‘The View’: Kamala Harris Claims She “Understands” Gen Z’s Concerns Over Israel-Hamas War, But Says “We Can’t Deny The Significance Of A Vicious, Brutal Attack”

A large number of Gen Z might not be loving the way the Biden administration is handling the Israel-Hamas war — but that didn’t stop Vice President Kamala Harris from giving them a shoutout on this morning’s episode of The View.

During the politician’s visit to the Hot Topics table, Sunny Hostin brought up the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, noting that many voters between the ages of 18 and 29 disapprove of the United States sending money and weapons to Israel and are advocating for a humanitarian ceasefire.

Before defending the administration’s decision to help Israel, Harris said she recently went on a college tour where she met over 15,000 students across the country.

“I just have to say, I love Gen Z, by the way. I think it’s a spectacular generation,” she began. “All of that to say you’re absolutely right. I have talked with young people, many around the country, and I’ve heard them, I see them and I understand.”

She continued, “But I think it’s important that while we understand where they’re coming from — which I do — that we not lose sight of the context, which is, let’s just go back to Oct. 7.”

Harris was referring to Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel in early October, which led to the current conflict.

(Editor’s Note: The View is on hiatus today; contrary to what you may have heard, The View was not canceled today. This article was originally published on Jan. 17, 2024 when this episode first aired. The View will return with new episodes next week.)

“We can’t deny the significance of a vicious, brutal attack that caused the death of 1,200 innocent people — a lot of them young people — who were just attending a concert, women who were brutally assaulted and raped,” she said. “Again, as someone who spent a lot of my career focused on those kinds of crimes, the horror of it. And all of that to also then say, Israel has a right to defend itself. We would. And how it does matters.”

The VP added that there have also “been far too many innocent Palestinian” deaths, pointing out that they “want this to end as soon as possible.”

But in order to do that, Harris said, “Israel must be secure, there must be an equal measure of security for the Palestinians who are entitled to dignity and self-determination [and] the hostages must be freed.”

She concluded that she and President Joe Biden are “committed to an eventual two-state solution.”

The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.