Bill Clinton justifies the mass killings of Palestinians in racist speech in Michigan

As Vice President Kamala Harris begins making her closing arguments for the election, former President Bill Clinton decided to campaign for her by lecturing Muslim Arab-American voters who opposed the Biden administration’s support for the ongoing attacks of Israel in Gaza – even going so far as to report the large number of Palestinian civilians killed by the army.

The 78-year-old Democrat made the stunning comments Wednesday at a Harris campaign rally in Michigan, a crucial swing state with one of the largest Palestinian and Arab-American communities. Those communities, both in Michigan and other states, have repeatedly expressed reluctance to vote for Harris because of her position on Gaza policy, which is largely unchanged from President Joe Biden’s.

Clinton called that hesitation “a mistake.”

“I understand why young Palestinian and Arab Americans in Michigan think too many people have been killed, I understand that,” Clinton told the silent crowd in Muskegon. “But if you lived in one of those kibbutzim in Israel, right next to Gaza, where the people there were the most pro-friendship with Palestine, the most pro-two-state solution of all the Israeli communities… and Hamas slaughtered them.”

Clinton’s claim that Arab Americans “think too many people have been killed” refers to the more than 43,000 Palestinians killed by the Israeli army since October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people while taking about 250 hostage . The Israeli army has also captured Palestinian civilians during its offensive, and medical experts estimate the death toll in Gaza is far higher than local officials can tally.

Responding to critics who pointed out the disproportionate numbers of victims and collective punishment – a violation of international law – the former president said he is “not keeping score” but that Israeli forces should kill tens of thousands of Palestinians for allegedly being human shields for Hamas are.

It should be noted that the Israeli military was recently accused of using Palestinian civilians as human shields in their operations in Gaza. International and US law also warns against indiscriminate killing of civilians, even if militants are embedded among them.

“What would you do if it was your family and you had done nothing but support a homeland for the Palestinians? And one day they come for you and slaughter the people in your village? Clinton said. However, this also describes what the Israeli military is currently doing to families in Gaza and the occupied West Bank – some of whom are loved ones of the Palestinian Americans to whom he addressed his comments.

Clinton echoed the sentiments of right-wing Israelis — such as equating all Palestinians with Hamas fighters — who are working to dehumanize the occupied population so that large civilian casualties are more accepted in the public eye. The former president also argued that Israelis inhabited the country “before their faith existed,” referring to Islam — a historically inaccurate claim that casts Palestinians as solely Muslims, when in fact they are a multifaith group largely descended from indigenous Canaanites who lived on the land. for thousands of years.

“Bill Clinton’s racist and ahistorical comments were intended to justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land. The Harris campaign is not doing itself any favors by engaging in this type of hateful rhetoric,” a spokesperson for the Institute for Middle East Understanding told HuffPost.

The Harris campaign did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment on Clinton’s comments, including whether the candidate thinks his comments will help her earn the votes of Muslim and Arab Americans. It’s unclear what the campaign hoped to accomplish with such a speech just days before the election, given Harris’ ongoing struggle to earn the trust of the Michigan community.

“Rumor has it that Democrats want to send Bill Clinton to Dearborn to rally the Arab votes this weekend,” Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud wrote on X. “Do us a favor – stop sending surrogates who have no respect or respect for this community. You just cause more damage.”

The Biden-Harris administration has supplied billions of dollars in weapons to Israel, which has used them to turn Gaza into a wasteland of rubble, sewage and corpses, with hardly any health care or aid. The State Department has yet to take action on nearly 500 reports it has received alleging that Israel has used American weapons to cause disproportionate civilian casualties in Gaza, The Washington Post said on Wednesday.

Despite pro-Palestinian voters and organizations calling on Harris to support an arms embargo on Israel, she has insisted the US will continue its military and diplomatic support for the country accused internationally of committing genocide.

“Whether they lose Michigan or not, at this point the Democrats deserve to lose Michigan,” Mehdi Hasan, founder of media outlet Zeteo, wrote on X. “Sheesh.”