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 the Gaza Strip after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris appeared to equivocate on the issue.
The Democratic nominee for president appeared to suggest at a campaign event in Milwaukee that the Jewish state was committing genocide, in an incident involving an anti-Israel heckler.
Writing on X, Oren said her 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 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.”
After a heckler interrupted the vice president at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee event on Thursday and called Israel genocidal, Harris said, “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,” according to the New York Post.
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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.”