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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) touted the Biden administration’s support for humanitarian assistance in Gaza after pro-Palestine protesters disrupted her book talk at the First Parish Church on Wednesday.
Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey ’92 moderated the event with Pelosi, which was organized by The Harvard Book Store. Three protesters interrupted Pelosi throughout the talk as more than 20 people rallied outside the church.
“Nancy, Nancy, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” the protesters chanted outside the venue, which is located in Harvard Square.
In response to the pro-Palestine protesters, Pelosi defended President Joe Biden’s foreign policy approach toward Israel and Gaza.
“He has been very concerned about a two-state solution for the region,” Pelosi said. “He has been such a strong supporter of humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza.”
Pelosi also cited the high death toll in Gaza, where more than 42,000 people have been killed since the start of Israel’s invasion in October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. While the ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, the majority of the dead are women and children.
“We don’t want any children killed,” Pelosi said. “There has to be a resolution of conflict that is not as savage as war.”
Biden has been increasingly vocal about the need for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza in the weeks leading up to the election as Democrats have warned that Kamala Harris may lose key swing states like Michigan, where a large number of Muslim Americans reside.
But for some voters who have been critical of U.S. military support for Israel, the Biden administration’s recent comments warning Israel to resume humanitarian aid to Gaza may not be enough.
“We’re not going to be silent in the complicity that we’re all facing as taxpayers, as Harvard students, in allowing our money to go directly towards bombing children,” said Tamar Sella ’25, an organizer with Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine.
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Even as Pesloi urged for an end to the bloodshed in Gaza, she criticized Hamas as a terrorist organization “dedicated to the destruction of Israel.”
During Pelosi’s talk, protesters also dropped banners from the church balconies as they shouted: “Arms embargo now! Arms embargo now!”
As the Cambridge Police Department escorted them out, Pelosi joked about how she has come to expect protests.
“I’m from San Francisco,” she said. “I’m used to this.”
Pelosi also drew a distinction between peaceful protesting and the actions of the activists who disrupted her book talk, referencing her past advocacy with former Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank ’61-’62, who attended the event.
“Barney, you and I, we’ve been out in the streets,” Pelosi said. “We protest. We value that.”
“But let's have some truce in what is happening today,” she added.
Throughout the remainder of the event, Pelosi stressed the importance of voting ahead of the election next month.
“Getting out the vote is what matters,” she said.
