OPINION:
A week after having been given the Democratic nomination, presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to address fully what her policy toward Israel might be, should she win in November.
But in remarks late last week, she provided strong indications of what direction she might go, and evangelical Christian voters may not like it.
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1. In the past, Mrs. Harris has expressed public support for the state of Israel.
In 2017, the new Senator Harris spoke at a gathering of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), saying, “I believe the bonds between the United States and Israel are unbreakable.” In recent months, she has stated that the threat of Hamas needs to be “eliminated,” and that violence and antisemitism on college campuses are wrong. Last week she affirmed that the war in Gaza should “end in a way where Israel is secure, [and] all hostages are released…”
Since Oct. 7, Mrs. Harris has continued to express publicly a commitment to supporting Israel in line with the Biden administration’s language, with one official saying there is “no daylight” between Mr. Biden and Mrs. Harris. There’s more to that than meets the eye.
SEE ALSO: Harris presses Netanyahu for cease-fire deal in Israel-Hamas war
2. Yet Mrs. Harris has been critical of Israel in recent months.
The vice president has been vocal about what she has called a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza. In a December speech in Dubai, she came close to accusing Israel of committing war crimes, saying, “International humanitarian law must be respected.” She added, “As Israel defends itself, it matters how.” She is right, but she has not argued that Hamas should be held to the same standard.
In a speech in March – toned down by the National Security Council – she urged an immediate ceasefire and insisted that Israel increase the flow of aid to Gaza with “no excuses.” Later that month she said that Israel could face “consequences” for going into Rafah.
If it is true that there is no daylight between Mrs. Harris and Mr. Biden, it suggests that Mrs. Harris has been bad cop to Mr. Biden’s good cop, allowing them to signal their true views to both Israel and pro-Hamas protesters.
3. Mrs. Harris is now further ramping up her criticism of Israel.
Mrs. Harris skipped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress last week, a public snub that was not atoned for by a later private meeting in her vice presidential offices. Indeed, her public comments after meeting with the Israeli prime minister were much harsher than what she told him in private, according to an Israeli source.
SEE ALSO: GOP blasts Kamala Harris for skipping Netanyahu’s speech to Congress
“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating — 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,” she said.
She suggests that everyone – except herself and the protesters – has become numb to the situation. One must assume that includes Hamas, which continues to put civilians directly in harm’s way. And by saying, “I will not be silent,” she implies that others have been forcing her to be silent on the matter, when in fact she has made numerous comments about Israel and Gaza. Indeed, her comments raise the possibility that she might endorse international legal action against Israel. That’s more than a crack of daylight opening up.
4. Mrs. Harris is playing a “two-level game” with the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In simple terms, that means that there are always domestic angles to foreign policy issues. Mrs. Harris’ vocal accusations against Israel are meant to signal to the far Left and Hamas supporters in swing states like Michigan that she “sees and hears” them – indicating more pressure on Israel, while not openly stating a new policy direction. In other words, please don’t protest at the Democratic National Convention in late August. By delivering Mrs. Harris the nomination for president without facing primary voters, the Democratic Party has sidestepped – for now – the Israel question.
Pew Research tells us that American voters have mixed views on Israel: 64% support the Israeli people, while only 41% say they support the Israeli government. And American trust in Mr. Netanyahu has declined since March 2023.
In another study of Christian voters, 47% of evangelicals say they support Israel, compared to 40% of the broader Christian community. Many early Zionists were Christians, and while the old mainline denominations in American began to distance themselves from Israel by the mid-1900’s, conservative evangelicals have tended to maintain their support both for theological and political reasons.
Candidate Harris will have to walk a fine line between keeping her base happy and appealing in the general election to mainstream voters, including evangelicals who support Israel over Hamas.
Perhaps it is too early to say that her gloves have come off. But now that she is speaking not only as vice president but as a candidate for president, her public comments take on a new weight. She has put Israel on notice that tough times are ahead in its relationship with America.
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Dr. Tom Copeland is the Director of Research at the Centennial Institute of Colorado Christian University. He writes regularly on public policy and the intersection of politics, culture, and religion. The views expressed by the author are his own and do not represent the views of Centennial Institute or Colorado Christian University, a 501(c)3 organization that does not support or oppose candidates or parties for election.
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