Warren facing heat for Israel ‘genocide’ comment
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is coming under fire for her recent comments about whether Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, as the ADL called her out for amplifying “dangerous rhetoric.”
While taking questions at a Boston-area mosque last week, the Massachusetts Democratic senator was asked if a top U.N. court will find that Israel is carrying out a genocide.
“For me, it is far more important to say what Israel is doing is wrong, and it is wrong,” Warren said, according to a video posted by a WGBH Radio reporter. “It is wrong to starve children within a civilian population in order to try to bend them to your will. It is wrong to drop 2,000-pound bombs in densely populated civilian areas.”
People in the audience responded by telling Warren that she dodged the question.
“So if you want to do it as an application of law, I believe that they’ll find that it is genocide, and they have ample evidence to do so,” Warren declared, leading to applause at the Islamic Center of Boston, located in Wayland.
“What I’m also trying to tell you is I’m trying to get people past a labels argument,” she added.
Earlier this year, the International Court of Justice found that it’s plausible Israel has committed acts that violate the Genocide Convention. The ICJ’S legal process is ongoing.
The Anti-defamation League’s New England chapter on Wednesday said the organization has reached out to Warren’s office to talk about “her language in describing Israel’s defensive actions.”
“Her speculation on how the ICJ may rule does little more than amplify dangerous rhetoric,” ADL New England’s interim regional director Ron Fish said in a statement.
“Here are facts we should focus on: Hamas continues to hold more than 130 hostages, they have rejected multiple cease-fire offers, and they continue to cause the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians alike,” Fish added.
On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was asked during a Senate hearing whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
“We don’t have any evidence of genocide,” Austin said in response, adding, “We don’t have evidence of that to my knowledge.”
Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
“We committed to help assist Israel from defending its territory and its people by providing security assistance, and I would remind everybody that what happened on Oct. 7 was absolutely horrible,” he added. “And numbers of Israeli citizens killed and then a couple hundred Israeli citizens taken hostage … American citizens as well.”