Debate Offers Harris Opening to Break With Biden on Israel. Will She Take It?

When Vice President Kamala Harris faces off against former President Donald Trump during their only scheduled presidential debate on Tuesday, she will almost assuredly be asked a question about how she plans to handle the ongoing war in Gaza, and whether she would support limits on military aid to Israel, as some U.S. allies have begun implementing.
That war — now approaching a year in progress — and Israel’s conduct of it remains a sticking point between Harris and large swaths of the Democrats’ base. Many voters are waiting to hear whether Harris plans to signal a break with President Joe Biden, who has been steadfast in supporting the key American ally. They have looked for signs that Harris intends to offer a more combative approach with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, such as when she skipped his address to Congress this summer.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel invaded the Gaza Strip last fall, according the Associated Press reported citing the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. The invasion followed Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 assault on Israel that killed some 1,200 people. More than 100 hostages remain in Hamas captivity nearly a year later.
Since Biden dropped out of the race in July and Harris quickly consolidated Democratic support as his replacement on the ticket, her candidacy has been greeted by some progressives with skepticism, largely over the administration’s continued military support of Israel.
Although Harris notably called for a ceasefire in the conflict before Biden, she has largely stood in line with his policy positions, rejecting calls for an arms embargo.
The debate, however, presents her the biggest opportunity yet to reframe her positioning on Israel to draw a distinction not just with her boss, but with her opponent, strategists told Newsweek. How she calculates it will be one of the most anticipated moments of the event.
Emgage Action, a Muslim American advocacy group, told Newsweek in a statement that during the debate, Harris needs to “demonstrate a clear understanding of the violence in Gaza and offer real policy solutions.” Specifically, she should emphasize her commitment to a ceasefire and an “end to the violence and bloodshed in Gaza.
“The Muslim American community feels heartbroken by President Biden’s handling of the crisis. To win over pro-Palestinian voters , Harris should make a strong commitment to ending the violence, supporting a ceasefire, and reassess current U.S. policy including the need to condition aid to Israel that is in line with our own laws and adhere to international human rights standards,” the statement reads.
The Emgage Action statement noted that while a “complete departure” from Biden’s positioning on Israel “may not be likely,” the debate still presents Harris a chance to “offer a more nuanced stance that could resonate with voters, particularly among the pro-Palestinian movements and the broader Muslim and Arab American communities.”
“Calling for the conditioning of aid to Israel based on compliance with U.S. law and international human rights standards would be a significant step in distinguishing herself from the Administration’s current policy without entirely breaking from it,” the organization’s statement reads.
Anne Danehy, a professor at Boston University’s College of Communications told Newsweek that Harris needs to “stay consistent” with what she has said about Israel in the past while walking a fine line to avoid alienating voters on either side of the issue — a tall order, given the deeply embedded political fault lines.
She must be wary of appearing like a flip-flopper, Danehy said.
“This could be a really good opportunity for her to define herself and to show leadership. To show the U.S. what her plan is, how the U.S. can help in terms of facilitating dialogue and supporting peace initiatives. Talking about her long-term solutions, and the two-state solutions, and the need for a ceasefire,” she said.
Harris needs to project empathy, thoughtfulness and leadership, Danehy added, noting that some voters may view female candidates as less experienced or decisive on issues of war.
“She needs to be very definitive in whatever she says,” Danehy said.
Democratic strategist Jay Townsend agreed that it is unlikely Harris will “make a clean break with Biden’s approach,” but she may “emphasize that protecting Israel requires that Israel sit at the negotiating table with other countries in the region (Saudi Arabia), and be willing to consider reasonable proposals to ensure a lasting peace in the Middle East.”
Harris can highlight Trump’s own record of not striking a broader Middle East peace deal as president, Townsend said.
“The United States had the opportunity to broker one, but few countries ever thought that Trump would serve as an honest broker, use the leverage he had to bring other parties to the table, or make an agreement stick after agreements were signed.
In fact, Trump did broker the biggest Middle East peace deal in decades with the Abraham Accords that normalized Israel’s relations with the UAE. It was the first time Israel established a direct diplomatic relationship with an Arab country since 1994.
Townsend said that Harris needs to give progressives hope that Palestinians “will be allowed to live in peace and go about their lives absent fear of having their land confiscated, their homes razed, their water lines severed, their roads bombed, their children killed, or their civil rights abridged.”
Grant Davis Reeher, a professor of political science at Syracuse University, told Newsweek that Harris must “tread very carefully” on the topic during the debate, as there are votes to both be lost and gained.
Breaking from Biden’s Israel policy may “cause more damage than it’s worth,” he said.
“She is running in a general election now, and the principal concern about her is that she is too liberal. She has signaled that she is tacking to the center, but many policy areas remain extremely murky, in terms of specifics. Trying too hard to appeal to progressives on this issue risks sending the wrong overall message about a Harris presidency,” he added.
She may use the debate to show she is more concerned about Palestinian deaths. Trump, however, may use the debate to “pin her down” on her Israel stance, which has been “somewhat murky,” Reeher said.
During the Democratic primary, the Biden campaign faced rebuke from many Democratic voters who voted “uncommitted” in the primaries, signaling their anger over his approach to Israel. In total, the movement garnered more than 700,000 votes throughout the primary season—roughly four percent of total votes cast. While this number may seem small, it could be decisive in some battleground states.
In Michigan, a battleground state where Harris holds a tiny lead according to the most recent polls, 100,000 Democratic voters cast an “uncommitted” vote. Biden’s 2020 margin in the closely divided state was only about 150,000 votes. The close nature of these swing states means that even just a few thousand votes could ultimately make a difference.
Harris is now tasked with bringing those voters back into the fold before Election Day, but the path to quell those voters’ concerns will require a bit of deft politicking, given that many Democrats also don’t want to see the U.S. abandon — or be seen as abandoning — its biggest ally in the Middle East.
Those intra-party fissues were on display last month at the DNC, where Harris faced criticism from pro-Palestinian activists after the Uncommitted movement said their request for a speaking slot was denied. They argued Democrats should have allowed a Palestinian to speak during the convention to show that her campaign would be more receptive to their concerns.
While the campaign did host panels with pro-Palestinian speakers during the Chicago convention, it was not enough for organizations Muslim Women for Harris-Walz, which issued a statement criticizing Democrats for sending a “terrible message” to Democrats, adding that Palestinians “have the right to speak about Palestine.”
James Zogby, the founder of the Arab American Institute, said afterward to The Hill: “Despite my efforts to see the convention as a success, and I do believe that it was … the campaign made an unforced error. I call it a boneheaded move that ended up casting a pall over everything — the refusal to allow a speaker.”
Harris also received one of her biggest applause lines during her DNC speech when she mentioned the war in Gaza.
“The scale of suffering is heartbreaking,” Harris said on the final night of the convention. “President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”
During an interview with CNN in August, Harris suggested there would not be a change in her policy when asked if she would support withholding weapons from Israel amid humanitarian concerns in Gaza. She said she and President Biden were still working around the clock to get a ceasefire and hostage deal done.
“No. We have to get a deal done…When you look at the significance of this to the families, to the people who are living in that region, a deal is not only the right thing to do to end this war but will unlock so much of what must happen next,” she said.
“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.”
Harris said she is “unwavering” in her commitment to Israel’s ability to defend itself, while acknowledging that “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”
A July Gallup poll found that a narrow plurality of Americans disapprove of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Forty-eight percent of poll respondents said they view these actions negatively, while 42 percent said they approve of Israel’s actions.
Those numbers were split along partisan lines. Seventy-six percent of Republicans said they approved of Israel’s military action, compared to 23 percent of Democrats. Among independents, about a third said they support Israel’s military action.
A Data for Progress survey conducted in February found that a majority of voters support placing some conditions on aid for Israel.
Seventy-one percent said they would support requiring Israel to “guarantee the right of displaced Palestinians to be able to return to their homes in Gaza following the conclusion of the war,” while 65 percent said they would support requiring Israel to commit to a “de-escalation of violence in Gaza” before providing it weapons.