We Can Count on Kamala Harris to Support Israel
By Hon. Ron Klein
Every member of Congress must, of necessity, choose to focus on certain issues. When I served in Congress, I focused on foreign policy; specifically, the U.S.-Israel relationship and the broader Middle East. I’m a Democrat but have always believed that partisanship should end at our shores and that foreign policy in general, and the U.S.-Israel relationship in particular, should transcend partisan politics.
That is why Republican efforts to play politics with Israel around this election — including misrepresentations of Vice President Kamala Harris’s record on Israel — must stop. Voters should make their choice in this presidential election based on fact, and Donald Trump’s rhetoric of hate and distortion is highly deceptive. The truth is that Vice President Harris has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to Israeli security during her tenure in the U.S. Senate and as Vice President. The Biden-Harris administration has worked tirelessly to support Israel diplomatically and militarily and bring the hostages held by Hamas home. There is no daylight between President Biden and Harris on these issues.
Support of Israel has been a constant of the Vice President’s policy in the lead-up to, and aftermath of, the horrific attack of October 7th. While there is a clear and concerted effort to find daylight between President Biden and Vice President Harris on this issue, it simply does not exist. Both recognize that there is no contradiction between ironclad support for Israel’s safety and security and humanitarian aid for innocent Palestinians. Both have repeated the urgency of a ceasefire that ensures all the hostages get out of Gaza and that humanitarian aid gets in. Harris’s long-term goal of a two-state solution, shared by Biden, is the only way to permanently end the Israel-Palestinian conflict and ensure that both peoples live in security and peace.
Harris has been a leading voice in this White House shining a spotlight of condemnation on Hamas given its use of sexual violence and rape as weapons of war. She has been a source of comfort and support for the hostage families. She played a critical role in the passage of the National Security Supplemental package, which provided Israel with $15 billion in emergency assistance. Republicans blocked this aid for six months, but Harris held calls with Senate and House leaders to ensure its passage. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently visited Washington, Harris met with him for 40 minutes in what was described as a productive meeting.
Importantly, Vice President Harris’s alignment with Jewish Americans extends beyond Israel. She and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff played a leading role in developing and implementing the White House’s historic National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. With the Second Gentleman serving as the first-ever Jewish spouse in the White House, they have incorporated Jewish traditions, holidays, and symbols into the Biden administration.
Those who, for the sake of politics, choose to distort Vice President Harris’s strong, historic support for the Jewish people and the State of Israel are playing to Israel’s detractors. Driving a wedge between the U.S. and Israel to score partisan points undermines support for Israel at home and abroad. No administration has provided more aid and support to Israel when it needed it the most than the Biden-Harris administration.
When Iran attacked Israel on April 13, the Biden-Harris Administration led a coordinated response with Israel and other allies to intercept 99% of Iran’s drones and missiles, resulting in no fatalities and saving thousands of Israeli lives. Does anyone think that Donald Trump, who regularly offends and pledges to abandon our allies, could have managed this diplomatic and military victory?
In advance of Iran’s attack, the Biden-Harris administration positioned U.S. military assets in the region to help defend against Iranian aggression and during the attack, for the first time, deployed U.S. assets to directly defend Israel from attack. April 13 is not etched in our memories as October 7 will always be only because the Biden-Harris administration prevented what could have been a major catastrophe.
We cannot risk going back to the reckless foreign policy of the Trump administration, and it’s important to consider that Donald Trump’s own former national security advisor, John Bolton, told the New York Times that Trump’s support of Israel is “not guaranteed in a second term” because Trump only does what’s good for himself. Not Kamala Harris, who will safeguard Israel’s safety and security regardless of who Israel elects as its leader in the months and years to come.
Former Congressman Ron Klein (D-FL) is the Chair of the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
