Vice President Kamala Harris was blasted on social media over a video “announcing the country’s first National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia” with most users taking issue with the timing of the post just weeks after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
“Taking on hate is a national priority,” Harris posted on X, rolling out the White House plan to “combat a surge of hate in America.”
The timing of the post was immediately criticized on social media, and many also pointed out the recent surge in hate crimes against Jewish people.
“On the same day Hamas leadership goes on international TV and declares their goal is to erase Jews and Israel off the planet,” The Spectator editor Stephen L. Miller posted on X. “Just stunning.”
THE SCOURGE OF ANTISEMITISM IS NOW GLOBAL AND INESCAPABLE
Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks about the Biden Administration’s work to regulate artificial intelligence during an event in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 30, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“According to the FBI director, Jews make up 2.4% of the US population but are the targets of 60% of hate crimes,” political commentator Gad Saad posted on X. “This is why it is apparently important to fight Islamophobia according to the White House.”
“Anti-semitism is at the highest level since NAZI Germany and the Biden admin decides to launch an anti-Islamophobia effort,” GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden posted on X. “I have absolutely no idea how anyone who cares about the survival of Jewish people could vote for any member of the Democratic Party.”
BIDEN WHITE HOUSE BRAINSTORMING ANTI-ISLAMOPHOBIA PROGRAM AMID WARNINGS AGAINST SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
An anti-Israel sign with the phrase “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” at a protest at Tulane University. (Credit: Ryan Zamos)
“Timing is everything & is itself a statement,” Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce posted on X. “This as Jews are being threatened, hunted, & attacked worldwide. Tells you everything you need to know about the moral depravity and corruption of the Democratic Party and especially of the people in the White House. Shame on them.”
“After the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and a breakout of pro-Hamas activism on campus, the White House is claiming *Islamophobia* is our top concern,” Republican Sen. Tom Cotton posted on X.
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An anti-Israel protester in Cambridge on Monday shouted slurs at the pro-Israel counter-protesters, calling them “pigs” and “Nazis.” (Kassy Dillon/Fox News Digital)
Hate crimes data released on Oct. 16 by the FBI shows that reported hate crime incidents in 2022 rose to 11,634, the highest number ever recorded since the FBI started tracking such data in 1991. The country’s reported single-bias anti-Jewish hate crime incidents sharply rose by more than 37%, reaching 1,122 incidents, the highest number recorded in almost three decades and the second-highest number on record.
The White House responded to a request for comment from Fox News Digital by pointing out several steps the administration has taken to combat antisemitism in the past month, including DHS and DOJ taking steps to engage with college campus law enforcement and the Department of Education expediting its update of the intake process for discrimination complaints under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, to specifically state that certain forms of antisemitism and Islamophobia are prohibited by this law.
“In addition, Senior Administration Officials continue to engage with leading organizations and students to hear from them directly and discuss additional actions to take,” a White House official said.
The White House also pointed to its first-ever national strategy to combat antisemitism launched in May.
Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood contributed to this report.