Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s campaign clarified on Sunday that the vice president does not believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
“The vice president did not and does not agree with the protester,” a campaign official told Israel’s Channel 12 news, a day after a video was published online showing an anti-Israel heckler interrupting Harris at a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee event on Oct. 17.
The keffiyeh-clad man ranted about Israel being genocidal before being escorted by security out of the room.
“I know what you’re speaking of. I want the ceasefire. I want the war to end, and I respect your right to speak, but I am speaking right now,” said Harris in response.
After saying “what about the genocide” and yelling “19,000 children are dead, and you won’t call it a genocide,” the keffiyeh-clad man was removed.
“Listen, what he’s talking about, it’s real,” Harris said. “That’s not the subject that I came to discuss today, but it’s real and I respect his voice.”
Former Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren on Sunday called for the White House to state unequivocally that Jerusalem is not committing genocide in Gaza following the incident.
Writing on X, Oren said Harris’s remarks set “a very dangerous precedent.”
“I felt deep shock when I watched the video in which Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed a serious accusation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza,” Oren tweeted.
“This is the first time the White House has been linked to a defamation that threatens the legitimacy and security of the State of Israel. I demand that the U.S. administration issue an immediate and unequivocal denial and make it clear in no uncertain terms that there is no place for such baseless accusations, which harm not only Israel but also the relationship between the two countries.”
