Walz says Israel can defend itself but war in Gaza must end

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“We can’t allow what’s happened in Gaza to happen,” Kamala Harris’s Vice Presidential running mate Tim Walz told WCMU radio in Michigan in an interview on Thursday.

Asked by the interviewer how a Harris-Walz administration would handle the Israel-Hamas war, and whether it would break from the Biden administration, Walz said that October 7 was a “horrific act of violence against the people of Israel” and reiterated statements by Harris that Israel has the right to defend itself.

However, he added that “we can’t allow what’s happened in Gaza to happen. The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty themselves.”

Walz then advocated for a two-state solution, and added that he wanted to push “the Netanyahu government to start moving in that direction.”

Speaking on the pro-Palestine protests in Michigan recently, including at the university, Walz said he thought “those folks who are speaking out loudly are speaking out for all the right reasons. It’s a humanitarian crisis. It can’t stand the way it is.”

Pro-Palestinian protestors hold up signs and banners along the parade route of the annual Labor Day Parade in Detroit, Michigan, US, September 2, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/REBECCA COOK)

“Getting a ceasefire with the return of the hostages and then moving towards a sustainable two-state solution is the only way forward.”

The relevance of Michigan

This comes after the University of Michigan agreed at the end of August to change its enforcement policies after the US Department of Education determined that it had violated the civil rights of its Jewish students by not doing a better job disciplining protesters.

However, Michigan’s Central Student Government, which distributes a $1.3 million annual budget funded by student fees, is vowing to withhold funding from all student groups unless the university agrees to divest from and boycott Israel.

Figures such as former Michigan Congressman Andy Levin have described Michigan as the most densely Arab American state in the country. Alongside Pennsylvania, Michigan is considered a swing state.

Over the last year, there have been multiple antisemitic incidents across Michigan, including the stabbing and murder of Samantha Woll, the 40-year-old president of Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, and, additionally, a Democratic activist was found stabbed to death outside of her home on Oct. 21, 2023.

Andrew Lapin/JTA contributed to this article.

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