Following the October 7 Hamas terror incident, New York Governor Kathy Hochul apologised for comments she made at a Jewish philanthropy event in New York City that went viral on social media and implied Israel had a right to destroy Gaza.
At a United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York event on Thursday, Hochul remarked, “If Canada ever attacked Buffalo, I’m sorry, my friends, there would be no Canada the next day.” That’s a normal response. It is your right to protect yourself and ensure that it never occurs again. And Israel has the right to that.
The terrorist organisation Hamas in Palestine launched a devastating attack on Israel on October 7. Upon breaching the border with the Gaza Strip, thousands of terrorists launched a deadly rampage across southern Israel, killing anybody they came across and carrying out several acts of mass murder, torture, and mutilation. They seized 253 captives and slaughtered almost 1,200 individuals, the bulk of them were civilians.
In retaliation for the attack, Israel launched a military operation to demolish Hamas, drive it out of Gaza, and free the hostages.
Hochul apologised for her “poor choice of words” and expressed remorse for her “inappropriate analogy” in a statement published on Friday, which was reported by The New York Times.
While I have been clear in my support of Israel’s right to self-defense, I have also repeatedly said and continue to believe that Palestinian civilian casualties should be avoided and that more humanitarian aid must go to the people of Gaza,” she said in the statement.
Responding to the original video of Hochul making the remarks, the Buffalo chapter of the Jewish Voice for Peace tweeted that it was “Disgusting. No world. We, your Jewish constituents in Buffalo NY, are beyond appalled.”
Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a member of the State Assembly for District 36, tweeted that Hochul was “justifying genocide while laughing. Disgusting.”
Fellow assembly member Shaman Hanif, representing District 39, tweeted that she would not accept Hochul’s apology without action to follow it up.
I need to see changed behavior,” she wrote. “I will not be forgiving you at this time.”
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