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Over the weekend, news broke that Israel had recovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, including that of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Hamas in a statement made shortly afterwards.
“From its massacre of 1,200 people to sexual violence, taking of hostages, and these murders, Hamas’ depravity is evident and horrifying,” Harris said. “The threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel — and American citizens in Israel — must be eliminated and Hamas cannot control Gaza.”
Just weeks before his body was recovered, Goldberg-Polin’s parents had spoken at the Democratic National Convention. They did so while delegates who represented “Uncommitted” voters protested that a Palestinian should be able to speak on the main stage of the convention as well. That did not come to pass.
While Harris will face numerous challenges if she wins the White House, Israel’s war in Gaza will be one of her biggest challenges. For his part, former president Donald Trump has called on Israel to “finish the job” and lambasted Jewish Americans — who overwhelmingly vote Democratic — for their support for Harris’s party. Trump even went so far as to call Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff a “crappy Jew.”
Inside Washington spoke to Halie Soifer, who worked as Harris’s national security during Harris’s first two years as a senator, this week. Soifer, now the chief executive of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, told The Independent that Harris showed a keen understanding of the unique security threats Israel faces.
“I saw this firsthand when we traveled to Israel in November 2017. She was looking at Iron Dome batteries at the time,” Soifer said. She added that Harris understands the threat Israel faces not just from Hamas but also Hezbollah, both of which are seen as proxies for Iran.
“I was at the convention and the uncommitted voters or the uncommitted delegates, as well as the protesters outside, I think, had far less of an impact than they had hoped, and that’s because Democrats don’t share their view, [nor do] our candidates,” Soifer added.
During Harris’s interview with CNN last week, the vice president reiterated her support for Israel and refused to say that aid to the country should be conditioned. Soifer noted how as a senator, Harris regularly voted for military aid to Israel and supported the additional aid for Israel that passed in a national security package including aid for Ukraine and Taiwan.
“She also has had a distinct voice in terms of this White House in her condemnation of the horrors that we saw perpetrated by Hamas on October 7. Not only has she condemned the murder and abduction of so many, but she specifically condemned sexual violence,” Soifer continued. “She has given voice to the empathy that we all feel toward innocent Palestinians suffering in Gaza, and her calls for the ongoing flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza are shared by the vast majority of Jewish Americans.”
Indeed, during Harris’s speech at the convention, Harris said she and President Joe Biden were working “around the clock” to try and end the war, “because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done”. She added that “what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating.”
Pro-Palestinian advocates have said that this messaging insufficient, largely because it does not actually commit to a change in policy.
Soifer noted how Trump’s rhetoric compares to Harris’s. Specifically, during the sole debate between Trump and Biden, Trump said Biden was behaving “like a Palestinian,” an insult he also hurled against Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish. Later this week, Trump will speak to the Republican Jewish Coalition along with other Republicans.
“He has repeatedly denigrated millions of American Jews as recently as last week, and I'm sure he'll do it again this week, because he's speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition on Thursday and every time he speaks to a group of Jews, including Republicans, he says antisemitic things,” Soifer said.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu frequently worked hand-in-glove. During his presidency, Trump relocated the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and recognized the Golan Heights as part of Israel.
For his part, during his address to Congress in July, Netanyahu thanked Trump by name for his support. That rankled even some Democrats who attended. Harris herself did not attend the address, despite the fact that vice presidents typically sit behind heads of state during such joint addresses.
Soifer said that Harris would not view the US-Israel relationship through a “politicized” lens.
“She would work with Netanyahu. That said, she's also been clear, including after their meeting in July, that she's going to continue to advocate for US interests and for the interests of Americans, including the American hostages,” Soifer said. “And she'll continue to to have expressed those views in frank conversations with the [Israeli] prime minister, just as this administration has.”
