CHICAGO — Kamala Harris said Thursday that she will “stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself” as president — while at the same time saying a cease-fire in Gaza must get “done.”
“Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done!” she said to loud applause while delivering her presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself,” the vice president added.
Harris voiced sympathy for Israelis in her speech, recalling the massacre of about 1,200 people that started the war, and Palestinian civilians who have died following Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip after Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
“The people of Israel must never again face the horror that the terrorist organization Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival,” she said.
“At the same time, 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.”
Harris, whose husband Doug Emhoff is Jewish, spoke after uncommitted delegates — elected in state nominating contests earlier this year as a protest against President Biden’s support for Israel — looped the convention hall chanting “cease-fire now.”
Those delegates briefly were barred from taking their seats on the convention floor.
Harris, 59, has sought to mollify both sides in the conflict — and drew far fewer anti-Israel protesters than expected this week at the Democratic convention.
Biden, who relinquished the nomination on July 21 and endorsed Harris as his successor, had enraged anti-Israel activists, who showed up in large numbers at protest marches to denounce “Genocide Joe.”
Harris has used a more strident tone than Biden, 81, in discussing civilian deaths in Gaza, including when slamming the Israeli military for killing “far too many” civilians on July 25 — just moments after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In those same remarks, she pledged “unwavering commitment to the existence of the State of Israel, to its security and to the people of Israel.”
Former President Donald Trump quickly fired back on Thursday night.
“SHE HATES ISRAEL – Wouldn’t even show up to Congress for Netanyahu’s session!” the Republican presidential nominee wrote on social media.
Trump enacted an array of pro-Israel policies as president — including recognizing the Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights from Syria, moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and brokering diplomatic relations between the Jewish state and five majority-Muslim countries.
The 78-year-old Republican also has called for an end to the conflict in Gaza.
“I did encourage [Netanyahu] to get this over with,” Trump said of his conversation with the Israeli leader last month, which occurred at his Florida residence one day after Harris and Netanyahu met in Washington.
“You want to get it over with fast. Have victory, get your victory, and get it over with. It has to stop, the killing has to stop,” Trump said.
