N | ew York’s Democratic governor Kathy Hochul recently invoked the War of 1812 to rationalize her party’s steadfast support of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s slaughter of Palestinians.
As first reported on social media by Jacob N. Kornbluh of the Forward, Governor Hochul stated to an audience of the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York that “If Canada someday ever attacked Buffalo, I’m sorry my friends, there would be no Canada the next day.” The statement was made on Thursday, February 15, and went viral the following day.
Hochul, who hails from Buffalo, New York, added that she “loved Canada, but we did have the War of 1812 and they did burn Buffalo.” She further elaborated, “But think about that. That’s a natural reaction. You have a right to defend yourself and to make sure it never happens again.”
Shortly after Kornbluh’s post, Hochul apologized, expressing regret that she used “an inappropriate analogy that I now realize could be hurtful to members of our community,” though she did not specify which community she was referring to. She also said she regretted her “poor choice of words,” but did not directly apologize to the Palestinian community of New York State, nor to anyone in Canada, for suggesting that the complete annihilation of a people is a “natural reaction” to a terrorist attack.