AJC CEO to Harris: Reject the genocide accusation against Israel

Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee (ACJ), on Monday called on US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to more forcefully denounce the claim that Israel is committing “genocide”, with which she appeared to agree last week.

His comments follow footage of a controversial incident at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee last week, where Harris appeared to agree with a heckler who accused Israel of genocide.

Footage published to social media from last Thursday’s incident showed a pro-Hamas UWM student yelling out at Harris while she was speaking, accusing her of investing “billions of dollars in genocide.”

After the heckler was escorted out of the hall, Harris appeared to endorse his view, telling the crowd the issue “was real.”

“The protester’s charge of ‘genocide’ is an outrageous and dangerous lie,” Deutch wrote in a post on X on Monday.

“While I appreciate the Harris campaign official stating that ‘this is not her position,’ I urge Vice President Harris to forcefully reject the charge of genocide directly,” he added.

Harris’ campaign said in response to the incident “that is not the view of the Biden administration or the Vice President.” However, Harris has not personally indicated what she intended her comments to mean.