With the November presidential election approaching in the United States, anti-Israel protests have intensified with the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, prompting condemnation from both parties. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who had distanced herself from Israel, quickly condemned the protesters after they burned the American flag.
According to the Financial Times (FT), Harris, a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, issued a statement yesterday saying, “Yesterday, at Union Station in Washington, D.C., we saw despicable acts by unpatriotic protesters and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric,” She said, “I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews.”
“Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent, and we must not tolerate it in our nation.”
“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 that way,” she added.
The vice president concluded, “I support the right to protest peacefully, but let’s be clear: Antisemitism, hate, and violence of any kind have no place in our nation.”
Following the conflict between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip last October, the Democratic Party and President Joe Biden initially supported Netanyahu. However, as the conflict dragged on, they began to distance themselves from Israel. Notably, the progressive left within the Democratic Party claimed that Israel was massacring Gaza residents, and Middle Eastern voters also turned away from Biden for supporting Israel. As the November elections draw near, Biden and Harris have started to distance themselves from Netanyahu, who advocates a hardline response. Harris did not attend Netanyahu’s joint address to the House and Senate on July 24.
On the same day, anti-Israel protesters took down a large American flag hanging at Washington DC’s Union Station, burned it, and replaced it with a Palestinian flag.
In response, the Republican Party and right-wing factions, who had invited Netanyahu, strongly opposed the actions. Some Republican House members visited Union Station that evening to rehang the American flag. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) posted on social media platform X, stating, “Today we corrected their wrongs,” and emphasized, “We will not allow terrorist mobs to win.”
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, criticized the Biden administration on July 25 through his social media platform, Truth Social. He argued that if the protesters had been Republicans or right-wingers, “they would be immediately arrested and sentenced to 10-20 years in prison.” Trump added, “Under this corrupt government, nothing will happen to them,” referencing the severe sentences given to pro-Trump protesters involved in the January 6 Capitol riot in 2021.
