On Tuesday, Kamala Harris paid a visit to a political science class at George Mason University in northern Virginia to mark National Voter Registration Day. During the question-and-answer session, a student who identified herself as “part-Yemeni, part-Iranian” confronted the vice president, saying that “a lot of taxpayer money is allocated for funding the military, whether it’s in backing Saudi Arabia or in Palestine.”
“You brought up how the power of the people and demonstrations and organizing is very valuable in America,” the woman told Harris. “But I see that over the summer, there have been, like, protests and demonstrations in astronomical numbers standing with Palestine, but then just a few days ago there were funds allocated to continue backing Israel, which hurts my heart because it’s an ethnic genocide and a displacement of people — the same that happened in America — and I’m sure you’re aware of this.”
“I bring this up also because of the issue of how Americans are struggling because of lack of healthcare, public healthcare, lack of affordable housing and all this money ends up going to inflaming Israel and backing Saudi Arabia and whatnot,” the student continued. “And I think that the people have spoken very often in what they do need and I feel like there’s a lack of listening and I just feel like I need to bring this up because it affects my life and people I really care about’s lives.”
Rather than correct the student’s reference to Israel committing “genocide”, Harris praised her opinion.
WATCH: Kamala Harris nods as student accuses Israel of “ethnic genocide”: “your truth cannot be suppressed” pic.twitter.com/FcqCyT7Uo8
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 28, 2021
“I’m glad you did,” the vice president reacted. “I’m glad you did. 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?”
“A democracy is at its strongest when everyone participates,” Harris added. “It is [at] its weakest when anyone is left out. And that’s not only about being physically present, but that your voice is present … Our goal should be unity, but not uniformity.”
David Rubin, the author of Confronting Radicals: What America can learn from Israel, emphasized that any politician with the slightest amount of pro-Israel sentiment would have immediately distanced himself from the comments.
“The issue here is not bad will but one of ignorance, Rubin said. “Kamala Harris is a lightweight who, unfortunately, has extremely limited knowledge about the Middle East, about Israel, and about the so-called Palestinians. She may not be personally anti-Israel but, unfortunately, she is in lockstep with the radical left which is very anti-Israel. The far-left supports any self-declared liberation movement except for the Zionist liberation movement, which is the liberation movement of the Jewish people.”
“I don’t think she has ill will towards Israel. She is expressing loyalty to the far left. Whether she is anti-Israel out of ignorance or intent, she is in the position where she can do a huge amount of damage.”