Former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren accuses Harris of equivocating on Israel stance

Former Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren on Monday accused Vice President Kamala Harris of being equivocal on her support for Israel, despite claiming the United States is behind Israel.

Harris, who is the Democratic nominee for president, claimed during the presidential debate on Sept. 10 that she believes Israel has the right to defend itself against enemy attacks, but that there were certain criteria it must meet when responding to those attacks.

"Well, let's understand how we got here. On Oct. 7, Hamas, a terrorist organization, slaughtered 1,200 Israelis. Many of them young people who were simply attending a concert. Women were horribly raped. And so absolutely, I said then, I say now, Israel has a right to defend itself. And how it does so matters," Harris said. "Because it is also true that far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. Children, mothers. What we know is that this war must end. It must end immediately, and the way it will end is we need a cease-fire deal and we need the hostages out."

Harris also asserted that there needs to be a "two-state solution," that would include security for Israel and Palestine, which would give Palestinians the "self-determination and the dignity" they deserve. 

"There's a series of buts and the problem is that many of the buts are just simply not attainable," Oren said on the "John Solomon Reports" podcast. "That makes it contingent. Israel's defense is contingent on goals that cannot be attained. That's a problem, and I think one of the goals of our public diplomacy has to be to fight against the but and remove that but that we have ... Our right to defend ourselves and our right to exist is dependent on absolutely nothing."

Oren, who was the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. during former President Barack Obama's presidency, also blasted other Democrats for their criticisms such as former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who recently accused Israel of terrorism for a series of alleged attacks last week against the terrorist organization Hezbollah.

"In what moral universe is taking out a terrorist, a terrorist wanted by the United States for killing hundreds of Americans and in the most surgical mass anti-terror operation in history, in what moral universe is that terrorism?" Oren asked. "And what does it say, not about us, what does it say about Leon Panetta and the universe he occupies? Because in that universe, there's nothing that Jews can do to defend themselves. Jews have to die."

Israel has denied any role in the exploding pager and walkie-talkie attacks.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.