President Joe Biden encouraged a crowd to listen to a pro-Palestinian demonstrator during a speech on Friday, adding that the killing of innocent people "has to stop."
The interruption during a historic apology from Biden over the federal government’s long-term practice of sending Native American youth to boarding schools, an overt attempt at ethnic cleansing that sought to strip the indigenous Americans of their culture and language. Biden called the schools, which operated for more than a century, a "sin on our soul."
“The federal government has never formally apologized for what happened until today. I formally apologize,” Biden said during his speech to the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona.
“What about the people of Gaza?” a woman shouted during Biden’s remarks. “It’s an empty promise toward our people. How can you apologize for a genocide while commiting a genocide in Palestine?”
“Let her talk,” Biden pleaded with someone seemingly trying to eject the demonstrator. “Let her go. There's a lot of innocent people being killed and it has to stop.”
“Let her talk. ... There's a lot of innocent people being killed and it has to stop.”
— The Recount (@therecount) October 25, 2024
— President Biden pauses for a pro-Palestinian protester as he apologizes to the Gila River Indian Community for the era of federal government-supported boarding schools for Native Americans. pic.twitter.com/lXV6E71tEk
Biden’s administration has been the subject of protests over its continued military support of Israel more tha na year into the war in Gaza. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has slow-walked U.S.-brokered attempts at a ceasefire, reportedly taking cues and calls from political ally Donald Trump.
The president’s response marks a willingness to hear perspectives in opposition to the Israeli military operations. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both said Israel should take the recent killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as an “opportunity to end” the war.
