Dem
51
GOP
49
As expected, Kamala Harris had a chat with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday. She then held a press conference to review what was discussed. By the end of the day, Netanyahu was not a happy camper.
There's no readout on the meeting, so Harris' press conference is the only public source of information for what was said. She apparently started by reiterating that she's a firm supporter of Israel's right to exist. "I've said it many times, but it bears repeating. Israel has a right to defend itself and how it does so matters." However, she then turned to the Palestinians, explaining:
I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there with over 2 million people facing high levels of food insecurity and half a million people facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity... The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.
The strong pro-Israel stuff is pro forma for American politicians of both parties, and could well have come from the mouths of Biden, or Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) or Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). However, Harris' comments on the Palestinians were rather more assertive than we've seen from the current administration, signaling a pretty clear difference between her views and those of Biden.
It was the comments on Palestine that upset Netanyahu, of course, and he complained that she might have made a cease-fire more difficult with her choice of words. We are, once again, not experts in this area. Not. At. All. But we do know politics, and Netanyahu sounds a lot to us like a politician who is trying to pass the buck. Readers may reach different conclusions, of course.
What we do know is that Harris' words were chosen carefully, and with considerable forethought. This was her first press conference as the presumptive candidate, and her first opportunity to stake out a position on Israel. There is zero chance she was just winging it, and she undoubtedly had input from many people as she determined what she was going to say.
We also wonder if Harris has more room to maneuver on this issue because her husband is Jewish. Certainly, would-be First Gentleman Doug Emhoff has hit the ground running, and has shown that he's willing to throw a few punches, and to talk about who does, and does not, have credibility on this subject. Yesterday, he described Donald Trump as a "known antisemite." Emhoff could be an X-factor in this race, especially since his counterpart is nowhere to be found. (Z)