Progressive Democrats are hopeful Kamala Harris would approach Israel policy differently to Biden

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress re-opened the longstanding divide that progressives have with President Joe Biden on Israel-Palestine. And they are unsure whether Vice President Kamala Harris — who is all but guaranteed to now lead the Democratic ticket now that Biden announced he would not seek re-election — would be an improvement.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive from New York who did not attend Netanyahu’s speech, told The Independent the US must be “willing to enforce in a stronger, more forceful way US law, which means conditioning military assistance to respect human rights, and to ensure that US resources are not going toward the violation of human rights.”

But when asked if she was confident Harris could provide a path forward on these issues, Ocasio-Cortez didn’t give a clear answer.

“My hope is that our advocacy will always be a success,” she simply told The Independent.

Others told The Independent they are more confident in the vice president’s policy.

Representative Sara Jacobs of California, the youngest Jewish member of Congress, told The Independent she’s encouraged by the fact that Harris has a positive track record on advocating for a ceasefire.

“I think it’s very telling that she was the first person in the administration to call for a ceasefire, and I hope we’ll continue seeing her do that,” Jacobs told The Independent just ahead of Netanyahu’s address to Congress.

Representative Robert Garcia of California, another progressive who boycotted Netanyahu’s address, praised Harris along the same lines.

“Knowing what I know about her and her work as vice president, I think she’ll be very focused on worldwide peace and making sure that the United States is a global leader,” Garcia told The Independent.

Senator Peter Welch, a Vermont progressive who also skipped the speech, told The Independent that Harris might be able to effect change if she makes it to the White House next year

“She’s got a free hand,” Welch told The Independent. “She shares President Biden’s commitment to a two-state solution. And that means there has to be a major focus on... the Palestinian people.”

Welch was the first Democratic senator to call for Biden to step aside and also supports a ceasefire in Gaza.

For the most part, Harris has remained somewhat of a blank slate on Israel. When she was a senator, she spoke to AIPAC and voted for aid to Israel. Her husband Doug Emhoff denounced rising antisemitism in the United States and across the globe after the October 7 attacks.

At the same time, Harris has been more vocal about Palestinian suffering than Biden. In December, she said that international law must be respected.

“Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” Harris said. “Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating.”

In March, Harris said there should be “be an immediate ceasefire — for at least the next six weeks,” which Representative Delia Ramirez of Illinois, a member of the Squad, cited when asked today about Harris’s record.

“I think that you have seen her already talk about the importance of getting a negotiated deal to permanent ceasefire,” she told The Independent. “She said it before many of my colleagues have said it here.”

Progressives have roundly criticized the Biden administration’s support for Israel and indeed, Netanyahu thanked Biden for his longstanding support for Israel during his address — support which goes back to Biden’s time as a young senator.

Regardless of their thoughts on Harris, progressive lawmakers all seem to agree on one thing.

“What I know is this: Donald Trump would be a disaster,” Representative Jim McGovern told The Independent, when asked about what US policy toward Israel might look like if Trump won a second term. “Donald Trump would be a green light for more and more killing. I shudder to think what would happen if he were to become president.”

McGovern did not attend Netanyahu’s address and instead spoke at a counterprogramming event that featured discussions with Israeli and Palestinian peace leaders.

Representative Jamie Raskin – a Democrat who did attend Netanyahu’s address after voting against US aid to Israel earlier this year – told The Independent he’s concerned the Israeli prime minister praised Trump in his congressional address.

“I thought this was a speech for the Republican National Convention that really didn’t belong in the US House of Representatives, the way I heard it,” Raskin told The Independent.