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‘Smirker of the genocide’: Outrage after Matthew Miller says Israel committed war crimes
- Maysa Mustafa, Middle East Eye
- Jun 1
- 4 min read
Former Biden official says Israel has 'without a doubt' committed war crimes, following months of denial
Former US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller has sparked outrage after saying he believed “without a doubt" that Israel has committed war crimes.
On Monday's episode of Sky News' Trump 100 podcast, Miller, now speaking as a private citizen, said he does not believe Israel is carrying out a genocide, but that it is failing itself as a democracy by not holding soldiers accountable for their actions in Gaza.
He added that there were "disagreements all along the way" on how to handle Israel's war on Gaza.
Miller served as the State Department spokesperson from 2023 until the end of Biden's presidential term, during which he frequently defended Israel's war on Gaza.
When asked if he believed Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza, Miller replied: “I don’t believe it’s genocide, but I think it is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes.”
The host then pressed on why Miller had publicly denied accusations of war crimes against Israel for more than a year, to which Miller said he was a spokesperson for the US government, not for himself.
“The United States government had not concluded they’ve (Israel) committed war crimes – they still have not concluded that," he said.
“You are a spokesperson for the president, the administration, and you espouse the positions of the administration. And when you're not in the administration, you can just give your own opinions."
Miller continued to specify that it is still open to question whether the Israeli state has committed war crimes, but that there have been “individual incidents” from soldiers in the Israeli military who undoubtedly committed "war crimes".
The responsibility, he said, lies with Israel to hold these individuals accountable, which he believes they have not done.
'Characteristic smirk'
Miller took heavy criticism throughout his time at the White House, from both the general public and reporters who attended State Department press conferences.
On multiple occasions, reporters pushed back against Miller as he continuously deflected blame from the US or Israel, despite any evidence presented.
One viral moment took place when journalist Sam Husseini accused Miller of “smirking” while he was talking about the death toll in Gaza.
This, in particular, has been continuously referenced by social media users who say that Miller’s recent admission of Israel's war crimes is not only too late but will not "save him” from complicity in the war crimes he says Israel has committed.
Middle East Eye requested comment from Miller regarding the backlash that has ensued, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Palestinian journalist Abubaker Abed, who recently arrived in Dublin after fleeing Gaza, took to X to respond to Miller, writing: “You will always be remembered as the smirker of the Gaza Genocide”.
Another wrote that Miller wore his “characteristic smirk” while he was “quite literally the face of the US covering for Israel, denying their war crimes on the podium day in and day out”.
“We're seeing more and more cases like his as the scale of the horrors that happened - and are still happening - in Gaza is becoming more and more impossible to deny,” he continued.
“They're nothing more than opportunists trying to salvage their reputations on the graves of those they helped kill. The lowest of the low.”
Others echoed the sentiment that Miller is among the many figures, ranging from journalists to international leaders, who have only recently condemned Israel for its bombardment of the enclave, which has killed over 54,000 Palestinians so far, after defending the state for a year and a half.
“Public opinion has shifted and now everyone needs to get a quote that they can point that says they knew the whole time and were secretly working behind the scenes,” one Reddit user wrote.
"At some point, all of these criminals will claim they acted under compulsion," Palestinian-American imam Dr Omar Suleiman wrote in an Instagram post. "We will not let them sanitize their role in this genocide."
Popular political commentator and streamer Hasan Piker pointed out that the potential war crimes Israel has committed were enabled, in part, because of Miller and the US government's constant support.
"How many times did this piece of shit say something like 'we’ve asked the IDF to investigate these reports and we’ll let you know what they say'? How many times did he invoke the phrase 'hamas propaganda' when referring to these reports?" a Reddit user wrote in a thread discussing the podcast episode.
Some took it a step further in pointing the blame back at Miller, saying that he could be tried as a war criminal - like those who were spokespeople for the Nazi party in Germany - for his role in defending Israel.
In an X post responding to Miller's statement, investigative journalist Asa Winstanley wrote: "Matthew Miller without a doubt belongs in jail for the rest of his life."
(c) 2025, Middle East Eye
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