Harris confronts Democratic divisions over Gaza war in convention speech
WASHINGTON — As anger over the war in Gaza flared, Vice President Kamala Harris attempted to defuse one of the most divisive issues within the Democratic Party on the biggest political stage of her life.
Her comments Thursday night in her speech accepting the party’s support presidential nomination stuck closely to previous statements on the conflict, which began with Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7.
Harris said she “will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure that Israel has the ability to defend itself.” She opposes restrictions on arms sales to Israel.
Harris then turned to the destruction Israel has caused in Gaza, where 40,000 Palestinians have been killed.
“So many innocent lives lost,” she said. “Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety again and again. The scale of the suffering is heartbreaking.”
Harris said she was working with President Joe Biden on a ceasefire agreement that would also see the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, a step toward helping Palestinians “realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”
Such a deal has proven unattainable despite pressure from the White House. Biden and Harris spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday as the Democratic National Convention got underway.
Harris spoke about the conflict in a similar way Last month, after meeting with Netanyahu in Washington, he suggested no concrete changes from Biden’s strong support for Israel, but he did put more emphasis on the needs of the Palestinians.
Harris hopes to ease divisions over the war within the Democratic Party. But she also risks disappointing activists who want her to explicitly change course and stop sending weapons to Israel that have been used to kill Palestinian civilians.
Protests against the war did not derail the convention as some Democrats had feared. Organizers could not muster the tens of thousands of people they wanted, and outbursts at the United Center were rare and overshadowed by the party’s excitement over Harris’ nomination.
There was still no shortage of reminders of wartime discontent, however. Noncommitted delegates, representing Democratic primary voters who did not support a candidate in protest of the war, held a protest outside the United Center when convention organizers rejected requests to have a Palestinian-American speaker on stage.
They pointed out that the parents of an American hostage were given the opportunity to speak.
“We are Democrats. We are part of this party. And we are just saying, ‘Listen to us, because this is important,’” said Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, who is nearing the end of her term in Congress after losing her primary earlier this month.