Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday adamantly called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war following her meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the new presidential candidate gets pressed by fellow Democrats to shift U.S. policy in Israel.
Harris told reporters after her meeting in Washington, D.C., that she told the Israeli leader that “it is time” to reach an end to the war and bring those kidnapped during Hamas‘ October 7 attack on Israel home. Her comments follow just four days into her freshly launched presidential campaign.
“I’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating,” Harris said. “Israel has a right to defend itself, and how it does so matters.”
Israel’s military response to Hamas’ attacks, which according to Palestinian health officials cited by the Associated Press has killed over 39,000 people, has had a ripple effect across the globe. President Joe Biden, who suspended his reelection campaign on Sunday and subsequently endorsed Harris, has faced immense amounts of backlash for Washington’s continued support of the Israel Defense Forces despite the high civilian death toll and lack of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating,” Harris said on Thursday. “The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced by the second, third or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent.”
Protests have been ongoing across the country for months in response to Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza. Some Democratic voters have also shown their discontent for the president’s policies by voting “uncommitted” in the party’s primary in the spring. Harris has become a target of the movement in recent days.
The vice president has secured support from enough Democratic National Convention delegates to be considered her party’s presumptive nominee in November. But delegates in Minnesota—where 18 percent of Democratic primary voters cast an “uncommitted” ballot—have said that they will not support Harris at the DNC unless she commits to major policy changes on Israel.
Asma Mohammed, co-chair of Minnesota’s delegation, told Axios that the state’s 11 delegates plan to withhold their endorsement for the vice president unless she commits to ending military aid to Israel. The group also wants Harris to support a “permanent ceasefire” in Gaza, per the Axios report.
In Michigan’s primary, 13.2 percent of Democrats voted “uncommitted.” Michigan Democratic delegate Abbas Alweih, who is uncommitted, also shared a similar sentiment with Axios, adding that if Harris “meaningfully engages with our demands … I will personally mobilize for reelection.”
Thousands of protesters gathered in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday in response to Netanyahu’s joint address before Congress, during which the Israeli leader did not mention plans for a ceasefire deal with Hamas leaders. Harris missed Netanyahu’s speech to attend an event in Indianapolis. Several other Democratic lawmakers skipped the event. Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian American member of Congress, attended Netanyahu’s speech with signs that read “War Criminal” and “Guilty of Genocide.”
Some demonstrators on Wednesday were seen raising Palestinian flags in place of U.S. flags outside Washington’s train station. Videos on social media showed others burning a U.S. flag. Harris released a statement on Thursday condemning what she described as “despicable acts by unpatriotic protests and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric.”
“I condemn the burning of the American flag,” Harris said. “The flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America. It should never be desecrated in that way.”
Harris discussed the unrest during her address later in the day, saying that it was “important for the American people to remember the war in Gaza is not a binary issue.”
“I ask my fellow Americans to help encourage efforts to acknowledge the complexity, the nuance and the history of the region,” she continued. “Let us all condemn terrorism and violence. Let us all do what we can to prevent the suffering of innocent civilians, and let us condemn antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate, of any kind.”
According to a tally by the progressive Working Families Party, at least 94 Democratic members of Congress have called for a ceasefire or cessation of hostilities in Gaza. One of the Democrats, Representative Jason Crow of Colorado, spoke with CNN shortly after Harris’ address on Thursday, saying that the vice president’s line about Israel’s right to defend itself, “and how it does so matters,” is a “key element” to reaching an end to the war.
“We can both stand with Israel and help it defend itself, but it has to do so consistent with its values,” added Crow, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, saying that the “level of civilian casualties” in Gaza has “been unacceptable.”
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican, also spoke with CNN about Harris’ speech, saying, “I’ll give her credit for a strong statement.”
“But like anything, it has to be backed up by action. Action both overseas … but also locally, domestically,” he said.
Biden also pressed Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire on Thursday during the president’s first face-to-face talks with the prime minister since the start of the war in Gaza. White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby said during a news conference while Biden and Netanyahu met that Washington is “closer now than we’ve been before” in securing a deal but added, “Both sides have to make compromises.”
Hamas accepted Biden’s ceasefire resolution, which was also adopted by the United Nations Security Council, this month. The proposal is broken up into three phases and would include a complete cease of fighting, the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners and a complete withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza.
Harris said during her speech on Thursday that she remains committed to “a two- state solution” once a ceasefire is reached, where “Palestinians can finally realize the freedom, security and prosperity that they rightly deserve.”
Newsweek reached out to the White House press office for further comment Thursday night.
Update 07/25/24, 10:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
