Vice President Kamala Harris’ handling of the Israeli Prime Minister’s visit paints a preview of how a Harris administration would handle U.S.-Israel relations if elected, a GOP Jewish advocacy group claims.
Netanyahu arrived in the U.S. on Monday after being invited by members of Congress to address lawmakers during a joint session. Harris, who became the likely Democratic nominee for president after Biden withdrew from the race, was not present to greet Netanyahu on the tarmac when he arrived.
The Israeli prime minister delivered his address to Congress Wednesday, where he detailed the horrors of the country’s war against Hamas. Harris declined to preside over the address and instead attended a sorority event in Indiana.
Anti-Israel protests broke out across Washington D.C. ahead of Netanyahu’s big speech, where agitators burned the American Flag, called the Israeli prime minister a “war criminal,” and vandalized a Liberty Bell replica with pro-Hamas writing.
Demonstrators gather around a burning U.S. flag and effigy during a pro-Palestinian protest, on the day Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 24, 2024. (Seth Herald)
A leader from the Republican Jewish Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that works to lobby for conservative interests, has said that if Harris is elected, he expects her to follow in President Biden’s footsteps regarding Israel moving forward.
“If you thought Joe Biden was bad on issues of top concern for pro-Israel voters, Kamala Harris is far worse,” Sam Markstein, RJC national political director, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“It took her a full day to issue a weak condemnation of the pro-Hamas mobs that burned American flags and chanted vile antisemitic slogans at Jews in Washington, D.C. – with zero mention of any concrete action she would take to hold them accountable. It should be easy to condemn antisemitism – the real question is what she will do to confront it, and her statement speaks for itself,” Markstein added. “Clearly, her priorities are not our priorities – and if elected, we can expect more of the same.”
Vice President Kamala Harris waves before boarding Air Force Two as she departs on campaign travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tuesday, July 23, 2024, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool via AP)
Harris condemned the protests in a statement Thursday: “Yesterday, at Union Station in Washington, D.C., we saw despicable acts by unpatriotic protesters and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric. I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews.”
Netanyahu’s U.S. visit comes at a critical moment in Harris’ campaign, as she works to replace Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket and make her case to voters just four months before Election Day.
GOP LOOKS TO REVOKE VISAS FROM PARTICIPANTS IN VIOLENT PROTESTS AHEAD OF NETANYAHU ADDRESS
Harris has said that she supports Israel’s right to defend itself since the October 7 attack, but also highlighted calls for a ceasefire in the region.
The vice president met with Benny Gantz, a rival of Netanyahu and member of Israel’s wartime cabinet, in March. That same month, Harris became the first administration official to call for an “immediate ceasefire” in the conflict.
But anti-Israel protests erupted on college campuses across the country in the spring, and in June, Harris expressed sympathy for the agitators.
Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station during a pro-Palestinian protest on the day Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill, in Washington, July 24, 2024. (REUTERS/Seth Herald)
“They are showing exactly what the human emotion should be, as a response to Gaza,” Harris said in an interview with The Nation. “There are things some of the protesters are saying that I absolutely reject, so I don’t mean to wholesale endorse their points. But we have to navigate it. I understand the emotion behind it.”
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“Kamala Harris and the Democrats will reap what they’ve sowed in this election – from undermining the US-Israel relationship to unprecedented lows and overseeing a spike in antisemitism to record high,” Markstein said. “The Jewish community is more energized than ever to help elect Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States to restore law and order to our cities and colleges so that American Jews can walk the streets and campuses without fear. November 5, 2024 cannot come soon enough.”
Fox News’ Michael Lee and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
