Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign has rejected the claim that she believes the IDF is committing genocide in Gaza.
“That is not the view of the Biden administration or the Vice President,” a Harris campaign official told The Jerusalem Post.
This follows an exchange between Harris, who is the Democratic presidential nominee, and a pro-Palestinian heckler wearing a keffiyeh at a weekend event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a key swing state in the 2024 race for the White House.
She had been in the middle of telling students, “I am so invested in y’all in every way, to make sure,” when the heckler interrupted her, stating, “And in genocide, right—billions of dollars in genocide.”
Harris shot back, “You know what? I respect your right to speak. I am speaking right now. I know what you are speaking of. I want the ceasefire. I want a hostage deal done. I want the war to end. I respect your right to speak, but I am speaking right now,” she said.
“You aren’t speaking about genocide,” the protester responded. “What about the genocide?” He continued to push her on genocide even as a security guard ushered him out of the room.
Supports Israel's right to defend
Harris then told the audience, “What he is talking about, it’s real. That is not the subject I came to discuss today, but it’s real. And I respect his voice.”
Her statement that what he is talking about is real had sparked speculation that she agreed with the protester’s assessment that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
Her campaign has since rejected all claims that her words were intended to indicate agreement with the protester's statements.
Harris’s statements on Gaza have been in line with those of the Biden administration, which has taken Israel to task over humanitarian issues in Gaza but has otherwise backed Israel’s right to self-defense.
At an October 16 campaign stop in Michigan, another swing state with a large Palestinian-American community, she was asked if she believed she could lose the election due to her views on Gaza.
“Well, it is undeniable that it is something that everyone is aware of what is happening there,” she said.
In her response, she reflected on the events of the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the capture of 251 others as hostages, of whom 101 remain in the enclave. She also touched on the subsequent IDF military campaign in Gaza over the last year to oust Hamas there, including the assassination last week of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Hamas has asserted that over 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war; Israel has said over 17,000 fatalities in Gaza were terrorists.
In Detroit, Harris said, ”I speak publicly all the time about the fact that there are so many tragic stories coming from Gaza. And of course, the first in this phase of everything that has happened, the first most tragic story, is October 7, and what happened that day and then happened since,” Harris said.
“I think what’s critically important, as we look at this moment, is acknowledging the tragedy of what has happened in Gaza in terms of the extraordinary number of innocent Palestinians who have been killed and taking that seriously and speaking truth about it,” she said.
That is “in addition, of course, to what I said about what happened on October 7, in terms of 1,200 innocent Israelis being slaughtered, women being horribly raped, and then fast forwarding to today with the killing of Sinwar,” Harris stated.
“This creates an opening that I believe we must take full advantage of to dedicate ourselves to ending this war and bringing the hostages home.
“As it relates to the issues in the Middle East and in particular in that region, it has never been easy. But that doesn’t mean we give up. Okay? It is always going to be difficult. It does not mean we give up; we can’t give up,” she stressed.