Vice President Kamala Harris told the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday night that she would back Israel’s right to defend itself, but would also support Palestinians’ right to “self-determination.”
Her speech accepting her party’s nomination for president marked the first time in the entire four days that any speaker had mentioned Israel positively, other than the Israeli-American parents of a hostage, who spoke Wednesday.
President Joe Biden omitted the word “Israel” from his speech on Monday, while praising pro-Palestinians outside — in a crowd that included open Hamas supporters.
Several other speakers earlier on Thursday, who focused on national security, mentioned other U.S. allies, such as Ukraine, but never mentioned Israel.
In a speech otherwise light on policy, Harris said:
With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock. Because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done.
[Applause.]
And let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself.
[Applause]
And I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself [Applause] because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7th, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival.
At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past ten months has been devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are wokring to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.
[Applause]
The crowd cheered enthusiastically for the latter point.
Harris went on to add: “I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists.”
As she spoke, thousands pro-Palestinian protesters marched on the convention in the streets of Chicago. Delegates from the pro-Palestinian “Uncommitted” movement, who had staged a sit-in outside the United Center arena, were excluded from the floor after forming a human chain and trying to enter with linked arms.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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