Harris tries to thread the needle on Gaza after meeting with Netanyahu
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, is attempting to bridge the party’s divisions over the Gaza war, emphasizing Israel’s right to defend itself while focusing on alleviating Palestinian suffering.
She gave a speech after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that reflected a delicate balancing act on one of the country’s most divisive political issues. Some Democrats have been critical of President Joe Biden’s steadfast support for Israel despite the rising death toll among Palestinians, and Harris is trying unite her party for the election battle with Republican candidate Donald Trump.
“We cannot look away from these tragedies,” she said. “We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not remain silent.”
Harris did not deviate from the administration’s approach to the conflict, which included grueling negotiations aimed at ending the fighting, freeing hostages held by Hamas and eventually rebuilding Gaza. She also said nothing about military aid to Israel, which some Democrats want to cut.
Instead, she tried to refocus the conversation on mitigating the disaster in Gazaand she used language designed to steer Americans toward an elusive middle ground.
“The war in Gaza is not a binary issue,” she said. “But too often the conversation is binary, when the reality is anything but binary.”
In addition, Harris made a more explicit appeal to voters frustrated by the ongoing bloodshed that began with Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
“To all those calling for a ceasefire and to all those longing for peace, I see you and I hear you,” she said.
Harris’ meeting with Netanyahu was private and she described it as “candid and constructive.” She also emphasized her longstanding support for Israel, which included raising money to plant trees in the country as a young girl.
Jewish Americans traditionally lean Democratic, but Republicans have tried to break in. Trump claimed this week that Harris is “totally against the Jewish people” because she did not attend Netanyahu’s speech to a joint meeting of CongressThe vice president was in Indiana during the speech.
Harris is married to a Jewish man, Doug Emhoff, who has played a vocal role in the administration’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism.
Netanyahu did not speak publicly after his meeting with Harris. His trip was planned before Biden dropped his reelection bid, but the meeting with Harris was closely watched for clues about her positions on Israel.
“She’s in a difficult situation, walking a tightrope where she’s still the vice president and the president is the one who’s driving the foreign policy agenda,” said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, a Democrat whose city is home to one of the largest Arab-American communities in the country. “But as the candidate, the presumptive nominee, she now has to create the space to differentiate herself so that she can chart a new course.”
On the day of Netanyahu’s speech, protesters gathered outside Union Station, pulling down American flags and spray-painting “Hamas is coming.”
Harris sharply criticized the actions, saying they involved “despicable acts by unpatriotic protesters and dangerous, hate-fueled rhetoric.”
“I support the right to protest peacefully, but let us be clear: anti-Semitism, hatred and violence of any kind have no place in our country,” she said in a statement.
As vice president, Harris has tried to keep a close eye on Biden and herself. But David Rothkopf, a foreign policy writer who has met her, said there is “a striking difference in tone, particularly on the concern about the plight of innocent Palestinians.”
The difference was starkly visible in Selma, Alabama, in March, when Harris commemorated the anniversary of the 1965 Bloody Sunday march for voting rights.
During her speech, Harris said that “given the immense scale of the suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire.”
The audience erupted in applause. A few sentences later, Harris insisted that it was up to Hamas to accept the deal offered. But her demand for a ceasefire still resonated in ways that Biden’s remarks did not.
An AP-NORC poll conducted in June found that about 6 in 10 Democrats disagreed with Biden’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. About the same number said Israel’s military response in Gaza had gone too far.
Israeli analysts doubted that Harris would bring about a dramatic change in policy toward their country.
Chuck Freilich, former Israeli deputy national security adviser and senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank, said Harris belonged to a generation of American politicians who felt they could support Israel while openly criticizing Israeli policies.
“The question is what would she do as president?” Freilich said. “I think she would put significantly more pressure on Israel on the Palestinian issue in general.”
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Associated Press writers Ashraf Khalil, Aamer Madhani and Amelia Thomson DeVeaux contributed to this report from Washington. Joey Cappelletti contributed from Lansing, Mich., and Tia Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.