Sharon Zhang
Truthout / August 30, 2024
Polls have shown pivoting away from Biden’s Gaza policy is popular among the public — but Harris is refusing the change.
Vice President Kamala Harris has sparked fury after saying that she would not break from President Joe Biden’s policies toward Israel and its U.S.-sponsored genocide of Palestinians in Gaza if she were elected president this fall.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Harris said she would not stop sending Israel weapons and that Israel “has a right to defend itself” — after it has killed tens of thousands of civilians, including over 16,000 children, and as UN experts point out that the International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel cannot invoke that line of argument as an occupying force.
”Let me be very clear. I’m unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself. And that’s not gonna change,” Harris said when asked if she would do anything differently than Biden if elected.
She then parroted the Biden administration’s call for a ceasefire despite it being clear that Biden’s policy of backing Israel at every turn is totally ineffective at pressuring Israel into accepting a ceasefire deal — and, in fact, is likely actively hampering the chances of a deal.
“Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. And we have got to get a [ceasefire] deal done,” she said. “We must get a deal that is about getting the hostages out. I’ve met with the families of the American hostages. Let’s get the hostages out. Let’s get the ceasefire done.”
When asked point blank about whether she’d change Biden’s policy of providing Israel with a bottomless well of weapons, Harris said: “No…. I remain committed, since I’ve been on October 8, to what we must do to work toward a two-state solution where Israel is secure and in equal measure the Palestinians have security and self-determination and dignity.”
Tellingly, by keeping her policy ideals focused around a ceasefire, Harris suggests a ceasefire deal wouldn’t be struck before she took office in five months — despite the Biden administration’s insistence for months that negotiators are close to striking a deal.
It also suggests that the administration is not focused on what would happen on the “day after” Israel stopped its genocide, but is rather focused on repeating empty platitudes about a two-state solution that Israeli officials are openly opposed to.
Israeli officials announced this week that the U.S. has sent Israel over 600 weapons shipments, carrying over 50,000 tons of military equipment, since October, amounting to nearly two shipments or over 150 tons of equipment per day. Israel has used these weapons to slaughter Palestinians across Gaza in what experts have said are likely war crimes that should theoretically trigger the U.S. to pare back its weapons shipments under U.S. law.
In terms of the election, Harris has little reason not to conduct a pivot. Biden’s approval rating plummeted in the first months of the genocide, with pollsters citing his Israel policy as a major reason for the decline. His Gaza policies are extremely unpopular among the public, and especially among key demographics that Harris must woo if she hopes to triumph over Donald Trump in November; a recent poll found that Harris could earn a boost to her support in key swing states if she called for an end to weapons transfers to Israel.
Harris’s insistence, instead, that she maintain the Biden administration’s policy sparked fury among advocates for Palestinian rights.
“That’s right,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) said on social media in response to a post by Zeteo reporter Prem Thakker pointing out that Harris’s response means she would be ignoring international and domestic humanitarian law in order to send Israel weapons.
“War crimes and genocide will continue,” Tlaib said.
Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering politics, climate and labor
