Tim Walz says anti-Israel protesters have ‘all the right reasons’ to protest

"The Israel-Hamas war has been a hot-button issue for Michigan voters. How would a Harris-Walz administration handle the conflict and would it break with the Biden[-Harris] administration in any way?" Walz was asked.

"Well, I think first and foremost," Walz began, "what we saw on October 7 was, was a horrific act of violence against the people of Israel. They have certainly, and the vice president said it, I've said it, have the right to defend themselves and the United States will always stand by that."

"But," he continued, after that caveat, "we can't allow what's happened in Gaza to happen. The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty themselves. We need to continue, I think, to put the leverage on, to make sure we move towards a two state solution."

This has been an ongoing effort since 1937. Palestinian terror group Hamas, as well as its supporters, call for the complete eradication of Israel, not a two-state solution. The chant "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," means that a proposed nation of Palestine would occupy all the area from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, without any room for a nation of Israel.

This chant and sentiment has been echoed by protesters in Michigan and across the US. In Michigan, Arab-American activists launched a campaign during the Democrat presidential primaries to withdraw support for Joe Biden and to instead cast their ballots as "uncommitted" to protest America's backing of allied nation Israel.

"I think we're at a critical point right now," Walz continued. "We need the Netanyahu government to start moving in that direction. But I think those folks who are speaking out loudly in Michigan are speaking out for all the right reasons. It's a humanitarian crisis. It can't stand the way it is, and we need to find a way that people can live together in this. And we've said it and continue to say it, getting a ceasefire with the return of the hostages, and then moving towards a sustainable two-state solution is the only way forward."

During the Democratic National Convention in August, Harris and the Democrats signaled a potential change in policy on Israel. The parents of Hersch Goldberg-Polin, an American man who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, spoke at the DNC to beg for the safe return of their son. He was found only a few weeks later, having been executed by Hamas in a terrorist-controlled network of tunnels in Rafah, a city in Gaza.

The Biden-Harris administration had urged Israel to not send their forces into Rafah in an attempt to rescue hostages. Five others were found dead alongside Goldberg-Polin. President Joe Biden said at the DNC that the protesters who were burning American flags in the Chicago streets outside the convention "have a point." Walz uttered similar sentiments on Michigan public radio.

Harris also spoke about the conflict during her nomination acceptance speech at the DNC. "With respect to the war in Gaza," Harris said. "President Biden and I are working around the clock, because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done." There have been no policy platforms issued by the Harris-Walz campaign other than those comments given to reporters or in speeches.

"And let me be clear. And let me be clear. I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself," Harris continued, "and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival." It was from that festival that Goldberg-Polin was taken hostage by terrorists.

"At the same time," Harris said, pivoting, "what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking."

"President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination," Harris said.