Second Most Powerful House Democrat Calls Israel's Genocide a 'Genocide'
Katherine Clark's admission underscores how far Democrats are being pressured by the public to move from their previous friendly conventions with Israeli leadership.
Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts called Israel’s war on Gaza a genocide Thursday night, making her the highest-ranking House Democratic official to do so.
“[W]e have to continue to have an open heart about how we do this, how we do it effectively, and how we take action in time to make a difference. Whether that is stopping the starvation, and genocide, and destruction of Gaza, or whether that means we are working together to stop the redistricting that is going on, taking away the vote from people in order to retain power. And it’s exhausting to do all of it, but we have to…” Clark said at an event hosted by the Quaker organization Friends Committee on National Legislation.
Up to this point, Clark has largely aligned with the rest of Democratic leadership on Israel’s war – expressing concern for civilian harm, advocating for an “end to the hostilities” (and, eventually calling for a ceasefire), and criticizing the Benjamin Netanyahu government. But she has fallen short of advocating for conditioning or ending aid to Israel, or supporting resolutions like Rep. Delia Ramirez’s “Block the Bombs” Act.
AIPAC features Clark on their website alongside the five other top Republicans and Democrats in the House, with the caption: “We stand with those who stand with Israel.”
Joy Lee, Clark’s spokesperson, said in a statement that the House Democratic whip’s “position on the war has not changed.”
“The Israeli and Palestinian people deserve security and peace. It can only be achieved through a permanent ceasefire, the immediate return of the remaining hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Lee added.
“It should not be controversial to say that Israeli children did not deserve to be kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, nor should it be controversial to say that Palestinian children, who bear no responsibility for Hamas’ atrocities, do not deserve to be killed by war or starvation.“
Clark’s comments that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza only underscore how far the Democratic Party is being pressured by the public to move from its previous friendly conventions with Israeli leadership.
The offices of other members of Democratic leadership – Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), and Reps. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), Ted Lieu (Calif.), and Joe Neguse (Colo.) – did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Here are the now 15 members of Congress calling Israel’s genocide a genocide:
Katherine Clark (D-Mass.)
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the statement from Clark’s spokesperson.
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I hate the niceties and tiptoeing around our government reps engage in (ie lying) to protect Israel at any cost. And doesn’t ‘We stand with those who stand with us’ sound like a toxic relationship? You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
I stand for the poor, the oppressed, the disenfranchised, the sick, the disabled, all children everywhere, and the elderly.
15 (of 535) members acknowledge that genocide is "genocide."
And the latest addition to that 15, waited until this freakishly inhuman, inconceivably sadistic genocide had been in progress for nearly two years — where Israel had already reduced the entire Gaza Strip to rubble a year ago, and we're now at the point where Palestinians are literally dropping dead of starvation — before she was willing to say it.
Israel has massacred hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, injured countless Palestinians, and starved nearly EVERY Gazan past the point where they could ever possibly properly recover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hc5BawJMZk
And even now, 520 (of 535) members of congress are still DENYING THIS HOLOCAUST.