Vice President Harris strongly condemned the protests in front of Washington, D.C.’s Union Station during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Thursday, calling them “a despicable act by unpatriotic protesters.”
“I condemn any individuals associated with Hamas, a brutal terrorist organization vowed to destroy the state of Israel and murder Jewish people,” Harris said in a statement. “Graduation and speech in support of Hamas is abhorrent and will not be tolerated in our country.”
“I condemn the burning of the American flag. That flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America. It should never be desecrated in such a way,” she added.
Harris, whose husband is Jewish, said she supported peaceful protests but rejected the surge in anti-Semitism in the United States since last October’s terror attacks in Israel.
The harsh remarks came as Harris was seen as the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination in November after President Biden withdrew his candidacy and endorsed her as his top pick. Harris is scheduled to meet one-on-one with Netanyahu on Thursday afternoon.
The Israeli leader is also due to meet separately with Biden and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the White House.
Demonstrators took down the US flag and replaced it with the Palestinian flag on Wednesday in protest of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. At one point, demonstrators burned the US flag, but someone ran into the crowd and snatched it from the ground.
Inside the parliament, Netanyahu used part of his nearly hour-long speech to denounce those who protested outside the parliament building and on university campuses earlier this year, accusing critics of “standing on the side of evil” and saying they should “be ashamed.”
Republicans and Democrats alike condemned the anti-Israel protests in Washington, and Netanyahu spoke about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. House Republicans restored the American flag to the perimeter of Union Station, and President Trump used the incident to renew his call for prison sentences for those who desecrate the American flag.
