House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, a member of the Democratic leadership team, last week became the highest-ranking member of Congress to characterize the war in Gaza as a “genocide.”
But she then walked the comments back on Monday amid a backlash, saying, “I want to be clear that I am not accusing Israel of genocide.”
Clark’s initial comments came after she was confronted by protesters during an event in her district in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“We each have to continue to have an open heart about how … how we take action to in time to make a difference, whether that is stopping the starvation and genocide and destruction of Gaza, or whether that means we are working together to stop the redistricting that is going on, taking away the vote from people,” Clark said, according to a video clip obtained by Axios, which did not publish the footage.
Her remarks appeared to reflect a broader shift within the Democratic party, as more members back legislation aimed at blocking US arms sales to Israel, marking a departure from the party’s historically strong support for the country.
They made her the 14th member of Congress to use the term “genocide,” which Israel rejects but has gained increasing purchase, including from some of Israel’s past supporters, as the war has ground on.
Others using the term include a dozen progressive Democrats, tallied by the pro-Palestinian media outlet Zeteo, as well as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right Georgia Republican.
But on Monday, Clark said she was not personally accusing Israel of genocide but had only repeated the word used by a demonstrator.
“Last week, while attending an event in my district, I repeated the word ‘genocide’ in response to a question,” she said in a statement issued to the Jewish News Syndicate.
“I want to be clear that I am not accusing Israel of genocide. We all need to work with urgency to bring the remaining hostages home, surge aid to Palestinians and oppose their involuntary relocation, remove Hamas from power and end the war.”
Clark has been endorsed by the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, which notes that she condemned Hamas after its October 7 attack on Israel, and traveled to Israel herself with AIPAC in 2015.
Clark is seen as a possible contender to unseat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, whom pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protesters have targeted as complicit in “genocide” because of his votes on Israel-related legislation, as the party’s leader in the House.
She tends to vote with the party’s progressives but has not fashioned herself as a progressive activist while ascending sharply in the party’s leadership since first being elected in 2013.