House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), the No. 2 House Democrat, called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide” in remarks earlier this week.
“We each have to continue to have an open heart about how we do this, how we do it effectively, and how we take action in time to make a difference, whether that is stopping the starvation and genocide and destruction of Gaza, or whether that means we are working together to stop the redistricting that is going on, taking away the vote from people in order to retain power,” Clark said during a Thursday event in her district hosted by the Friends Committee on National Legislation.
Clark is now the highest-ranking House Democrat to use the term “genocide” to describe the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. She joins other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who have said the same.
The Hill reached out to Clark’s office for comment.
During the Thursday event, constituents questioned the Massachusetts Democrat over her acceptance of $371,187 from the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), as shown in a video posted by a reporter at The Grayzone.
“In the past, I have taken AIPAC money, but again, that is not saying you’re not going to do what is right here,” she answered. “I understand that for some of you that’s a red line.”
Criticism in recent months has mounted against Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu over its war in Gaza. This week, Netanyahu said he has no choice but to “finish the job” in Gaza.
During the 22-month war, which began after Hamas attacked Israel in 2023, the death toll has risen to more than 63,000 people — including nearly 62,000 Palestinians — and the enclave is experiencing mass starvation, according to U.N. sources, which Netanyahu denies.
Netanyahu has floated the relocation of Palestinians as the Middle Eastern country has been in talks with South Sudan about taking in people.
“I think that the right thing to do, even according to the laws of war as I know them, is to allow the population to leave, and then you go in with all your might against the enemy who remains there,” Netanyahu said in an interview with i24, an Israeli TV station, last week.
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