Palestinian rights advocates are calling for action as Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic nominee for president, expresses sympathy for the plight of Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.
Harris stated that she will "not be silent" in the face of Palestinian suffering, but activists want to know what this means for U.S. foreign policy. While the vice president emphasized the dire conditions in Gaza after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she also reiterated America's "unwavering commitment" to Israel's security.
Critics argue that expressing empathy without a meaningful shift away from the U.S.'s unconditional support for Israel will not win back voters alienated by President Joe Biden's approach. "Without an actual commitment to stop killing the children of Gaza, I don't care about her empathy for them," said Eman Abdelhadi, a sociologist at the University of Chicago.
Abdelhadi stressed that the U.S. bears "responsibility" for the atrocities committed against Palestinians, noting that "to be empathetic to someone that you're shooting in the head is not exactly laudable." The activist added, "We don't need empathy from these people. We need them to stop providing the weapons and the money that is actively killing the people that they're supposedly empathizing with."
While Harris's comments have been characterized as a shift from Biden's rhetoric, critics point out that the vice president did not articulate any new policy positions. In her televised statement, Harris reiterated her "unwavering commitment" to Israel's right to self-defense and voiced support for Biden's ceasefire proposal, without explicitly condemning Israel's actions in Gaza.
Hazami Barmada, an Arab American activist organizing protests in Washington, D.C., said that the vice president's public expression of sympathy "does not make a difference," noting that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also expressed empathy for the children of Gaza while the U.S. continues to approve billions of dollars in weapons for Israel.
"So no, I don't think empathy is enough," Barmada told Al Jazeera. "We have had on our television screens genocide, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal occupation, violence, all types of atrocities happening against Palestinians for 76 years. We must move past empathy into a place of action before it's too late."
With Biden's endorsement, Harris appears poised to inherit the Democratic nomination for president. However, the "uncommitted" movement in the Democratic primaries, which saw hundreds of thousands of voters choose this option to express opposition to Biden's Gaza policy, has articulated three key demands: an enduring ceasefire, an arms embargo on Israel, and the lifting of the siege on Gaza.
Palestinian rights advocates are calling for the vice president and the Democratic Party to take concrete steps to address the ongoing crisis in Gaza and to shift U.S. policy away from unconditional support for Israel. They argue that expressions of empathy alone will not be enough to win back the trust of voters concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people.
Kamala Harris appears poised to inherit the Democratic presidential nomination from the retiring Joe Biden, who formally endorsed his vice president on Sunday. With no serious opposition, Biden had amassed an overwhelming majority of votes in the Democratic primaries. However, the "uncommitted" option on primary ballots attracted hundreds of thousands of voters nationwide, reflecting opposition to Biden's policies on the Gaza conflict.
The "uncommitted" movement has coalesced around three key demands: securing a lasting ceasefire, imposing an arms embargo on Israel, and lifting the blockade of Gaza. Tariq Habash, a former Biden administration official who resigned in January to protest U.S. support for the war, described Harris's recent rhetoric on the issue as "refreshing." However, Habash cautioned that Harris would need to back up her words with meaningful policy changes to truly address the violence and humanitarian crisis.
After all, Harris is a seasoned pro-Israel advocate, having co-sponsored a Senate resolution condemning a U.N. Security Council rebuke of Israeli settlements and addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobby group. Her husband, Douglas Emhoff, has also reaffirmed her commitment to maintaining U.S. support for Israel's security.
This pro-Israel record has concerned many Palestinian rights advocates, who say they are willing to support Harris only if she reconsiders the U.S.'s unconditional backing of Israel. Some activists have accused Harris of lacking nuance in her recent condemnation of protesters opposing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress. They argue she unfairly smeared the credibility of legitimate demonstrators with valid concerns about U.S. funding for Israel.
Ultimately, Kamala Harris faces a delicate balancing act as she seeks to rally the Democratic base while maintaining her longstanding support for Israel. Her ability to chart a new course on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may prove crucial to her political fortunes.
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