I took Kamala Harris on her first trip to Israel

In the spring of 2004, during the Second Intifada, a small group of state and local politicians from Northern California touched down at Ben Gurion Airport for their first encounter with the Jewish State. I was Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) in the San Francisco Bay Area and spent my career advocating for robust U.S.-Israel relations and Jewish communal concerns. I had helped recruit the participants of this trip, including a young District Attorney named Kamala Harris.

Our JCRC trip did not make national news. We did not travel with the media, leaving our cohort with the opportunity to experience Israel and grapple with its complexities without the pressures of being on the record. It was only in this context that a trip leader like myself could assess an elected official’s true beliefs when it came to Israel. I was immediately impressed by Kamala Harris.

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The then-District Attorney had longed to visit Israel her whole life. She recalled fondly her childhood memories of collecting donations in the blue boxes for the Jewish National Fund to plant trees in Israel. When she visited for the first time, meeting with military experts, politicians, and other Israelis from across the ideological spectrum, she was captivated. She wanted to understand Israel in its totality, asking insightful questions about Israel’s geopolitical position, risks, and quest for peace. As a prosecutor who had spent her young career fighting on behalf of survivors of crime, Kamala Harris understood the moral obligation to stand up for Israel and the Jewish people.

This conviction was particularly evident upon her encounter with a Holocaust survivor during our trip. Harris recalled, “I deal with people who are victims of violent crime all the time. They experience trauma, and when [the survivor] described the experience of surviving and then going to Israel and getting that feeling of ‘Why did I survive? Why am I here when so many were killed,’ that really gelled for me….”

At JCRC, I had the privilege of bringing elected officials and community leaders to Israel for nearly three decades. Our goal was to introduce participants to Israel, in all its beauty and complexity, help instill a deep understanding of Israeli society, history and security challenges, and build enduring relationships around issues of common concern in our community. During our intensive ten-day visit, I was inspired by Kamala Harris’ empathy, sharp questioning, strong listening skills, range of interests, and genuine warmth. I remember her dynamic leadership qualities as if it was yesterday. She left no doubt — none — that she strongly supported Israel’s right to live and prosper securely as a Jewish and democratic state. Kamala Harris cared about Israel well ahead of her rise to the national stage, when the cameras were off. Her support was ironclad not because it helped her, but because it was right.

As she rose to prominence in the Senate and as Vice President, I have watched her commitment to Israel strengthen and deepen.  Earlier this year, the Vice President worked tirelessly to pass the National Security Supplemental Aid package, which provided Israel with $14 billion in security aid. When Republican lawmakers tried to stall its passage, she met with congressional leadership to expedite it. On Iran, the Vice President could not have been clearer in her remarks at the Democratic Convention in Chicago: “I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists.”

Vice President Harris frequently condemns Hamas and emphasizes Israel’s right to defend itself. Following Hamas’ avowal to repeat October 7th until Israel is annihilated, the Vice President was unequivocal: “No nation,” she said, “could possibly live with such danger, which is why we support Israel’s legitimate military objectives to eliminate the threat of Hamas.”  Most recently, in response to the dramatic actions by Israel aimed at eliminating Hezbollah’s terrorist threat, she reiterated Israel’s right to self-defense.  And following Iran’s latest missile assault on Israel she stated, “I’m clear-eyed Iran is a destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East. I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist militias.”

And time and again, she has pushed for an “enduring peace” that ensures Israel is secure, the hostages are released, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to self-determination.

But for the Vice President, what happened on October 7th was not just geopolitical. Outraged by Hamas’ barbarity, she spoke out forcefully against Hamas’ use of sexual violence on October 7th and used the White House platform to spotlight the “Screams Before Silence” documentary. She reminded the 67 million people watching the presidential debate to “understand how we got here,” continuing, “On October 7th, Hamas, a terrorist organization, slaughtered 1200 Israelis, many of them young people who were simply attending a concert. Women were horribly raped.” And when Hamas senselessly murdered Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a dual American-Israeli citizen, Vice President Harris was explicit: “Hamas is an evil terrorist organization. With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands. I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world.”

Vice President Harris is equally steadfast in her commitment to fight antisemitism in America. Deeply disturbed by the rise of antisemitism even before October 7th, the Vice President and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff were central in developing the first ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, which included more than 100 government actions to counter antisemitism, including on college campuses.  This is not just a ground-breaking roadmap to combating antisemitism. It is an ongoing pledge.

I strongly believe the Vice President is the right choice for our community for all these reasons.  And, I would be remiss if I did not also address the blatant threat to the United States and Israel from the other side. There is only one candidate who makes Israel a partisan issue, employs claims of dual loyalty — one of the oldest antisemitic tropes — and chooses a running mate who voted against aid to Israel in its darkest hour. Just as there is only one candidate who initially refused to unequivocally condemn the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who marched with torches in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. And it is not Kamala Harris.

Donald Trump’s transactional approach is no secret. If he thinks he can make a deal that is good for him personally, he will steamroll ahead, but only so long as it benefits him.  There are many examples, but perhaps none more worrisome than his abandonment of our Kurdish allies in 2019. Following this debacle, Israel’s largest mainstream newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, ran a screaming headline: “A Knife in Our Backs,” with the article continuing in Hebrew, “The conclusion we draw needs to be unequivocal: Trump has become unreliable for Israel. He can no longer be trusted.” And when Prime Minister Netanyahu called President Biden to congratulate him on winning the 2020 election, Trump said, “[Expletive] him.” The conclusion is simple: Trump is with us only as long as he thinks it helps him. The Jewish community simply does not have the luxury of relying on someone who can turn on us at any moment.

This election presents a clear choice for the Jewish community. On one hand, we have a leader who has never wavered in her support for our community and our values. On the other, we have someone who has amplified antisemitic tropes for decades and has used the presidential platform to cozy up to neo-Nazis and dictators.

I’ve known Kamala Harris for many years. We would be fortunate to have her in the White House. Let’s make the right choice this November.

The views expressed in this article are entirely the author’s own and not associated with any organization.