Trump and Harris Clash Over U.S. Support for Israel in Heated Debate
September 12, 2024
By: Christopher Alam | Al Enteshar Newspaper
In a heated debate marked by personal attacks rather than substantive policy discussion, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump found rare consensus on one issue: the United States’ unwavering support for Israel. However, their contention lay in who would provide stronger backing for the country.
Vice President Harris reiterated the Biden administration’s stance, emphasizing that the violence in the region began on October 7th, affirming Israel’s right to self-defense. “I will always ensure that Israel has the ability to defend itself,” she said.
She added, “How Israel exercises that right matters because far too many innocent Palestinians, including children and mothers, have lost their lives. This war must end—and it must end immediately. We need a ceasefire agreement, and we must secure the release of hostages.”
Harris initially called for a ceasefire in early March. However, both President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have acknowledged that a ceasefire deal remains out of reach. Hamas leadership accepted an Egyptian-Qatari proposal on May 7th, but the process was derailed when Israeli forces launched an offensive in Gaza’s Rafah region two days later. In August, Netanyahu further complicated negotiations by introducing new conditions that would maintain an Israeli presence in Gaza post-ceasefire, a move some analysts have described as an obstacle to progress.
Harris also restated the U.S. commitment to a two-state solution, advocating for “security and self-determination” for Palestinians. However, she did not provide specifics on how the U.S. would facilitate peace or assist in the post-conflict rebuilding process, nor did she address the ongoing provision of U.S. military aid to Israel.
Trump offered even fewer policy specifics, choosing instead to direct his focus on attacking Harris.
When asked how he would facilitate negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Trump sidestepped the question entirely, claiming instead that under his leadership, “it would have never started,” and asserting that if Harris were elected, “Israel will not exist within two years.”
He criticized Harris for not attending Netanyahu’s controversial address to Congress in July, despite the fact that she had met privately with the Israeli Prime Minister during the same visit. Notably, Senator J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate, also did not attend the address.
While Trump has previously sought to appeal to Arab-American voters disillusioned by the Biden administration’s policies in Gaza, he failed to make a compelling case during the debate. Instead, he accused Harris of “hating Israel” and, paradoxically, of hating “the Arab population, because the whole place is going to get blown up,” before abruptly shifting the conversation to Iran.
Moderator Linsey Davis invited Harris to respond, saying, “Vice President Harris, he says you hate Israel,” without addressing Trump’s inflammatory comments about Arabs and Gaza. Harris reaffirmed her long-standing support for Israel, and the debate soon shifted to other foreign policy matters, including the conflict in Ukraine.
In total, the candidates devoted approximately five minutes of the nearly two-hour debate to discussing Israel and Gaza. Neither candidate addressed the rise in domestic racist violence, such as the murder of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume in Chicago, nor did they reference the International Criminal Court’s rulings concerning Israel. Additionally, both failed to mention the growing wave of protests across the country, particularly at universities like Columbia, condemning U.S. support for Israel.
Many progressives and Arab Americans—key components of the Democratic Party’s base—have expressed disillusionment with Harris over her perceived complicity in the ongoing crisis in Gaza. Despite this discontent, Trump did not capitalize on the opportunity to attract these voters, instead resorting to divisive rhetoric, including false claims that immigrant communities in Springfield, Ohio were harming pets, and an ambiguous reference to threatening “Abdul…the head of the Taliban.” It is unclear whether Trump was referring to Abdul Ghani Baradar, who signed the U.S. withdrawal agreement in 2020, but who has never led the Taliban. Since 2016, the Taliban’s leader has been Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Whether Harris’s debate performance will resonate with voters concerned about Gaza remains to be seen. Given the combative nature of the exchange, the likelihood of a second debate between the two candidates seems remote.
