In her first interview as the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris told CNN it was imperative to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza, but made it clear that she would not alter President Joe Biden’s policy in the region.
However, when pressed on whether she would stop sending weapons to Israel she told Bash, “No, we have to get a deal done, Dana. We have to get a deal done.”
“Adopting an arms embargo against Israel’s assault on Gaza is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic move to defeat Trump and MAGA extremism. It is difficult for the Democratic candidate to champion democracy while arming Netanyahu’s authoritarian regime” reads a recent letter to Harris from the coalition Not Another Bomb.
Recent polling has repeatedly demonstrated that Democratic voters overwhelmingly support the conditioning of U.S. military aid. A Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) survey from March found that 52% of Americans want the U.S. to halt weapons shipments to Israel in order to force a ceasefire. 62% of Biden voters said “The US should stop weapons shipments to Israel until Israel discontinues its attacks on the people of Gaza,” while only 14% disagreed with the statement.
The numbers from a June CBS News poll were even higher, with more than 60% of all voters and almost 80% of Democrats saying the U.S. shouldn’t send Israel weapons.
“The real question should have been, ‘When are you going to start enforcing U.S. law as it relates to arms shipments’ because what we are doing right now, with this United States policy, is in violation of not just international law, but also of American law, “said the Arab Center’s Yousef Munayyer in an interview with Democracy Now in response to the CNN segment. “Vice-President Harris made it clear in other parts of her interview that she wants to be a prosecutor. She wants to enforce the law, but Israel is clearly getting an exception from the Harris campaign.”
I have little hope that Biden, Harris, or (obviously) Trump will actually change course on the US’s Israel/Palestine policy—but to be fair, we shouldn’t expect the vice president to openly say she would reverse the current president’s foreign policies even if she intended to.
Exactly. If she wanted to do anything about it she wouldn’t be able to even mention it. If she said anything that isn’t pro Israel, she’d just piss off Israel and a large amount of her own party. Politicians have always been cowards when it comes to Israel and always will be.
No I would actually expect a candidate to talk about what they intend, and whatever excuse there’s not to sounds silly.
Why not? She’s not the Secretary of State and she’s not setting foreign policy like Dick Cheney.
Why must she adhere to Biden’s policies?
That $5 million in AIPAC cash says she must adhere to Biden’s/Israel’s policies.
This. It wouldn’t surprise me if it comes out years later she was basically forced in this position because of ongoing peace negotiations. She’s not stupid, her staff isn’t stupid, bring pro no refugee murder is a very obvious stance. Israel, for whatever fucking reason, has us by the balls. Hopefully one day that changes and they’re just out there in their own like every other asshole. Also BB knows the more fucked up shit he does during the election cycle the better chances he’ll get the guy he wants in. Watch peace suddenly be an option when it’s clear Harris is going to claim victory.
Not changing the current policy of arming the ones doing the mass Refugee murder isn’t really pro no Refugee murder. Israel can continue getting away with the ongoing genocide precisely because we are still giving them unconditional military aid. Conditional military aid is the strong arm option to reign Israel in and force them to accept the US ceasefire proposal that passed through the UN, passed, and has been accepted by every party except Israel
They don’t. Their military is entirely dependent upon America. Israel is essentially America’s 51rst state. I mean, Congress even passed a law to treat IDF soldiers as if they were American soldiers.