Kamala Harris backs Israel’s right to defend, supports Ukraine

Kamala Harris backed Israel’s right to defend itself, reaffirmed American support for Israel’s security, termed what has happened in Gaza “devastating”, supported the Palestinian quest for security and self-determination, said the time for a hostage and ceasefire deal was now, and warned Iran that she would do whatever it took to defend American forces against Tehran and its terror proxies.

In her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, offering a glimpse of her foreign policy world view, Harris positioned herself as a champion of democracy against tyranny, claimed that America will win the competition with China in the 21st century and lead the world in AI and space, alleged that Donald Trump was prone to manipulation by autocrats since he wanted to be one himself, and attacked Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and pledged support for Kyiv.

But Harris’s most difficult challenge was framing her position around the war in West Asia that has partly fractured her party, posed an electoral challenge given the anger of progressive and Muslim voters, eroded America’s moral high ground across the world, and triggered street protests, including in Chicago.

Harris said that President Joe Biden and she had been working “around the clock” and now was the time to get hostage and ceasefire deal done.

“I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival,” Harris said, at a time when Trump has sought to cast doubts on Harris’s commitment to Israel and said that any Jewish American who voted for Harris should “have their head examined”. Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish.

She then shifted to the brutal war in Gaza where Israel has killed over 40,000 Palestinians. “What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.”

Summarising her position on both the immediate crisis as well as the broader seven and a half decade conflict, Harris said, “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.” In the backdrop of Trump accusing Democrats for being soft on Iran, Harris also said that she would never hesitate to take whatever action was necessary to defend American forces and interests “against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists”.

At a time when Trump is projecting himself as a strong leader who can end wars, while also turning to a relatively narrower role for America in the world, Harris both sought to project her experience and credentials for the job and reaffirmed the Democratic position on a wider and more expansive American role in the world. She said that the US must be steadfast in defending its security and values, and claimed that as vice president, she had “confronted threats to our security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened our alliances and engaged with our brave troops overseas”.

“As commander-in-chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world…I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence. That America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century, and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership”

Drawing a contrast with her opponent, Harris reminded the audience that Trump had said that Russia could do “whatever the hell it wanted”. “Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelensky to warn him about Russia’s plan to invade. I helped mobilise a global response — over 50 countries — to defend against Putin’s aggression. And as president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies.”

Later in the speech, Harris returned to Trump’s foreign policy record, claiming she would not cosy upto tyrants and dictators such as Kim Jong-un, “who are rooting for Trump”, a line that drew applause from the crowd. “Because, you know, they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself.”

Harris ended the foreign policy segment of her speech with a categorical defence of what has been America’s traditional position on democracy and self image of itself. “As president, I will never waver in defense of America’s security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs.”

Trump, responding to Harris’s speech, said, “There will be no future under Comrade Kamala Harris, because she will take us into a Nuclear World War III! She will never be respected by the Tyrants of the World!”

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