Poet Rupi Kaur declines invite to White House Diwali celebration over U.S. response to Israel-Hamas war

Poet Rupi Kaur said she is declining an invitation to the White House's Diwali celebration over the Biden administration's support for Israel's continuing bombardment of Gaza and what she called its justification of "genocide against Palestinians."

"I'm surprised this administration finds it acceptable to celebrate Diwali, when their support of the current atrocities against Palestinians represent the exact opposite of what this holiday means to many of us," Kaur wrote Monday on Instagram.

The holiday celebration, which is being hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, is a celebration of "righteousness over falsehood and knowledge over ignorance" by people of the Hindu and Jain faiths and culturally throughout India and around the world, Kaur said.