White House Does Damage Control After Kamala Harris Encouraged Student Who Accused Israel Of ‘Ethnic Genocide’

Vice President Kamala Harris’ office is rushing to repair ties with pro-Israel Democrats in Washington after she encouraged a student who accused Israel of committing “ethnic genocide.”

Harris’ senior staffers began putting in calls to influential groups and lawmakers to soothe any rifts the vice president may have caused at an event Wednesday at George Mason University, according to Politico. Harris exhorted one student, telling her that her voice “must be heard” after that student had falsely accused Israel of massacring Palestinians.

The vice president’s staff contacted the Democratic Majority for Israel and its president, Mark Mellman, to reaffirm her support for Israel. “We were pleased Vice President Harris’s senior staff reached out to us today to confirm what we already knew: Her ‘commitment to Israel’s security is unwavering,’” Mellman said. Politico reports:

A senior adviser to Harris also reached out to Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fl.) the co-chair of the Bipartisan Anti‐Semitism Taskforce, a source familiar with the outreach told POLITICO.

Deutch and his office did not respond to a request for comment. But the source said it was “fair to say that the group of House Democrats that super care about this noticed it and talked about it.” Harris’ office also called Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, Thursday afternoon, the source said.