Kamala Harris views on Israel, Gaza conflict, and potential ceasefire

President Joe Biden’s unwavering assist for Israel’s conflict in Gaza created a rift between moderates and progressives in his occasion. Now that he has stepped apart within the 2024 presidential race, the query is whether or not Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, would chart a distinct path ahead as president.

One early sign that she may: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to handle Congress on Wednesday, and Harris won’t preside in her function as vp on account of a beforehand scheduled occasion she is attending in Indianapolis. A slew of congressional Democrats (not simply progressives) have determined to not attend in protest of Netanyahu’s technique in Gaza.

Harris will meet with Netanyahu one-on-one on Wednesday, and the Wall Avenue Journal reported that she is anticipated to inform him “it’s time for the conflict to finish in a manner the place Israel is safe, all hostages are launched, the struggling of Palestinian civilians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian individuals can get pleasure from their proper to dignity, freedom, and self-determination.”

Solely days into her marketing campaign, Harris has but to articulate her Gaza coverage, however the truth that she shouldn’t be attending Netanyahu’s speech and privately speaking the urgency of a ceasefire indicators that she won’t observe Biden’s lead in giving the Israeli chief a “bear hug.” Biden actually embraced Netanyahu on the tarmac when the president landed in Tel Aviv in November as a symbolic gesture of unequivocal assist for Israel, and has since stored the prime minister shut metaphorically, providing army and monetary assist.

If Harris does change course, even barely, that would alter the US-Israel relationship, however might even have necessary electoral penalties as properly.

Harris has longstanding ties to the American Jewish group and Israeli curiosity teams.

Her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emoff, is Jewish and has been on the forefront of the Biden administration’s initiative towards antisemitism since Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel.

She has a very good working relationship with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who shares a ardour for local weather points. She has additionally been on each one of many greater than 20 cellphone calls that Biden has had with Netanyahu all through the conflict.

In her presidential bid, she has received the backing of main Jewish curiosity teams, together with Democratic Majority for Israel, J Avenue, and the Jewish Democratic Council of America. She additionally has connections to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and gave a speech on the group’s annual convention in 2017 quickly after she was elected to the US Senate, saying that considered one of her first acts in workplace was to introduce a decision opposing a United Nations Safety Council decision condemning Israel. On the time, she mentioned, “I consider the bonds between america and Israel are unbreakable.”

In regards to the conflict in Gaza, Harris has repeatedly upheld Israel’s “proper to defend itself” towards Hamas and emphasised that the menace posed by Hamas to Israel should be “eradicated.” This means she’s largely in settlement with Biden’s posture. Harris has, nonetheless, taken a sharper tone than Biden regarding Israel’s therapy of civilians in Gaza.

In a high-profile speech in March, she grew to become the primary individual within the Biden administration to name for a right away ceasefire, albeit solely a momentary one. She additionally mentioned that the Israeli authorities should do extra to extend the stream of help to Gaza, “no excuses,” and referred to as the state of affairs in Gaza a “humanitarian disaster.” The model of the speech that was in the end delivered had reportedly been softened from its authentic draft, which extra instantly criticized Israel for its obstruction of help vans into Gaza.

She additionally has expressed empathy for scholar protesters on faculty campuses who’re horrified by the dying and destruction in Gaza and have tried to strain their faculties into slicing ties with Israel.

“They’re displaying precisely what the human emotion must be, as a response to Gaza,” Harris instructed the Nation. “There are issues a few of the protesters are saying that I completely reject, so I don’t imply to wholesale endorse their factors. However we have now to navigate it. I perceive the emotion behind it.”

If she turns into president, the Wall Avenue Journal reported that Harris is anticipated to exchange a few of the chief architects of the Biden administration’s technique in Gaza, together with nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin. It’s to be anticipated {that a} new president would need their very own crew in place, however any adjustments would open up potentialities for taking a distinct tack.

Harris’s nationwide safety adviser, Philip Gordon, has emphasised diplomatic somewhat than army options in international coverage and written extensively concerning the difficulties of regime change within the Center East. That background could show related as Israel seeks to root out Hamas and set up a brand new authorities in Gaza.

All of this means that Harris is perhaps considerably to Biden’s left on Gaza — however by how a lot is an open query and one which she should make clear.

“She does have a possibility. She’s utilizing the correct language in some cases. However we want a clearer rationalization from her on the place she stands,” mentioned Abed Ayoub, nationwide authorized and coverage director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

And — as with Joe Biden’s marketing campaign guarantees to make Saudi Arabia a pariah state — there’s at all times an opportunity that what Harris does finally say whereas campaigning could change as soon as she’s in workplace.

Politically, Harris faces the quandary of figuring out if — and by how a lot — she ought to distance herself from Biden’s file on Gaza, which has fractured the Democratic base.

Biden at one level paused shipments of huge munitions to Israel over considerations about how they might be probably used towards civilians in Gaza however has in any other case continued to supply materials assist for the conflict, even after Israeli operations in Gaza’s southernmost metropolis of Rafah wreaked widespread destruction. Over 39,000 Palestinians have already died in the middle of the battle, based on the Gaza Well being Ministry.

In Could, Biden referred to as for a deal to finish the conflict and return the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, whereas persevering with to advocate for a two-state resolution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian battle. However the Israeli parliament has since voted to reject a two-state resolution and ceasefire talks are nonetheless ongoing two months later.

On Monday, Biden promised he would ship a ceasefire deal earlier than he leaves workplace. He didn’t elaborate on how he plans to beat the roadblocks which have stalled negotiations to date.

Progressives have for months been calling on Biden to halt weapons shipments to Gaza and put extra strain on Israel to finish the conflict. Over 650,000 Democrats voted “uncommitted” within the major to protest Biden’s insurance policies, and the scale of the opposition to Biden within the Midwest appeared as if it might have tipped the election in Trump’s favor in swing states together with Michigan and Wisconsin. Relying on how Harris positions herself, she might win again a few of these voters.

“I believe there may be pleasure that [Biden] shouldn’t be on the high of the ticket,” mentioned Layla Elabed, a Palestinian American organizer in Michigan who helped lead the uncommitted motion, and the sister of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). “However we’re additionally proper now watching and listening to what Harris goes to do subsequent.”

General, nonetheless, Democrats and Republicans stay largely supportive of Israel’s marketing campaign. Since Israel’s institution in 1948, the US has maintained a particular relationship with the nation. It has been the most important cumulative recipient of American international help since its founding, totaling about $310 billion (adjusted for inflation) in whole financial and army help.

For these causes, it’s unlikely that Harris will deviate considerably from Biden on Israel — and if there may be any change in her coverage, it will be solely slight. The query can be whether or not any adjustments can win again voters that the president has alienated with out shedding the voters who embraced his stance.

This leaves Harris with a tough political tightrope to stroll. However in contrast to Biden, she isn’t weighed down with the direct duty for all that has occurred to date.