The case for Kamala
With the US election likely to be extremely close, every vote can make all the difference. As a Deputy National Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee — but more importantly, as a homeowner in Jerusalem committed from a place of love to the future of Israel — I want to make the case to Israel supporters to vote for Kamala Harris.
The case is three-fold:
Vice President Harris has stood faithfully and steadily by Israel and the Jewish people. Harris has vowed to ensure Israel always has the right to defend itself. She has (unlike the Republicans) consistently supported full funding for US security assistance to Israel. She helped lead the coordinated responses to intercept Iranian missiles on April 14 and to put US military assets on the ground after October 7. She has opposed BDS, insisted that Hamas must be eliminated, and spearheaded the US first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.
Vice President Harris believes in Israel’s capacity for long-term peace. Kamala Harris recognizes and will support an Israel turned towards peace, while also recognizing Israel’s real security constraints. Indeed, only Harris among the US presidential candidates is committed to supporting democracies around the world, including Israel. Unlike Donald Trump, who escalates every conflict he encounters, Vice President Harris called for an immediate truce in Gaza on March 4 and implored Israel to improve the flow of humanitarian aid into the strip. She has argued in international conversations that it is time to start making “day after” plans for the war.
Former President Trump cannot be trusted to stay attentive to Israel or to advance its long-term interests. As Trump’s own former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, has said, “Trump’s support for Israel is not guaranteed in the second term, because Trump’s positions are made on the basis of what’s good for Donald Trump, not on some coherent theory of national security.” Trump himself admitted as much in 2021 when he said he had moved the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem “for the evangelicals” – i.e., for his own political interest. Trump and his Vice Presidential pick, J.D. Vance, are resuscitating a dangerous US isolationism. Trump calls Hezbollah “smart.” He rarely refers to “hostages,” except to invoke the incarcerated American insurrectionists who rioted in the US Capitol on January 6. His campaign has called for a “unified Reich,” he dehumanizes immigrants and other minorities, and he’s suggested he would lift sanctions on Iran.
A strong showing for Vice President Harris among American supporters of Israel, including those living in Israel, is important not only to the outcome of the race, but to the future Harris Administration’s understanding of how the values, hopes, and aspirations of so many of Israel’s residents are aligned with hers.