While it’s not always appropriate to criticize a politician for something they don’t say, during the past several months, given the vile antisemitic protests that have taken place across the US under the veil of “anti-Zionism,” one might have assumed that as a self-declared Zionist, President Biden would have shut down threats against Jews by affirming that he is also a Zionist. “When you vilify Zionists, you vilify me,” he could have said. A modern JFK “Ich bin ein Berliner” moment.
One can consider that an oversight, a lack of vision, or assume that making such a comment would have been politically suicidal within today’s Democratic Party. I don’t know why he didn’t, but it would have been nice, and could have made a huge difference. While there are many things to be critical of Biden about, even if his policies are wrong and even if they are expressed in pandering to the Hamas-wing of his party, I do believe at heart he is a Zionist, and does indeed support the right of Israel to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people.
Today, however, Biden will be the last Zionist Democratic president, at least the last one to profess his or her Zionism openly.
Unlike Biden who had a relationship with many Israeli leaders going back to Golda Meir in the 1960s, neither Kamala Harris, nor anyone in the Democratic Party who has any future leadership potential or influence to guide the party’s policies has had relationships with too many leaders other than Netanyahu. There are not genuine friendships and relationships that can overcome sentiments like that which Biden has expressed to Netanyahu and repeats often, “Bibi, I love you but I don’t agree with a damn thing you say.”
No future Democratic president will identify him or herself as a Zionist because with the current configuration of the extreme left/Hamas-wing of their party, to do so would be political suicide. A compelling demonstration of this is the political commentary about who Harris’s own vice presidential running mate will be. Some have observed that Harris cannot pick Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro because he is Jewish, and that will not be acceptable among the radical left/pro-Hamas wing.
This could be dismissed as right-wing political slander, except that it was commentary made on CNN.
A vice president sometimes has a role to be a pit bull, testing and probing policies for their respective administrations. For this reason, sometimes a VP can appear out of step with the president. But as the presumptive presidential candidate, a vice president’s words and actions matter much more.
Harris has been correctly criticized for not presiding over Netanyahu’s congressional speech. Serving as president of the Senate is one of the few actual jobs of the vice presidency. She cited “scheduling conflicts,” appearing at a sorority conference that was taking place over five days, yet knowing weeks in advance when Netanyahu would be speaking. She led a long list of Democratic Congress members who also boycotted Netanyahu’s speech, making Israel a partisan issue, and signaling vast daylight between her/their policies and the mere presence of Israel’s democratically elected Prime Minister.
In addition to signaling Israel’s enemies, their proxies and enablers (also America’s enemies) that support for Israel is not “ironclad,” they signaled to US allies that America may not be a trusted ally. This has made negotiations to free ALL the remaining 115 hostages and bring about an end to the war that much harder.
Surely those that boycotted along with Harris would not put the word Zionist anywhere on their resume. Sadly, they have a loud voice.
Israel is an essential democratic ally of the US, and should be supported, especially when fighting an existential war whose enemies burned American flags and chanted genocidal threats to Jews outside the Congress.
Even if they differ with Israeli policies and how the war is being conducted, why is their behavior not only acceptable, but even expected? Would they walk out on any other world leader invited to speak in Congress much less an ally at war, even one with whom they had different opinions? Does merely sitting in the same room mean endorsement of all policies? Would Kamala have been crucified if she
had been seen presiding much less applauding Netanyahu’s speech?
Perhaps many, maybe even most, Democratic congressional members and others would not profess their denial of Israel’s right to exist. But they won’t buck the prevailing trend and reality in the party to pander to its Hamas-wing that anything pro-Israel is anti-democratic.
The pandering was on full display in Harris’ comments following her private (deniable?) meeting with Netanyahu. In what’s become pro-forma among extreme leftists, Harris conflated the condemnation of antisemitism and islamophobia, as if they were two sides of the same coin, or as if rampant threats to and instances of genocidal crime against Muslims (anywhere in the world) is at the same rate as antisemitism.
Signaling the extreme left Hamas-wing of her party and demonstrators blocking roads, transportation, public squares, and even at synagogues, she showed her hand: “To everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire... I see you and I hear you,” affirming their violent voices.
Despite no documented proof of famine for which Israel has been accused (rather than Hamas hijacking the very humanitarian supplies intended for Gazans), Harris decried the “hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.”
Most problematic, Harris noted that “too often the conversation is binary when the reality is anything but.” Yes, there is lots of nuance. But, yes, the conversation is binary. On October 7, 2023, thousands of Islamic terrorists breached Israel's border and slaughtered 1200 people, raping and sexually mutilating many, kidnapping more than 250, subjecting them to the most horrific inhuman abuse. There is no other culture in the world that does this, celebrates it, and inspires it. Israelis did not want war. Israelis on the border are suffering from the trauma of October 7 still, but also how it burst their bubble of the idea of coexistence. It is existential. It is black and white. Good vs evil. And, yes, binary.
Even if Biden’s recounting of his first meeting with Golda Meir and commitment to Israel are embellished, it’s a story that he’s told many times and is indeed part of who he is. I don’t doubt that he is a Zionist in the most basic sense. But I do believe he will be the last Zionist Democratic president.