Harris, Trump compete to prove loyalty to Israel, missing the mark on Gaza

Tuesday night's debate was an opportunity for United States Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump to share their plans for how they would approach Israel's war on Palestinians in Gaza.

In the very few minutes spent on the subject, however, both candidates squandered their chance to distinguish themselves, falling back on disappointingly familiar talking points.

Harris is a member of an administration that has provided a constant flow of weapons to Israel to support the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza for nearly a year. Under President Joe Biden, the US has backed Israel at the United Nations even as most of the world has expressed shock and disgust at the Israeli military's barbarity.

But during Tuesday night's debate, Trump accused Harris of "hating" the state of Israel. "She hates Israel. If she's president, I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now," he said.

Harris responded by declaring that she has supported Israel her entire life."That's absolutely not true. I have my entire career and life supported Israel and the Israeli people," she said.

Trump also accused Harris of hating "Arab people," but that was a charge neither Harris nor the moderators thought merited a response.

Ceasefire efforts

Harris was also asked how she would reach a ceasefire in Gaza if she were president and claimed she would "continue to work around the clock" to achieve one. But the idea that Harris or anyone in the administration is working hard on a ceasefire deal is laughable.

The US has continued to ship weapons to Israel even as Netanyahu has been doing everything he can to sabotage the chances of an agreement with Hamas, a fact that's been widely acknowledged by Israeli media.

Harris also said that she would continue working toward a two-state solution, but that is another fantasy. The US has provided weapons and political cover for Netanyahu as he has repeatedly vowed he won't allow the establishment of a Palestinian state, and his position is not a fringe view in Israeli politics.

In July, the Knesset passed a resolution that stated it "firmly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state west of Jordan." Many Israeli ministers and MKs have also expressed support for re-establishing illegal Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Harris's comments at the debate and in previous interviews show that she will continue Biden's policies of full-throated support of Israel no matter what.

If she really wanted a ceasefire and cared about the civilians being massacred, Harris would pledge to end military aid to Israel, or at least limit it to use as leverage to end the bloodshed.

The Biden-Harris administration could force a ceasefire deal at any time by cutting off military aid to Israel. A senior Israeli Air Force official recently acknowledged that without US support, Israel could not sustain military assaults in Gaza for more than a few months.

Instead, US military aid provided by the Biden-Harris administration has gone to supporting Israeli escalations in the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria.

The administration even began a new bombing campaign in Yemen in response to attacks on Israeli ships, intervened directly to protect Israel from Iranian missiles and drones, and is vowing to defend Israel from any consequences it may face for assassinating Hamas's political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.

The message to the world has been clear: No matter how many Palestinian men, women, and children are killed, no matter what reckless escalation Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does next, the administration will stand behind Israel and give it everything it wants.

But for the "opposition" party in the US, that isn't enough.

Trump's take

Trump hasn't offered a coherent outline of what his Israel policy would look like, but judging by his brief remarks about Gaza and what he did for Israel during his time as president, things wouldn't be any better for Palestinians.

When Trump is asked about the situation in Gaza, he usually pivots to claims that the October 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel wouldn't have happened if he were still president. He echoed this sentiment on Tuesday, saying, "If I were president it would have never started."

Trump has also said in previous interviews that Israel needs to "finish the job" in Gaza, which to the Israelis, could mean completing an ethnic cleansing campaign or genocide.

Trump did call for peace in one area of the world during the debate. When he was asked what outcome he wanted for the Ukraine war, he said, "I want the war to stop. I want to save lives." He should have said the same thing about Gaza.

Trump and his supporters like to use the slogan "America First," a simple term that means putting the US's interests ahead of other countries, which would require a less interventionist foreign policy. But if Trump wins this November and continues supporting the slaughter in Gaza, he would be putting Israel ahead of America.

US support for Israel over the last 11 months has cost American taxpayers billions of dollars.

It has increased global animosity toward the US, put American troops deployed in the Middle East in danger, and risked a full-blown regional war. None of this is in America's interest, and it should be opposed by Republicans and Democrats alike.

Polling shows young Americans are much more skeptical of the US relationship with Israel, a sign that Israel is in trouble when it comes to long-term support from the US.

But in the meantime, the bipartisan consensus on Israel continues, and the 2024 election has become a competition to see which candidate will blindly support Israel the most, even if it's to the detriment of Americans.