New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently issued an apology for remarks she made at a philanthropic event regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict. In her original remarks, Governor Hochul called out Hamas as a terror organization that must be stopped, and made an analogy that suggested Israel would be justified in destroying Gaza. This specific analogy has drawn criticism as it implied a justifying rationale for potential destruction of Gaza.
The controversial analogy made by Governor Hochul was as follows: 'If Canada someday ever attacked Buffalo, there would be no Canada the next day. That's a natural reaction. You have a right to defend yourself and to make sure that it never happens again and that is Israel's right.' The analogy was seen as supporting Israel's right to self-defense but also implied a disregard for Palestinian civilian casualties.
