Vice President Harris’ snub of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week was only the latest in a long line of anti-Israel statements and sentiments Harris has offered since the Hamas terrorist attack of Oct. 7.
While President Biden has long prided himself as a Zionist and friend of Israel — and Harris has been careful to tow the official line — she has made no illusions that she would prefer a tougher stance on Israel than her boss.
Just weeks after Hamas — the elected government of Gaza — massacred 1,200 Israelis, took 200 more as hostages, committed mass rape and beheaded babies, Harris made it known that she was demanding Israel pump the brakes on operations that could cause civilian casualties.
“We believe Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians,” she said on Dec 2, 2023.
Less than a month after Oct 7. Harris spoke approvingly of rampaging pro-Hamas college students, telling reporters “I do understand their concerns and I will never attempt to stifle or silence young people from expressing their concerns.”
When Israel said they needed to destroy Hamas at their stronghold in Rafah, Harris was reliably against that too, saying on ABC that it was not logistically possible and that she knew this because she had “studied the maps.”
When a deranged protester told Harris on Oct. 17 the United States and Israel were committing “genocide,” Harris responded by saying “I appreciate you raising the subject and I appreciate your leadership.”
Harris was squishy on Israel when she was a senator as well, voting against federal anti-BDS legislation which passed the chamber overwhelmingly in 2019.
Political insiders said the transition from Biden to Harris would cost the party among Jewish Dems, most of whom consider Israel a core issue.
“Pro-Israel Democratic voters are going to hold their noses in many cases and vote for Trump. Because Trump may be bad, but no Israel is worse,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic consultant.
“The pro-Israel Democratic community is shrinking and it will shrink further with Kamala Harris because she’s been very clear about how she feels. She has limited respect for the most important ally America has in the Middle East and an ally that is now fighting a proxy war at great cost against America’s greatest enemy, which is Iran,” Sheinkopf added.