Hochul apologizes after saying Israel 'has right to defend itself' with 'inappropriate' Canada analogy

Posted 74 days ago

From WWW.FOXNEWS.COM

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul apologized for recent remarks in which she said Israel "has a right to defend itself," while making what she later called an "inappropriate analogy" about Canada invading Buffalo, New York.

"Call out Hamas for what it is, and it is a terrorist organization that must be stopped. No one, no country should live with that threat, that specter over them," Hochul said Thursday during a speech at the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York, according to video shared on X.

"And for those that don’t understand this dynamic here in our own state, in our own country, I’ll give you an example," she said. "I’m from Buffalo, anybody realize that? If Canada someday ever attacked Buffalo, I'm sorry my friends, there would be no Canada the next day. Right? I love Canada, but we did have the War of 1812, and they did burn Buffalo… so there might be a little conflict here. But think about that. That is a natural reaction. You have a right to defend yourself and to make sure it never happens again. And that is Israel’s right."

Hochul later walked back her comments amid online backlash, apologizing in a statement to the New York Times on Friday. The governor claimed that she made an "inappropriate analogy" at the Jewish philanthropic event in New York City and apologized for her "poor choice of words."

"While I have been clear in my support of Israel’s right to self-defense, I have also repeatedly said and continue to believe that Palestinian civilian casualties should be avoided and that more humanitarian aid must go to the people of Gaza," she told the Times.

The apology comes after New York State Assemblyman Zohran Kwame Mamdani criticized the governor in a post on X.... (Read more)