A Kamala Harris campaign aide once accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and “terrorism.”
Brenda Abdelall, whom the Democratic candidate’s campaign hired in August to act as the deputy director of Muslim Arab American outreach ahead of November’s election, made the comments in University of Michigan student publication The Michigan Daily in October 2002.
“Those 2002 comments do not reflect Brenda’s views or the views of the campaign,” Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign told Newsweek.
Abdelall did not respond to Newsweek‘s request for comment.
Brenda Abdelall speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on November 29, 2016. She once accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and “terrorism.”
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Abdelall, an Egyptian American lawyer who most recently worked as a senior counselor to the Department of Homeland Security‘s secretary, was studying political science and Arabic and Islamic studies at the university when she made her comments.
Hitt said that in her role at the DHS, Abdelall had worked closely on the first National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism and had also led efforts for the first United We Stand summit at the White House in 2022 to counter hate-motivated violence.
At the time of Abdelall’s comments in 2002, the second Palestinian Intifada—or uprising—was at its height. Palestinian suicide bombers targeted Israelis while Israeli forces carried out major assaults in the West Bank.
“Ethnic cleansing may seem like an archaic term, but its traces are still evident in the 21st century,” Abdelall wrote. “All across the world we find various groups of people that have been oppressed and targeted with the sole aim of annihilating their existence.”
She added that Palestinians are treated badly “simply because they are Arab” and likened Israel’s policy to that of Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s in Chechnya, a mostly Muslim region where Russian forces were fighting separatists at the time.
“The Palestinians and Chechens are terrorized on a daily basis by the occupying forces and have been for decades,” she wrote. “Terrorism from both sides must stop, as it has left many innocent dead and a stalemate towards any positive solutions.
“Ethnic cleansing was attempted in Bosnia by the Serbians and is occurring in a different form in Chechnya and Palestine. It is not OK for our society to continue their apathy and to diminish the horrors of their suffering. People of conscious must continue to speak up for the innocent civilians killed on both sides of these conflicts and hopefully the occupations will end, resulting in just and viable solutions.”
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has taken an important place in the close election race between Harris and former President Donald Trump, with votes of both Jewish and Muslim Americans being courted, particularly in the battleground states that could determine the winner.
Fighting in the Middle East intensified when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 250 hostages. Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to figures from Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry as cited by The Associated Press.
Abdelall had also once accused Zionists of “controlling” American politics in a 2002 interview with the New York Sun while attending the American Muslim Council’s annual convention.
“The Zionists have a strong voice in American politics,” she said. “I would say they’re controlling a lot of it.” This was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
Nimrod Goren, Senior Fellow for Israeli Affairs at the nonpartisan think tank the Middle East Institute, said Abdelall’s comments “echo antisemitic messages.”
“Statements that echo antisemitic messages are not appropriate and should be condemned. Nevertheless, statements made over 20 years ago should not be enough to disqualify someone from getting a job within a campaign team,” he said. “Kamala Harris has been clear in her positions on Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the road to peace based on a two-state solution.”
A Jewish group has also raised concerns about past comments made by Nasrina Bargzie, a White House adviser whom Harris recently hired as director of outreach to Muslim and Arab voters. The past comments had appeared to minimize complaints of Jewish students over antisemitism.
Hitt said: “At the White House, Nasrina helped to implement the country’s first ever strategy to combat antisemitism. We are proud to have her on the campaign.”
Newsweek contacted Bargzie by email for comment.
