WPLG Anchor Glenna Milberg Challenges DSA Candidate’s Claims About Israel

MIAMI (VINnews)-A local Miami television journalist pushed back forcefully against a Democratic Socialists of America-backed congressional candidate during a weekend interview after he accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Glenna Milberg, host of WPLG Local 10’s “This Week in South Florida,” interrupted Oliver Larkin multiple times Sunday when the candidate described Israel’s military campaign against Hamas as genocide. “That is factually incorrect,” Milberg told him. “That’s propaganda.”

Larkin, a 34-year-old union organizer challenging two-term Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz in Florida’s 25th Congressional District primary on Tuesday, cited the United Nations, Amnesty International and the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem in support of his characterization.

Milberg rejected the assertion. “The definition of genocide, and the UN has said this, does not apply to what many people might think as a disproportionate wartime action,” she said. “Genocide is a very specific thing — actually, genocide being committed against Jewish people, not by Israel. And that’s just a fact.”

When Larkin continued, claiming Israeli forces had “deliberately targeted women and children” and conducted “indiscriminate bombing” of hospitals and places of worship, Milberg cut in again: “Again, I’m going to have to stop you again, as that is factually not correct.”

The interview ended shortly afterward, with Milberg noting she had been told they needed to wrap up. The segment has circulated widely online, drawing praise from supporters of Israel who highlighted the host’s refusal to accept what they described as false claims.

Larkin is one of the final DSA-backed candidates in a major Democratic primary this cycle. He has criticized Moskowitz’s support for Israel and called for an end to U.S. military aid to the Jewish state, along with other progressive priorities including Medicare for All and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. About one in four voters in the newly drawn district are Jewish.

Moskowitz has previously described some of Larkin’s supporters as antisemitic and has positioned himself against the far left within the Democratic Party. The Cook Political Report rates the general-election contest for the South Florida seat as a toss-up.

The exchange highlights ongoing tensions within the Democratic Party over Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza.