During a holiday party speech by Vice President Harris, Delaware state Representative Madinah Wilson-Anton caused a stir by interrupting with a demand for a cease-fire in the Middle East. While Harris was delivering her speech, Wilson-Anton, holding a sign that read “cease-fire,” called out to the Vice President, highlighting the situation in Bethlehem and questioning why a cease-fire was not being called for.
The Vice President responded to the interruption by acknowledging Wilson-Anton’s desire to be heard but emphasized that it was her time to speak. Despite being escorted out, Wilson-Anton continued to call for a cease-fire.
This incident reflects the ongoing debate within the Democrat Party and the Biden administration regarding the Middle East conflict, particularly the situation between Israel and Hamas. President Biden, in a November Washington Post op-ed, expressed skepticism about a cease-fire equating to peace, citing Hamas’s history of using cease-fires to prepare for further conflict.
The topic has seen divergent views within the party, with prominent members like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticizing the administration’s stance. Ocasio-Cortez described the Biden administration’s veto of a UN resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza as “shameful” and inconsistent with their stated concerns for Palestinian rights and human rights.
Other progressive House Representatives like Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib have echoed the call for a cease-fire, demonstrating the varying perspectives within the party on this complex international issue.