Some pointed questions for Kamala Harris

SOME POINTED QUESTIONS FOR KAMALA HARRIS

Like many American citizens, certainly those who live in Israel, I am deeply concerned about the Biden administration’s handling of this current crisis. Yet I could never vote for Trump for reasons that would take way too long to set forth.  Besides, as many have pointed out, even assuming that Trump was “good” for Israel during his first administration, it does not at all follow he will continue the same approach if re-elected.

So, I reached out to the Harris campaign and asked only a few questions that I have not heard anyone in the media ask her nor have I heard her provide the answers to these questions on her own. As of the time I submitted this article for publication, I have not received any response. So am seeking to have the published as an “open letter to candidate Kamala Harris.”

Dear Harris Campaign,

I am an independent who usually votes Democrat in presidential races. I detest Donald Trump as much as anyone for all the reasons the candidate has cited and then some. I agree with most of the candidate’s positions on the social and economic issues dividing the candidates. A vote for the Harris/Walz ticket should be a no-brainer.

Yet, 2 weeks from the election I am still undecided as to whether I can in good conscious vote for the candidate. Why?

I am a Jewish voter who spends most of his time in Israel. I was present on October 7, 2023. I have friends and acquaintances whose loved ones were murdered by or died in combat fighting Hamas, or who were made refugees. I personally experienced both Iranian attacks, to mention only a few ways in which this awful war has affected me personally.

More relevantly, I firmly believe a strong US-Israel relationship benefits both countries. If Israel fails to destroy Hamas, at least degrade Hezbollah so that it is too weak to pose an existential threat, and fully secure its borders so all Israeli refugees may return to their homes, it will be so weakened as to face imminent annihilation, or straggle along as a weak former shadow of itself. This would cause serious harm to US prestige and its interests. Put another way, if Israel loses its deterrence capability, US deterrence capabilities will be significantly weakened concomitantly.

The statements I have heard from the candidate, even while she pays lip service, at least, regarding her support for Israel’s “right to defend itself,” are sometimes troubling. Particularly disturbing was her refusal to state unequivocally that the accusation Israel is committing genocide is a defamatory lie when confronting a heckler who made that accusation, even though an unnamed campaign official gave a weak “that’s not our view” response. Later, she states at a press conference an “extraordinary number of innocent Palestinians have been killed . . . and we need to speak the truth about that.”

Accordingly, I have the following questions for the candidate. Whether I vote for her depends on the answers I receive. If you ignore this email and do not respond to me and if I don’t see the responses to these questions in other fora, I will reluctantly withhold my vote.

1. Is the candidate willing to state unequivocally that Israel is not committing genocide and to say so is defamatory and false?

2. Will the candidate acknowledge the IDF has taken significant measures to reduce the harm to non combatants in both Gaza and Lebanon?

3. Regarding the quote an extraordinary number of innocent Palestinians have been killed . . .and we need to speak the truth about that.”-who, in her opinion, bears primary moral guilt for these deaths, Hamas or the IDF?

4. The candidate urged Israel not to attack Hamas in Rafah. Is she willing to acknowledge that the Rafah operation carried out over her vociferous objection was in fact highly successful, nearly completing the total dismantling of the Hamas military structure and leading directly to the trapping and killing of Sinwar?

5. Does the candidate support Israel prosecuting its military campaign against Hizbullah until conditions exist that allow the tens of thousands of refugees to return to their homes with the assurance Hizbullah will never be able to drive them out again?

6. How committed is the candidate to preventing Iran from acquiring the ability to both make and deliver a nuclear weapon? Is she prepared and willing to commit US resources to achieve this goal, even if it means a possible direct military confrontation between Iran and the US?

Thank you for your kind attention to my queries and I look forward to your response.

Respectfully,

David Shayne

Memphis and Jerusalem

(PS-the above was submitted before Israel’s raid on Iran, although the questions remain the same).