Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday gave encouragement to a student who criticized Israel during her PR pit stop at George Mason University.
Harris showed up at the Fairfax, Virginia, school to promote voter registration, then stopped in a class to take questions. One student used the opportunity to make pointed comments about Israel, according to a C-SPAN video.
āI see that over the summer there have been, like, protests and demonstrations in astronomical numbers about Palestine,ā the student said.
āJust a few days ago, there were funds allocated to continue backing Israel, which hurts my heart because itās ethnic genocide and a displacement of people, the same that happened in America, and Iām sure youāre aware of this.ā
Harris nodded in apparent agreement through the studentās comments, even as the student mentioned āethnic genocide.ā
For some, this was a betrayal moment.
During the class, the student had more to say to criticize America.
āI bring this up also because of the issue of how Americans are struggling because of lack of health care, public health care, lack of affordable housing, and all this money ends up going to inflaming Israel and backing Saudi Arabia and whatnot,ā she said.
The student said she feels that those opposed to Israel are not being heard.
āAnd I think that the people have spoken very often in what they do need, and I feel like thereās 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 aboutās lives,ā she said.
Harris said she was āgladā the student said what she did. The vice president said that whatever anyone wants to say should be considered valid.
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āAgain, 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 that weāre fighting for in a democracy, right?ā Harris said.
āA democracy is at its strongest when everyone participates. It is (at) its weakest when anyone is left out.ā
Harris then offered an oblique justification for her failure to stand up for Israel.
āUnity should never be at the expense of telling anyone personally that, for the sake of unity, āOh, you be quiet about that thing. You suppress that thing. Letās not deal with that thing.ā Thatās not unity. True unity is everyone in that room has a voice,ā the vice president said.
āThe 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 nobodyās voice should be suppressed on that.ā
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
