Advertisement

Kamala Harris Appears To Nod Her Head As Student Bashes Israel

Advertisement

OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


There are many who accuse top Democrats of having an anti-Israel stance privately even when they say pro-Israel things in front of the camera, and Kamala Harris did not help herself in dispelling those accusations when a camera caught her at an event this week.

On Tuesday, Harris visited George Mason University to promote voter registration, but during the visit she stopped by a class to take questions, Fox News reported.

One of the students took the chance to make derogatory comments about the state of Israel and Harris was caught nodding in agreement.

“I see that over the summer there have been, like, protests and demonstrations in astronomical numbers about Palestine,” the student argued.

Advertisement

“Just a few days ago there were funds allocated to continue backing Israel, which hurts my heart because it’s ethnic genocide and displacement of people, the same that happened in America, and I’m sure you’re aware of this,” they said as Harris nodded in apparent agreement.

The student alleged that the funds could have gone to Americans to help with healthcare costs and housing but is going “to inflaming Israel and backing Saudi Arabia and what-not.”

Harris said she “was glad” that the student mentioned these concerns and said that everyone’s opinion should be heard in a democracy.

“And again, this is about the fact that your voice, your perspective, your experience, your truth, should not be suppressed and it must be heard, right? And one of the things we’re fighting for in a democracy, right?” Harris said.

“Your truth,” she said as if everyone has their own version of the truth.

She said that democracy is “at its weakest when anyone is left out” of the conversation.”

“Our goal should be unity, but not uniformity, right?” she said. “Unity should never be at the expense of telling anyone personally that, for the sake of unity, ‘Oh, you be quiet about that thing. You suppress that thing. Let’s not deal with that thing.’ That’s not unity. True unity is everyone in that room has a voice.”

“The point that you are making about policy that relates to Middle East policy, foreign policy, we still have healthy debates in our country about what is the right path, and nobody’s voice should be suppressed on that,” she said.

The event happened after New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that she cried after the funds for Israel were passed.

Advertisement

In a letter to her constituents that she shared on Twitter on Friday, she said she was furious at the 420 to 9 vote in the House that sent near $1 billion to Israel.

“Yesterday, the House called to the floor a rushed, $1 billion supplemental military funding bill for Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. I want to be clear with our community that I am opposed to this bill, but ultimately cast a PRESENT vote. My job as your representative is to first and foremost serve with transparency and remain accountable to you, the people of New York’s 14th Congressional District,” the representative said in the letter to her constituents.

“First, let me begin with why I believe this bill should have been opposed: contrary to popular narrative, this bill was not for all U.S. funding of the Iron Dome, and opposing it would not defund U.S. financing of the system in any way, shape, or form. Since 2011, the U.S. has provided $1.7 billion for the Iron Dome and is already financially committed to continuing these funds through 2028. This bill adds an additional $1 billion in funding in one year to this system alone – for context, that is an amount in one year that approaches all the funding to this system we have provided over the last decade – and this is in addition to $3 billion authorized earlier this year in other forms of military funding to the Israeli government. I believe strongly that Congress should take greater scrutiny with all military funding across the world. I also believe that, for far too long, the U.S. has handed unconditional aid to the Israeli government while doing nothing to address or raise the persistent human rights abuses against the Palestinian people, and that this imbalance of power must be centered in any honest conversation about Israel and Palestine – in addition to the many other governments we militarily fund with a pattern of human rights abuses, such as the Saudi and Colombia related amendments I introduced last week as well,” she said.

Test your skills with this Quiz!

The representative also argued with the way the bill was brought for a vote by Democrat leadership in the House, calling it “deeply unjust.” She said that the Democrat leaders attempted “to quietly slip this funding into routine legislation, without any of the usually-necessary committee debate, markup, or regular order.”

She said that the vote “created a real sense of panic and horror among those in our community who otherwise engage thoughtfully in these discussions, and fueled the discussion to devolve to a point where it became clear that this vote would risk a severe devolution of the good-faith community fabric that allows us to responsibly join in a struggle for human rights and dignity everywhere – from Palestine to The Bronx and Queens.”

“Yes, I wept,” she said. “I wept at the complete lack of care for the human beings that are impacted by these decisions, I wept at an institution choosing a path of maximum volatility and minimum consideration for its own political convenience. And I wept at the complete lack of regard I often feel our party has to its most vulnerable and endangered members and communities – because the death threats and dangerous vitriol we’d inevitably receive by rushing such a sensitive, charged, and under-considered vote weren’t worth delaying it for even a few hours to help us do the work necessary to open a conversation of understanding.”

Advertisement