Jill Stein says war in Gaza ‘makes any genocide pale by comparison’ — and then says she misspoke
The Green Party Platform supports the right of return for Palestinians who were forcibly removed or fled during Israel’s war for independence
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein speaks at a pro-Palestinian protest in front of the White House June 8. Photo by Mattie Neretin/Getty Images
By Lauren Markoe August 27, 2024
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein in an interview Tuesday morning described the death toll in Gaza as a genocide that “makes any genocide pale by comparison.”
In response to an email on the comment, the Green Party said she misspoke: “Dr. Stein would like to clarify that she meant to say the genocide in Gaza “makes any other issue pale in comparison.”
Stein, who won 1% of the vote in the 2016 presidential race, angered many who accused her of siphoning votes away from Hillary Clinton and helping Donald Trump win.
Speaking on the C-SPAN program Washington Journal, Stein also referred to Ismail Haniyeh, the top Hamas’ political leader who was assassinated by Israel last month, as a “very moderate negotiator.”
Stein, 74, invoked her own Jewish identity when a caller to the show noted that she had used the word “genocide” many times about Gaza, but had not mentioned the hostages held by Hamas.
“I am of Jewish background myself,” she told the caller, who had identified herself as an independent New Jersey Jewish voter. “I grew up right after the Holocaust, very mindful that genocide should never happen again, not to anyone, and that responsibility for genocide is not just the perpetrator, it’s also the bystander.”
The next caller, a non-Jewish Ohio Democrat who said she doesn’t understand why Hamas doesn’t surrender, asked Stein whether she believes Israel has a right to exist.
“Yes, all countries have a right to exist, but they don’t have a right to murder and massacre women and children,” Stein replied. “That’s the problem.”
She said the hostages “must be returned,” but blamed Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu for their continued captivity.
Israel describes its military campaign in Gaza as necessary to root out terrorists bent on killing Jews and destroying the Jewish state.
As opposed to the Democratic and Republican platforms, the Green Party platform does not support Israel as a Jewish state, but as a secular democracy. It also supports the right of return for Palestinians who were forcibly removed or fled during Israel’s war for independence, a policy Israel says would quickly make Jews a minority. The party also supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement as well as Palestinian non-violent resistance to Israel.
It adds: “However, we also recognize that our appeal to Palestinians to continue to resist nonviolently in the face of ongoing existential threats from Israel is hypocritical unless accompanied by substantial acts of international support.”
Stein rejected several callers’ charges that she helped elect Trump in 2016 and could do the same this year. She said votes for her in past elections were not from potential Democratic voters, but from those who would have not have voted at all.
“Candidates have to earn your vote, they don’t own your vote,” she said. “If I wasn’t on the ballot, the outcome would not have been any different.”
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. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
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 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.
