US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday rebuked the rampant anti-Israel protests that have erupted across Washington, DC in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US capital city and speech to a joint session of Congress, calling the demonstrations “abhorrent.”

Outside of Union Station, rioters vandalized numerous statues and landmarks, and the phrase “Hamas is coming,” written in all capital letters, was spray-painted on a monument, along with an upside-down red triangle, a symbol used by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas when attacking Israeli targets.

“F—k Israel” was also spray-painted at various spots in Washington, DC.

Meanwhile, video emerged on social media showing rioters attacking police officers and burning American flags. They also tore down the American flag in front of Union Station and replaced it with a Palestinian flag. They subsequently set the American flag on fire.

Harris, the presumptive 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, released a statement condemning the “despicable acts by unpatriotic protesters,” specifically referencing the demonstrations at Union Station.

“I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews. Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and we must not tolerate it in our nation,” Harris said. “I condemn the burning of the American flag. That flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America. It should never be desecrated in that way.”

Harris concluded, “I support the right to peacefully protest, but let’s be clear: Antisemitism, hate, and violence of any kind have no place in our nation.”

The statement came after Harris received criticism for not attend Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday. Instead, the vice president agreed to deliver the keynote address for the national conference of a historically black sorority. 

Earlier this month, Harris expressed sympathy for anti-Israel protesters on US university campuses. In an interview, Harris said that college students protesting Israel’s defensive military efforts against Hamas are “showing exactly what the human emotion should be.”

“There are things some of the protesters are saying that I absolutely reject, so I don’t mean to wholesale endorse their points,” she added. “But we have to navigate it. I understand the emotion behind it.”

Harris has previously criticized Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. The vice president, for example, emphatically condemned Israel’s operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, insisting that she “studied the maps, there’s nowhere for [Palestinians] to go.” White House aides also reportedly forced Harris to tone down a speech that was highly critical of Israel earlier this year.

Beyond Harris, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates this week also lambasted the “disgraceful” anti-Israel demonstrators for openly endorsing terrorism and extremism. Bates rebuked the protests for their “antisemitism and violence.”

“Identifying with evil terrorist organizations like Hamas, burning the American flag, or forcibly removing the American flag and replacing it with another, is disgraceful,” he said in a statement. “Antisemitism and violence are never acceptable. Period. Every American has the right to peaceful protest. But shamefully, not everyone demonstrated peacefulness today.”

Anti-Israel protests have rocked the US in the months following Hamas’ massacre of over 1200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Demonstrators have rallied across college campuses and rallied at synagogues and Jewish cultural spaces to express their disapproval of Israel. Many agitators at these protests have openly endorsed the Hamas, the terrorist group that runs Gaza, and have called for the complete destruction of Israel. 

In response, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) on Wednesday unveiled new legislation to sanction non-citizens who participate in violent protests. The proposed “No Visas for Violent Criminals Act” would void visas for foreign nationals convicted for their conduct in protests and require their deportation within 60 days. Specifically, the legislation targets non-citizens arrested for obstructing traffic, defacing federal property, and participating in disruptive college campus demonstrations. 

Many of the most vocal anti-Israel agitators on college campuses, in particular, have been foreign students.

“The Biden administration’s inaction against pro-Hamas mobs has only emboldened these extremists. Our legislation makes clear that a green card does not give individuals the right to break our laws in support of antisemitic views,” Cotton wrote in a statement.

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