Why I, as an American and Israeli Jew, support Kamala Harris for President

There is a false dichotomy promoted by some Republicans and by some right-wing Jews that The Orange Man from Florida (I can’t use his name) is pro-Israel and Vice -President Harris, the presumptive nominee for the presidency of the USA on behalf of the Democratic Party, is not pro-Israel, but is on “the other side”. Since this is nothing but political spin, which is far from the truth, I am writing to set the record straight and explain why I am supporting Vice President Kamala Harris for President.

VP Kamala Harris is a far-better candidate than the Republican extremist who has taken over his party (and who has appointed an even farther-right fanatic to be his vice-presidential nominee). She is better for America, for Israel and for the world. Let me explain why.

There is absolutely no doubt that Harris is better for America than the alternative candidate, who is a fascist, misogynist, liar,  racist and narcissistic megalomaniac, as demonstrated clearly by his 4 disastrous years as president, his refusal (to this day) to recognize the results of the elections of 2020, his incitement and leadership of the rebellion against the constitution and American Law on January 6^th  2021, his constant ridiculous name-calling of other candidates, including of course VP Harris in recent days, which reveals not only his infantility but also his abject style of negative campaigning, and much more.

In contrast, VP Harris is intelligent, honest, serious, thoughtful, compassionate and inspiring. Her vision for the future of America is one that improves and expands upon the USA’s imperfect democracy to be more inclusive and fair, one that recognizes clearly the rights of women to decide what can happen with their own bodies, one that believes in serious efforts to reduce poverty and concomitantly crime in America, one that recognizes the rights of minorities and the duty of the majority in a democracy to protect endangered minorities (including Jews) against harasment and physical harm.

The differences in visions for America could not be clearer. As a Jewish citizen of the USA, it is completely unthinkable to me that any fellow Jew could support a fascist for president, who has announced very clearly his dictatorial intentions, given our history over the centuries in America and around the world. On the contrary, it is no wonder that I—along with about 75% of American Jews or more—will support VP Harris for President of the USA.

Secondly, Vice President Harris is good for Israel, just as President Biden has been very supportive of Israel.  I say this emphatically, to offset the attempts of the Republican Jewish Coalition and other purposefully distorting Republican Jews, and some Israeli Jews, to falsely label her as anti-Israel, as they have done to Presidents Biden and Obama. This is also the work of many people in the fanatic far-right Bibi camp (including and especially some of his closest advisors and extremists even to the “right” of Bibi such as Itamar Ben Gvir and Betzalel Smotrich, and many in the right-wing and centrist media in Israel).

VP Harris has made it very clear that she supports Israel’s right to defend herself. Her support of the people and the state of Israel is rock solid, as is that of President Biden. What she does not support is the Bibist/Ben Gvir/ Smotrich agenda for forever war, annexation of the West Band (and Gaza!), refusal to reach a deal to end the war against Hamas and bring home the hostages, and the rejectionist and rabid relationships with the Palestinians that Bibi’s extremist government has fostered in the last year and a half.  She also expresses sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza—who have been massacred over and over again during the last 9 months by the Israeli air force and army, and who are facing starvation and disease—at the same time that she is in complete solidarity with the families of the Israeli hostages (much more so than Bibi and his pals who are rejecting and torpedoing a deal all the time) and she wants to see a deal reached as soon as possible, to bring them home, as does President Biden

VP Harris is pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian, pro-human beings and pro-peace. And so I am, which is why I will vote for her and campaign for her.

In addition to all this, VP Kamala Harris and the Democratic party are clearly better for the world. The Orange Man and his VP are “America First” isolationists. They want to withdraw from the world, rather than to engage with it. If it was up to them, the USA would withdraw from the U.N., from NATO, and from all international efforts to deal with climate change and the major environmental crises facing humanity and the planet at this point in human history. They are climate change deniers, who bury their heads in the sand (and the past), rejecting science and higher education in their weird antiquated backwards-looking, pro-oil world view.

In stark contrast, VP Harris and her Democratic party, seek to engage with the world. They want to help the Ukrainians survive Putin’s Russian onslaught. They want to help Israel and her neighbors reach regional peace (with the Palestinians, Saudia Arabia and other Arab allies in the region), rather than continuing to fight endless wars. And they are deeply concerned about climate change, as all rational human beings should be in this century. They seek to work with scientists and governments and non-governmental organizations around the world to deal with this most pressing issue facing us as human beings now.

One more thing — the important matter of character. It is impossible for me to imagine that anyone in good conscience could argue that the Orange Man is a guy with a fine upstanding character, with an excellent reputation as a good human being and as a compassionate leader. Everyone knows about his many extra-marital affairs, his fraud, his corruption, his horrific policies towards immigrants, and his constant stream of lies and incitement. It is well-known and richly documented and it is extremely upsetting, discouraging, and even disgusting. But so many evangelical Christians and Orthodox (and other) Jews are willing to overlook this for reasons that are not clear to me (like “he is better for business” or “he is better for Israel”, which are not accurate, to say the least).

In stark contrast, VP Harris is a person of sincerity and integrity. I have read her memoir—The Truths We Hold, An American Journey  a second time this year, and am greatly impressed by her personal journey and her character. She is ethical, sensitive, substantive and serious as a human being and as a politician.

For all these reasons, and many more, I support the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the USA. I do this as an American and Israeli Jew and as a human being who cares deeply about the future of my countries of citizenship and about the world we share as human beings wherever we are.