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HomeRead, Watch, ListenIsrael
AnalysisIsraelWorld

How Harris would differ from Biden on Israel

Biden has a long history of standing by Israel. The new presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidency has more complicated attitudes.
TJI Wrap
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Woman in grey suit jacket

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris looks on as her husband Doug Emhoff speaks at a reception celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Published: 22 July 2024

Last updated: 23 July 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris has been widely viewed as the Biden administration's "bad cop" on Israel in recent months.

As Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government resisted the White House's pleas for improved attention to civilian harm in Gaza and dramatically bolstered humanitarian aid for the Palestinians, Biden let Harris deliver the administration’s deepest concerns.

Now that Biden has resigned from the presidential race, endorsing his Vice President as the Democrat’s presidential nominee, Harris’s underlying attitude to Israel matters more.

On the positive side for Israel, Harris has strong Jewish ties. Her husband Doug Emhoff is Jewish, and the couple have hosted Jewish holiday celebrations at the Vice Presidential residence.

She has made some strong statements in support of Israel, notably helping profile October 7 victims of sexual violence, hosting Sheryl Sandberg's documentary at the White House while meeting with rescued Israeli hostages.

Her former foreign policy adviser, Halie Soifer, is currently CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America. Soifer described a trip to Israel with Harris and Emhoff in 2017, where she “witnessed their deep commitment to Israel’s security and strong ties to the Jewish community”.

The White House insists that Biden and Harris are on the same page on Israel. "Vice President Harris shares President Biden’s support for an ironclad US commitment to Israel’s security coupled with a commitment to advancing a two-state solution in order to bring an end to this cycle of violence,” a US official told Times of Israel this week.

But Harris lacks the deep ties with a succession of Israel leaders that Biden has, and is closer to the progressive elements of the Democrats whose sympathies lie with Palestinians. Where Biden is part of the generation that sees Israel's wars as a product of Arab agression, Harris is closer to a generation that sees Palestinians as victims.

"The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses."

Vice President Kamala Harris

She has been more outspoken than Biden in her concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"What we're seeing every day in Gaza is devastating. We have seen reports of families eating leaves or animal feed. Women giving birth to malnourished babies with little to no medical care. Children dying from malnutrition and dehydration," Harris said in March at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama — an undeniable linkage between the civil rights struggle in America and the suffering of Palestinians.

"The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses."

Harris "ruled out nothing" when asked if the US would suspend Israel aid should it invade Rafah — the first US official to publicly make such a comment. She later said "the word tragic doesn't even begin to describe" an Israeli strike on a Gaza refugee camp.

Harris’s national security team skews more progressive than Biden’s. Phil Gordon, her national security advisor, was former President Barack Obama’s top Middle East adviser in his second term. Gordon was one of the biggest boosters of the Iran nuclear deal at the time.

In June, Gordon delivered an address in Israel warning that “the US-Israel partnership has been tested, perhaps as never before” as Israel faces “growing international criticism and pressure from the United Nations and other international bodies”. Urging Hamas to accept a hostage and ceasefire deal, Gordon added that “We remain Israel’s strongest, and best friend in the world”. 

"Yes, the party has moved — as has Israel — but this narrative has been way over-exaggerated."

Senior US administration official

Harris has also been more outspoken in defending pro-Palestinian protesters in the US. While Biden called out antisemitism in the protest movement, Harris said, “they are showing exactly what the human emotion should be, as a response to Gaza. There are things some of the protesters are saying that I absolutely reject, so I don’t mean to wholesale endorse their points. But we have to navigate it. I understand the emotion behind it”.

Several former Biden administration officials who resigned in protest of the White House’s policy toward Israel told Politico they’re somewhat optimistic about how Harris would handle the war in Gaza if she became president.

Josh Paul, a former State Department official involved with transferring arms to American allies, said that Harris seems less “fixed and intransigent” than Biden does on Israel policy.

“I would say I have cautious and limited optimism — but also a deep sense of relief that the Democratic party will not be nominating for the Presidency of the United States a man who has made us all complicit in so much and such unnecessary harm,” Paul said.

While Harris may be more outspoken on Israel's excesses, there will not be a major policy change.

As recently as February, Harris re-iterated her commitment to a two-state solution but also used the question to show her sympathy with Israel.

"The short answer is yes," Harris said when questioned whether such a solution is achievable. "I do believe it is, but we must put the discussion in context. Starting with October 7, Hamas committed a terrorist act that was about slaughtering over 1,200 Israelis, innocent people, many of them young people who are attending a concert. Women were horribly tortured and raped, raped, being used as a tool of war and it is important that we remember what that was."

Harris went on to say understanding that Israel has a right to defend itself, and how it does, still matters. 

Leading Democrats say the party's fundamental commitment to Israel is unchanged.

“For decades people have been decrying the end of the Democratic Party’s support for Israel. Yes, the party has moved — as has Israel — but this narrative has been way over-exaggerated,” a current senior administration official told the Times of Israel, pointing to how the party just last week advanced a platform that expressed support for Israel in the war against Hamas, ignoring efforts by far-left activists who sought reject US aid to the Jewish state.

One strength for Israel of a Harris presidency may be a stronger line against Iran. After a series of failed attempts, Biden has shown little interest in returning to negotiations with Tehran over resuming the 2015 international nuclear agreement, which Trump abandoned during his presidency.

Harris, as president, would be unlikely to make any major overtures without serious signs that Iran is ready to make concessions.

But Jonathan Panikoff, formerly the US government's deputy national intelligence officer for the Middle East, said the growing threat of "weaponisation" of Iran's nuclear program could be an early major challenge for a Harris administration, especially if Tehran decides to test the new US leader.

"There's every reason to believe the next president will have to deal with Iran. It's bound to be one of the biggest problems," he said.

READ MORE

Kamala Harris' record on Israel now under closer scrutiny after Biden’s endorsement (Haaretz)

Kamala Harris’ record on Israel to the left of President Biden (Jewish Insider)

Tougher tone on Israel, steady on NATO: how a Harris foreign policy could look (Reuters)

After Biden's endorsement: What has Kamala Harris said about Israel? (Jerusalem Post)

Biden resignees are more hopeful about Harris’ Israel policy (Politico)

Not the bad cop: Biden officials say Harris won’t shift course on supporting Israel (Times of Israel)

RELATED STORIES

Could Josh Shapiro be America's first Jewish Vice President? (Haaretz)
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, potentially Kamala Harris' running mate, has made his Jewish identity central to his career, is popular in a key swing state and has championed reproductive rights. 'Israel not only has a right to defend itself, it has a responsibility to combat Hamas,' he said recently.

Joe Biden calls himself a Zionist and loves name-dropping Golda Meir. His exit marks an end of an era (JTA)
Israel’s war on Hamas left the White House facing pressure from both the pro-Israel right and the pro-Palestinian left.

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