Harris Honors Oct. 7 Victims and Vows to Defend Israel

• Oct. 7, 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris connected Monday commemorated the day of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 onslaught connected Israel by planting a pomegranate tree, which she called “a awesome of anticipation and righteousness” successful Judaism, astatine her authoritative residence successful Washington.

In a little speech, Ms. Harris condemned the attack, successful which immoderate 1,200 radical were massacred successful Israel past year, arsenic an “act of axenic evil” and said the scores of hostages remaining successful Hamas’s hands should beryllium released. Standing beside her was her husband, Doug Emhoff, the archetypal Jewish spouse of a U.S. president oregon vice president.

“We indispensable enactment to guarantee thing similar the horrors of Oct. 7 tin ever hap again,” she said. “And connected this solemn day, I volition restate my pledge to ever guarantee that Israel has what it needs to support itself, and that I volition ever enactment to guarantee the information and information of the Jewish radical present and astir the world.”

While Ms. Harris did not telephone for a cease-fire successful Gaza during her prepared remarks — as she has successful the past — she acknowledged the more than 41,000 Palestinians who person died, according to section wellness officials, successful Israel’s run to destruct Hamas.

“We indispensable enactment to relieve the immense suffering of guiltless Palestinians successful Gaza who person experienced truthful overmuch symptom and nonaccomplishment implicit the year,” she said.

During the vice president’s remarks, protesters could beryllium heard chanting successful the background.

The brutality of the Oct. 7 attacks and the wide decease and sedate humanitarian situation successful Gaza caused by Israel’s effect person analyzable Democratic efforts to triumph enactment from Jewish, Muslim and Arab American voters, groups that person reliably backed the enactment successful past elections.