The question of whether the U.S.-Israel alliance can survive a Kamala Harris presidency is less about diplomatic strategy and more akin to the delicate balancing act of a tightrope walker on a windy day. The answer hinges on whether Israel chooses to embrace the leftist ideologies that have been taking root in Western politics. If they do, they might just find a viable partner in the Biden-Harris administration. However, if Israel holds firm against the demands of Western socialists, the alliance is likely to hang in the balance like a piñata at a party full of children armed with bats.
Recently, Harris fumbled her way through an interview on “Face the Nation,” while managing to elegantly sidestep the critical question of whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a trustworthy ally. Instead of answering directly, Harris insisted that the real question was about the connection between the American and Israeli people. While that sounds lovely, it conveniently ignores the fact that Netanyahu is the operator behind Israel’s policies. Needless to say, Harris’s unwillingness to affirm the friendship with Netanyahu reveals a troubling undercurrent: an inclination to prefer a more left-leaning Israeli leadership that aligns with her own ideological framework, redefining allies as she sees fit.
This preference for a more liberal Israeli leadership plays right into the hands of the radical left, who see Israel as a colonial oppressor rather than as a vital ally and democracy surrounded by hostile forces. Harris and the current administration seem to be more in sync with the likes of Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez than with traditional American support for Israel. For them, the most palatable outcome would be for Israel to relinquish significant territory and potentially recognize a Palestinian state, even as such a concession would inevitably fuel further aggression against Israel from its neighbors.
For decades, previous U.S. administrations attached strings to the creation of a Palestinian state, demanding that Palestinians acknowledge Israel’s right to exist first. However, the current dynamic has changed; post-October 7th developments leave little room for moral absolutes, as the historical context vanishes like yesterday’s news cycle. Harris’s overtures to the likes of Michigan’s Muslim leadership are nothing short of a desperate attempt to appeal to a voter base that may drive a wedge further between America and its staunch ally.
Will the U.S./Israel Alliance Survive a Kamala Harris Presidency? Only if Israel bends the knee to the Marxist left that hates the Jewish State https://t.co/kpwNqdpc1a
— Lois Levine Fishman (@FishmanLevine) October 6, 2024
Harris’s tendency to align herself with the hard left is perhaps a strategic move aimed at securing key votes in states like Michigan and Minnesota, but the fallout could spell disaster for U.S.-Israel relations. The Biden-Harris administration’s track record of undermining the Jewish state is hardly new; it reflects an ideological lineage stretching back to the Obama years, where appeasing Iran became a foreign policy tenet. As Biden cozied up to the mullahs, sending them billions while allowing them to chant “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” it became increasingly clear that supporting Israel was more of an inconvenience than a priority.
If Harris finds herself in the Oval Office, she may ultimately be unable to maintain the charade of friendship with Israel while continuing to fund its adversaries. With the hard-left elements pushing their agenda, even a leftist Israeli administration may find their relationship with the U.S. quickly becomes contingent, highlighting the fraught state of foreign policy when dependent on the whims of radical progressives. It isn’t Israel that will be changing; it will be the very understanding of alliance and partnership that the U.S. has historically embraced. Those accustomed to believing in steadfast alliances might want to brace themselves for what could come next.