Meena Harris, Kamala’s niece, says people can’t fight for LGBT+ rights and ignore ‘Palestinian oppression’
Meena Harris. (Handout/DNCC via Getty)
Meena Harris has said people can’t advocate for LGBT+ rights while ignoring the oppression of people in Palestine.
Harris, an American lawyer, author and niece of vice president Kamala Harris, spoke out on behalf of Palestine after at least 119 people in Gaza were killed – including 31 children – by Israeli air strikes. An estimated 900 have been injured, according to The New York Times.
Meanwhile, eight people have been killed in Israel by rockets fired by Hamas, according to authorities in the country.
In an Instagram post, Meena Harris questioned why people are happy to advocate for some social justice causes while ignoring the situation in Palestine.
“One cannot advocate for racial equality, LGBT and women’s rights, condemn corrupt and abusive regimes and other injustices yet choose to ignore the Palestinian oppression,” a graphic shared on Instagram by Harris read.
“It does not add up. You cannot pick and choose whose human rights matter more.”
Harris captioned the post: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. I stand in solidarity with the Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah.”
More than 100 people have been killed in violent scenes in Palestine
Her comments come after days of violence in Palestine and Israel. The outbreak of violence has been blamed on a number of issues, including legal efforts to forcibly evict Palestinian families from their homes in Jerusalem.
Tensions escalated further when Israeli forces stopped Palestinian people from celebrating Ramadan at Damascus Gate, an old city entrance where people often congregate at the end of the fasting period.
Israeli police subsequently raided Aqsa Mosque, which resulted in 330 Palestinians being wounded. On Friday (14 May), Gaza was bombarded with artillery by Israeli ground forces.
Authorities in Gaza said there have been more than 150 air strikes since violence broke out, while the Israeli military accused Hamas of firing 1,800 rockets.
While Meena Harris has expressed her support for Palestine, the White House has done no such thing.
Earlier this week, Joe Biden said: “One of the things that I have seen, thus far, is that there has not been a significant overreaction. The question is, how we get to a point where – they get to a point where there is a significant reduction in the attacks, particularly the rocket attacks that are indiscriminately fired into population centres.”
