Jared Kushner Blames Palestinians Killed In Protests For Causing Unrest
Image by Getty Images
In his address at the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, Jared Kushner blamed Palestinian protestors, dozens of whom were killed by Israeli security, for causing unrest, the Daily News reported Monday.
“Those provoking problems like we see today in Gaza are part of the problem and not part of the solution,” Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and top Middle East advisor, said at the commencement ceremony.
However, that sentiment was omitted from the official White House transcript, according to MSNBC reporter Ayman Mohyeldin.
Wow!! Jared Kushner’s controversial comment about Gaza during Embassy opening saying “as we have seen from the protests of the last month & even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem & not part of the solution” was omitted from official White House transcript! pic.twitter.com/M6zRdg4Jcp
— Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) May 14, 2018
Kushner went on to say that hoped he for peace, but the “journey to peace started with a strong America recognizing the truth.”
Protesters attempting to breach the border with Israel clashed with troops before the official ceremony, leaving more than 50 dead and about 1,200 injured, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Health Ministry. It marks the deadliest day in the territory since the 2014 war with Israel.
The United Nations’ human rights chief demanded an end to the killing, which he called “outrageous human rights violations.”
President Trump did not mention the violence in a Monday morning tweet about the embassy opening, where he plugged the coverage by Fox News. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo followed up a statement about the U.S.’s hope for peace in the region, but he didn’t mention the violence or the deaths. A later White House statement said that the responsibility for Gaza deaths “rests squarely with Hamas,” the Associated Press reported.
Contact Alyssa Fisher at [email protected] or on Twitter, @alyssalfisher
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
