Hasan Piker Says 'Zionism is Fascism,' Equates It With Neo-Nazism

Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker told Axios that “Zionism is fascism,” with the publication reporting that he also described it as equivalent to neo-Nazism.

Piker, a frequent critic of Israel’s government, said his objective was not violence against people holding such views but persuading them to abandon what he characterized as far-right politics.

“I think that the goal in a country like the United States or a country like Israel is to move people away from these far-right tendencies,” Piker said.

“It's not to fight them. It's not to kill them. It's to try to get them to no longer believe these things.”

Political Violence

Asked by Axios whether his rhetoric could encourage violence, Piker said he was not concerned that his audience would attack Zionists.

“I'm not worried that (my followers are) going to be violent against Zionists. No, I'm not,” he said.

The interview also revisited previous statements in which Piker used violent language about political or economic opponents.

Axios cited an instance in which Piker, speaking with a friend on his stream, called for landlords who did not rent their properties to be killed.

Piker told Axios the exchange was not intended as a genuine appeal for violence.

He said his preferred response to political disputes was organizing, labor action and work stoppages designed to exert political pressure.

Piker separately condemned the assassination of Charlie Kirk, describing it as “a heinous crime and completely unjustifiable.”

He said both he and his online community regarded political violence as unacceptable.

Genocide Accusation

Piker also reiterated his position on Israel and U.S. support for the country, using the term genocide in describing the conflict and those who continue to provide material assistance.

“Look, if you've done a genocide, and you defend the genocide that's taking place, and if you want to continue offering material support to the country that's doing genocide, then you're pro-genocide,” he told Axios.

Democrats Keep Their Distance

The interview comes as Piker seeks a larger role in Democratic electoral politics.

He told Axios he “absolutely” wanted to campaign for New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez if she ran for president in 2028, adding that he had spoken with Ocasio-Cortez and her team.

But some Democratic politicians have begun distancing themselves from the streamer over his previous commentary.

Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee, campaigned with Piker during the primary.

After Piker told Axios that decades of U.S. attacks in the Middle East that killed civilians made the country worse than al-Qaeda “pound for pound,” El-Sayed said he disagreed and that Piker did not speak for his campaign.

El-Sayed has said Piker will not appear with him during the final weeks before the Nov. 3 election.

China and Mao

Piker also used the interview to contrast what he described as the economic trajectories of the U.S. and China.

He argued that conditions in the U.S. were deteriorating while China was improving material conditions for a broad section of its population.

Piker said he was concerned that “a Chinese child might have better conditions in the next decade or next two decades than an American one,” arguing that Americans should treat that possibility as a domestic challenge rather than through a xenophobic lens.

He also addressed previous praise of Mao Zedong.

Piker described Mao as a major historical figure while calling the Cultural Revolution “an abject disaster” and acknowledging that industrialization policies surrounding the Great Leap Forward resulted in large numbers of excess deaths.

America and 9/11

Piker revisited his 2019 statement that “America deserved 9/11,” saying he apologized shortly afterward for his choice of words.

He said the language was inappropriate given the roughly 3,000 Americans killed in the attacks and rejected any suggestion that he supported terrorism.

Piker also defended his broader attachment to the U.S. despite frequently criticizing the country.

He said that although he sometimes says he hates America, he remains because he believes in what he called the country’s promise and in the judgment of ordinary Americans.

Russia and Ukraine

On Russia’s war in Ukraine, Piker offered an unequivocal condemnation.

“Russia's actions are utterly unjustifiable in Ukraine,” he said.

“It's an illegal invasion. It has been monstrous, horrifying.”