Vice President Kamala Harris condemned singling out Israel “because of anti-Jewish hatred” at an address at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never is Now summit on antisemitism.
“I want to be very clear about this: When Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or their identity, when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism and that is unacceptable,” Harris told the ADL virtual summit on Sunday evening.
“Four years ago, white supremacists descended upon Charlottesville, Virginia, spreading hatred and instigating violence. Three years ago, we suffered the most deadly attack on the American Jewish community in the history of our nation at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,” she said.
Kamala added she and President Joe Biden are “fully committed to fighting antisemitism.”
“We must fight antisemitism and hate of all kinds. And call it out wherever it exists. We know: A harm against one of us is a harm against all.”
A recent survey found that close to one in every four U.S. Jews have been targeted by antisemitism in the past year.
Harris’ comments to the ADL came weeks after she came under fire for hailing a student who accused Israel of committing “ethnic genocide.”
The Biden administration has also been prevented from holding a a Senate hearing confirming Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt as the U.S.’ special envoy on antisemitism after news of the appointment caused an outcry.
Lipstadt has accused former President Donald Trump of “soft Holocaust denial”” while she herself defended a controversial video published by the Jewish Democratic Council of America that showed Trump alongside images of Nazi Germany.
Recent extensive surveys have found that nearly one in every four U.S. Jews have been targeted by antisemitism in the past year, and almost half have subsequently altered their behavior.