Jewish Democrats Weigh In on Harris Amid Israel’s War With Hamas

Harris called them out for interrupting her and continued her speech.

Amid differing views of the Biden administration’s response to the Israel–Hamas war, several leading Jewish Democrats say they are standing by Harris ahead of the November election.

The Epoch Times spoke with Jewish Democrat operatives, the first Jewish Secretary of Agriculture, and the only Jewish member of the South Carolina Legislature, also a Democrat, about the administration’s handling of the war against Hamas, which began Oct. 7, 2023, with the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust that also included rape and taking hostages.

Harris took over the Democratic Party ticket after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21.

When it comes to the Israel–Hamas war, Harris has largely toed the administration’s line.

Related Stories

“Like President Biden, her support for Israel’s security is ironclad, and she and the president are working every day for the return of the hostages,” said Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) Board of Directors co-chair Ann Lewis, who was the White House communications director under President Bill Clinton.

However, Harris, like Biden, has a contentious relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“It’s always tricky when you have a vice president running for office and the president still conducting foreign affairs,” said former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, who also served under Clinton.

After all, “you have criticism of Netanyahu, and it doesn’t mean that you’re critical of Israel,” said Beth Bernstein, the only Jewish member of the South Carolina state legislature, who called Harris’s rhetoric on the conflict “nuanced.”

Former Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.), chairman of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said supporting Israel against Hamas and being concerned about the situation in Gaza are not mutually exclusive.

“Providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians is something that is an American value. And I think most of the Jewish Committee accepts that,” he said, making the distinction between civilians and terror groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Political strategist Steve Rabinowitz said the administration has been “very fair” regarding the conflict.

For Jewish Democrats like Rabinowitz, the issue of Democrat support for president in that demographic is a given every presidential election cycle.

This year is no different, he said.

Mark Mellman, the president of DMFI, which works to elect pro-Israel Democrats, noted that those in the Jewish community who are concerned about the president’s handling of the war would not support the president anyway.

Lewis said Jews she has spoken with have expressed support for Biden’s response to the conflict, though she acknowledged “there are other opinions. After so many years working in the Jewish community, I would be shocked by unanimity on any subject.”

Moreover, 42 percent of American Jews support the Palestinian people, and 12 percent of them approve of the Palestinian Authority.

Glickman predicted that Harris will get 75 to 80 percent of the Jewish vote.

According to Jewish Virtual Library, former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton received 71 percent of the Jewish vote in 2016, while President Barack Obama got 78 percent and 69 percent of that demographic in 2008 and 2012, respectively.

The last time a GOP presidential nominee won the Jewish vote was former President Warren Harding in 1920 with 43 percent, while Democrat James Cox received 19 percent and socialist Eugene Debs got 38 percent, according to the library.

The Jewish community cares not only about Israel but other issues that include abortion, education, climate change, guns, and health care, noted Klein and Rabinowitz.

Biden–Harris Criticism

The administration has come under fire from progressives, who say the White House strongly supports Israel. Progressives have largely called for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza while the administration has sought a plan that would include various stages toward ending the war.

MoveOn’s website stated, “President Biden must take action to immediately de-escalate the situation and broker a cease-fire.”

Nonetheless, the majority of the American people stand with Israel.

But, given that Trump is the alternative, Glickman said progressives, including progressive Jews, will vote for Harris anyway.

Conservatives and others have criticized what they call the administration’s hostility toward Israel. This includes withholding a munitions shipment over the administration’s objections to an Israeli full-scale military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where the last Hamas battalions are located. Israel has undertaken the operation anyway.

Stefanik said Biden “is prioritizing appeasing the pro-Hamas base of the Democrat Party over returning American and Israeli hostages and supporting Israel’s right to exist.”

Jewish Democrats dismissed the controversy of the administration putting a hold on the weapons shipment, saying it is not representative of its approach toward the war.

Mellman noted that both Democrat and Republican administrations have withheld military assistance to Israel.

Klein, who served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the hold “symbolic” and the outrage over it “an exaggeration by those who want to create this sense or create conflict between the United States and Israel to say there’s some big effort here.”

Glickman predicts that if Harris is elected, she will be slightly different from Biden, but not drastically, in terms of the U.S.–Israel relationship.

The administration has also come under scrutiny from Republicans in light of numerous anti-Semitic incidents being reported on America’s university campuses since Oct. 7, 2023, including at pro-Palestinian encampments on university property that allegedly excluded pro-Israel students and made demands of their school, including divesting their assets tied to Israel.

“When will the president himself, not his mouthpieces, condemn these hate-filled little Gazas?” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) asked at a May news conference.

Despite Shapiro reportedly being a serious contender for the position, Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Had Shapiro been picked, he would have been the second Jewish vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket since the late Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) appeared on the Democrat ticket with Vice President Al Gore in 2000.

Glickman said it would have been quite the statement to choose Shapiro amid the rise in anti-Semitism, although people would still vote based on the candidate’s policy positions as opposed to their personal background.

Harris’s husband Doug Emhoff, meanwhile, is the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president. As Second Gentleman, his portfolio has included combating anti-Semitism.

“It speaks volumes to the greatness of America and our ability to be open to people of different backgrounds,” said Glickman, who was the first Jewish Agriculture secretary.

Bernstein said she wanted Shapiro—whom she called a moderate and centrist like herself—and was “disappointed” that Harris did not pick him. She also supported Shapiro because he is the governor of a state that will be crucial in the election. Still, she is “very pleased” with Walz and predicts he will be strong on issues pertaining to Israel if the Democrat ticket wins in November.

Klein, who worked with Walz when they were both in Congress, praised him as a supporter of Israel, an opponent of anti-Semitism, and someone who cares about Holocaust education.

A few of the Jewish Democrats interviewed said that, when it comes to Israel, Walz and Shapiro are similar.