Tradu in limba romana si rezumați acest conținut la 300 de cuvinte Democrats worried that President Joe Biden’s strong backing of Israel’s war in Gaza could cost him the election feel like they’ve been thrown a lifeline with Kamala Harris. That lifeline might be thinner than they think. The vice president, the favorite for the Democratic nomination now that Biden has dropped out and endorsed her, isn’t a fan of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but she is a strong supporter of Israel. She’s been out front in expressing concern about the plight of Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire in Gaza, but she also believes that Hamas must be defeated and that Israel has the right to defend itself. And while she has to worry about voters in swing states such as Michigan with its large Arab American population, she still needs to weigh the concerns of pro-Israel voters and groups that will mobilize against her. Harris also has to run for president while remaining a loyal vice president to Biden, making it hard to distance herself from his perceived policies. It is, after all, the Biden-Harris administration, as they like to say. Netanyahu’s visit to Washington this week will likely put that tension on display. Harris is expected to meet with the Israeli prime minister, but her office wouldn’t immediately say whether she will attend Netanyahu’s planned speech to Congress on Wednesday — the optics of which will be sensitive. Ultimately, a President Harris may express more rhetorical sympathy toward Palestinian civilian suffering, may push Netanyahu more to wind down the fighting in Gaza (or beyond, the way things are going) and be more insistent that Israel allow more humanitarian aid. But, in most ways, her policy toward the Israelis and Palestinians isn’t necessarily going to differ that much from Biden’s. This is the strong impression I walked away with after talks with current and former U.S. officials and analysts who closely watch the Mideast space. Every time I tried to suggest that Harris might have a more pro-Palestinian point of view than Biden, I was cautioned not to make her thinking seem too binary. In fact, some insisted that Biden also views — or has certainly come to view — the war with as much nuance as Harris, but that she’s simply been quicker to emphasize elements such as the humanitarian crisis. “She and President Biden are in lockstep when it comes to Israel. There is no daylight between them to be found,” said Halie Soifer, who was Harris’ national security adviser when she was a senator. Of course, if you’re upset by how Biden has handled the Israel-Hamas war but also mortified by the idea of voting for former President Donald Trump — a far more stridently pro-Israel figure — you’re probably pretty desperate for any lifeline right now. “Kamala Harris has the opportunity to chart a new course and to be more receptive to the American people,” said Yasmine Taeb, a progressive activist who helped organize efforts during the Democratic primary to get voters to choose “uncommitted” instead of Biden due to his policy on Gaza. “Opportunity,” of course, does not mean “guarantee.” The landscape on this particular issue is going to get harder for Harris to navigate in the months ahead. She will be asked to clarify her position by every side. She may be asked to visit Jerusalem — and Ramallah. And no matter what she says, she will be painted as anti-Israel by Trump and his allies, who were already doing that with Biden anyway. This very week poses potential perils thanks to Netanyahu. (Let’s take a moment to ponder the possibility that Netanyahu, who just a few months ago seemed like a political dead man walking, now might outlast Biden. Yeah. That’s where we’re at.) The question of what Harris says to Netanyahu during their meeting will be critical. But I’m already getting the sense it’ll be the usual: The U.S. support for Israel is ironclad; Hamas must be defeated; let’s strike this cease-fire deal; let’s get the hostages home; and let’s increase humanitarian aid to Palestinians trapped in Gaza. Which aspect Harris’ team emphasizes first in its readout of the call could, however, be a sign of how she’ll approach the topic as a whole in the days ahead. The Netanyahu speech to Congress is more tricky. Should Harris show up and glare at the Israeli leader a la the Nancy Pelosi- Trump days? Should she smile and clap as if there’s no problem with most of what Netanyahu will say? Or should she boycott the event as many other Democrats plan to do? Already, some in the anti-war camp say Harris should skip the speech. “Kamala has an opportunity to reach out to Arab Americans and other voters who have felt completely dehumanized and disenfranchised by President Biden’s policies on Gaza,” said Jasmine El-Gamal, a former Defense Department official who now runs a consulting firm focused on empathy in foreign policy. “She shouldn’t squander that opportunity by sitting behind an accused war criminal.” But Harris also needs to show she’s a stateswoman. Besides, not showing up to stare down Netanyahu could make her look weak. The dilemmas are many, but the goal needs to be to win in November, some observers said. “It’s very important for her to try to pivot here,” said a Palestinian American analyst with connections to the Biden team. “Obviously she’s not going to make a 180-degree turn on Israel policy, but politically, it would be useful for the Democrats for them to signal to their base in a genuine way that there’s change coming.” Netanyahu, who all but openly wants Trump back in office, could cause Harris all sorts of problems in the days ahead — be it via his rhetoric, his office’s media leaks or his policies toward Gaza. But the Israeli leader would be wise to think hard about undermining Harris. She may prove a stronger candidate this fall than Biden, who quit his campaign because of growing concerns about his age and fitness for the job, which means she could defeat Trump. She also is more attuned to the Democratic base, which is increasingly skeptical of Israel, and undermining Harris could further erode Democratic support for Israel. That could make it harder over time for Israeli leaders to get U.S. support — or to convince the U.S. to look away from Israeli actions such as settlement building in the West Bank. (I asked both an aide to Netanyahu and a spokesperson for Harris for comment but didn’t hear back from either.) Part of the difference between Harris and Biden when it comes to the Middle East is generational, according to people I spoke to. Biden still thinks about the Israel of the 1950s and 1960s, when it was the young upstart in the region facing dominant foes in a post-Holocaust reality. Harris is more familiar with the stronger, more confident Israel of the 1990s, whose leaders sought peace and a two-state solution. She’s not in line with some narratives on the left today that can veer into questioning Israel’s existence. But she’s not deaf to concerns about how Israel’s actions could hurt its long-term security — such as whether killing thousands of Palestinian civilians will breed more terrorism. Harris has asked for regular, detailed updates about the situation on the ground in Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants killed some 1,200 people in Israel. “She’s very interested in what this means for people — what are they eating? How do they access water?” a White House official told me. Harris also has made behind-the-scenes pushes on post-war or “day after” planning for Gaza, including talking to Arab leaders in the region about helping Palestinians there get back on their feet, according to the White House official. Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish and has been a leading voice opposing antisemitism. He’s a major influence on her thinking. Harris also has spoken out against the sexual assaults Hamas militants carried out against many Israelis on Oct. 7. Many of Harris’ aides, such as Phil Gordon, her national security adviser, also are traditional, relatively moderate Democrats deeply aware of how intricate the world’s challenges are — the kind who search for carefully calibrated solutions. My sense after talking to people around Harris and reading her past commentary is that Harris doesn’t see…
Sursa: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/22/harris-may-not-be-the-savior-on-gaza-some-dems-want-00170420?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication
