaleh gained initial stardom for her videos debunking falsehoods touted by then-Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson as part of her editorial position at Media Matters for America, a left-leaning journalism watchdog. But her criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza (Abughazaleh, herself, is of Palestinian descent), her unorthodox campaign strategy (she asked for period product donations rather than an entrance fee at her launch party), and her call for better Democratic Party leadership (“What if we didn’t suck?”) have raised her political profile.
Abughazaleh champions progressive policies in her detailed platform, from protecting LGBTQ+ and women’s rights to combating gun violence and climate change; her campaign manager repeatedly reminded Foreign Policy that her issues page is more than double the length of those of Illinois state Sen. Laura Fine and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, the other two front-runners in the crowded race. Notably, her page is also the only one of the three that explicitly mentions foreign policy.
Foreign Policy spoke with the Gen Z candidate about her vision for what she calls a “humane foreign policy,” the United States’ role in the Middle East, support for NATO, and the one foreign-policy issue that she feels is being ignored.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Foreign Policy: One of the key pillars of your platform is a humane foreign policy. What does a humane foreign policy mean to you, and what does the United States need to do to get there?
Kat Abughazaleh: I think a humane foreign policy means trying our best and striving for a world where people have equal rights, where people have their needs, where we don’t encourage authoritarianism. It not only makes for a better world, but it also makes for a safer, more inclusive, more connected America.
FP: You mention authoritarianism. What do you believe is the biggest threat to U.S. democracy?
KA: I think it’s extremism. I think it’s mis- and disinformation, and I think it’s far-right actors trying their best to not only split us apart but encouraging violence and hateful rhetoric in our communities.
FP: Tell me a little bit more about extremist governments and the far right. What role do you believe that you have or would have if elected in combating that?
KA: I have a unique experience and perspective on this because my background was researching and reporting on the far right. … And I think that our current leadership in politics as a whole fundamentally doesn’t understand the risks of the far right. They take a lot of bad-faith arguments in good faith and aren’t willing to recognize or at least understand how this hate ends in real-life consequences.
FP: If elected, what foreign-policy goals or legislation would you prioritize on day one in office?
KA: First off, we need to strengthen the Leahy Act and the Leahy Amendments. We need to make sure that when Americans’ tax dollars are used for weapons, no matter what ally they’re being given to, that those weapons aren’t being used to break international law, to break American laws. If we aren’t willing to hold our allies accountable, all of them, what are we willing to do to people in our own country?
Right now, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his far-right government don’t have any consequences for using our weapons to hurt civilians [in Gaza], and we are not abiding by the Leahy Act. We are not ensuring that our tax dollars and our weapons are being actually used for defense. Instead, what we’ve seen are millions of civilians being starved, most of whom are children. That line needs to be drawn. That would be the case if this was any country, not just Israel.
The issue here right now is the U.S. is complicit in all of this. It’s not only complicit; it’s responsible for a lot of this harm. And it’s rewarding Netanyahu by not putting any parameters whatsoever. This was a man-made disaster. And it’s up to the United States as one of the biggest allies of Israel to put on that pressure and ensure that our values and basic human dignity are recognized.
FP: You used a pretty heavy word: complicit. Several countries have accused Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Would you go so far as to say that the United States is complicit in that by providing military arms and equipment to Israel?
KA: Absolutely, 100 percent. These acts are being committed with our weapons, and if that’s not complicity, I don’t know what is.
FP: I want to delve a little bit deeper into your views on Israel. It’s probably one of the biggest divergences between you and the larger Democratic Party. You’ve been very critical of U.S. military aid to Israel. What steps do you believe need to be taken to secure an end to the Israel-Hamas war? What do you believe a postwar Gaza should look like to prevent future unrest in the region?
KA: We need, first off, elections in Gaza. There hasn’t been one in decades. It’s been controlled by Hamas and, in the interim, [Palestinian Authority] governance. What we really need to do is ensure that there is freedom of movement, equal rights, and equal access to resources, as well as rebuilding Gaza after this. I just think that funding the war is not enough. We need to ensure that people will have a life after that.
But there’s no future right now with Hamas and Netanyahu in power. Palestinians deserve the same rights as anyone else. In any country, we should be striving for democracy, for a safe life for all civilians, for children to be educated and healthy. And with where we are right now, it seems like deals can just fall through and there are no consequences, that people can be starved and a few miles away, there’s an entire population that just doesn’t acknowledge it. It’s heartbreaking to see.
FP: You are running in a district with a very large Jewish population, which, for FP readers who may not know, includes the town of Skokie, once home to thousands of Holocaust survivors and which faced a large neo-Nazi march in the 1970s. Do you fear at all that your more critical opinions of the Israeli government could alienate or harm your popularity among voters?
KA: Absolutely not. And honestly, I find it kind of offensive when people suggest that Jewish people won’t support a Palestinian that is advocating for peace. Jewish people have consistently been the most steadfast and devoted allies to equal Palestinian rights and liberation since 1948 [when Israel was founded]. And I keep seeing that here on the ground, talking to voters, talking to people in this district.
FP: Having a father of Palestinian descent, has your personal identity impacted your beliefs?
KA: I mean, there’s absolutely a personal component to this. You know, my grandparents were Nakba survivors. I have told this story many times that my great-grandfather, he died with the key ring to his hotel still on him. He carried it with him every day, hoping one day he’d return. And my father was born in Kuwait without citizenship. He was stateless. He moved to the United States when he was 15 to go to college, but that trauma still continues.
But it is frustrating as a Palestinian person to have my thoughts on just basic human rights—something I’ve advocated for my entire life and not just in this conflict but across the board—be reduced just to my last name or just to who my parents are, my grandparents are. At its core, this is a human rights issue.
FP: Outside of the Israel-Hamas war, the United States has had growing involvement in Israel’s conflict with Iran, including by ordering strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites before brokering a cease-fire deal. Did you support U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran?
KA: Absolutely not. This was illegal and immoral. No matter where Iran is in its nuclear facility, this doesn’t justify a preemptive strike. The war of aggression is a war crime. And, in fact, this increases—or raises the chance, at least—of Iran using weapons or developing them even faster. I’m just so blown away at how reckless Trump’s actions are.
FP: What do you think the United States should prioritize in terms of security and defense?
KA: I think the biggest thing right now is focusing on where our weapons are being used. We have the biggest and most expensive military. We spend more on our military than any other country in the world. And I think we need to prioritize making sure that our partnerships aren’t being used to make the world worse. I mean, we need an arms embargo on the [United Arab Emirates] and Saudi Arabia using American weapons in Yemen. We need to reevaluate what we want to see in the world and how we want American values to be perceived by people abroad.
FP: Speaking of American values, what do you see the United States’ role to be in NATO?
KA: The way that the right demonizes NATO is not only immature, but it also undermines American security. Ukraine needs to be a priority for NATO. We need to protect Europe from Russian invasion. What [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has done in invading Ukraine has been one of the blatant, most aggressive, and illegal invasions of another country that we’ve seen since World War II. And if we stand back and let Ukraine fall, let Putin do what he wants, it’s not going to stop there. And that should be a priority for NATO and for the United States.
Putin has his eyes on far more than just Ukraine, and without American support, Ukraine would not have been able to last as long in the war.
FP: You’ve also been very clear in denouncing mass deportations in the United States and Trump’s caps on refugee resettlement. With Chicago being a sanctuary city, how do you aim to support undocumented immigrants seeking refuge while also encouraging legal pathways to citizenship?
KA: I think it’s clear that what ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is doing is not only illegal; it’s immoral. It’s a human rights violation. Our campaign office [is] in Rogers Park, which has a high level of immigrants here. This district, 27 percent of it was born in another country. We will do everything we can to make where we are safe and welcoming and also support anyone who needs it. If ICE comes to my block, you bet I will be there.
Really, what we need to do is abolish ICE. This is the president’s secret police right now. And we need to be treating it as such.
FP: Your foray into politics—and particularly some of the legislation and policies that you’ve proposed, such as abolishing ICE—has been compared to the Democrats’ version of the Tea Party movement, a push to a more extremist side of your party. Do you think that’s an accurate portrayal? What would you say to Democrats who think that moving toward the center is a more effective strategy to gain votes?
KA: If wanting people to have housing, groceries, and health care is extremism, if wanting to make sure that people aren’t terrorized in their homes, if wanting to make sure that everyone has equal rights and that everyone not only can survive but thrive, if that’s extremism, then we have shifted so far right that we need to be questioning what the Democratic Party is.
I think we need to be reevaluating where we are as a country and what we think of the left and right sphere because this should be the bare minimum.
FP: When it comes to the bare minimum and protecting U.S. security and development, what do believe is the biggest threat?
KA: I would say authoritarian regimes at large and also if people like Donald Trump are supporting them. Allying ourselves with authoritarian regimes will never end well. Their tendencies are not only anti-democratic; they are focused on the self, on the whims of dictators. We need to draw a line of what is acceptable and what is not. And punishing people for their inalienable qualities, taking away their inalienable rights, and trying to do this strongman, agro-violent bullshit is illegal and immoral, and we shouldn’t encourage it.
FP: What area of foreign policy do you believe is going ignored by current lawmakers? And how would you work to reverse course?
KA: I think Sudan and focusing on how the UAE is arming [and] sending weapons to Sudan. I think it is really under-covered by our lawmakers and by our press. Sudanese militias are currently committing terrible crimes against humanity, and there shouldn’t be exceptions to who is held accountable.
FP: Illinois’s congressional primary election will be held next March. What do you believe sets you apart from your opponents?
KA: If you look at every candidate in this race’s issue pages, mine is the most comprehensive. And it’s actually the most comprehensive at least of any nonincumbent congressional candidate and probably more than a lot of incumbents. And I think my willingness to not only speak out on these issues but also think about them critically and have my positions public is a big difference. I’m also the only candidate in this race to call for a bilateral cease-fire and hostage deal between Gaza and Israel right now.
One of the issues with establishment Democrats and what we’ve seen from the party is just this unwillingness to speak out on issues because they’re controversial or difficult, but that’s what people want and need to hear about. And if you don’t address them, no one knows where you stand.
