Netanyahu’s Visit Is Kamala’s First Challenge; It’s Also an Opportunity

The Democratic Party’s leadership has coalesced behind U.S. President Joe Biden’s chosen successor, Vice President Kamala Harris. But Harris still faces an uphill climb against former President Donald Trump. She carries the burdens of incumbency—economic fears, wars and conflicts, and a worsening environment—without the usual advantages. Voters don’t know her, so they have no reason to believe she is a decisive leader.

How could they? Harris ended her 2020 campaign before the first vote was even cast and didn’t run this year. Without Biden in the race, the top vote-getter in the 2024 primary is “Uncommitted” (706,591 votes). Marianne Williamson, the only candidate who hasn’t conceded, is technically the runner-up (473,761 votes).

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Congress this Wednesday as planned, it will be Harris’ first major challenge as a candidate. The Israeli leader’s visit is widely seen as a snub to the Biden administration, despite the massive infusion of American arms, aid, and diplomatic cover as the killings in Gaza continue. Bibi’s main complaint, it seems, is that Biden has been insufficiently effusive in his praise of Bibi.

The Democratic Party did not offer these Democrats an opportunity to vote against this administration’s Israel policy in the primary. This week, Kamala Harris can give them a voice.

Netanyahu’s invitation originally came from Republicans on the Hill, with the intention of creating some awkward moments for Biden and his party. Trump and the GOP will use this visit to slam both Biden and Harris over Israel. They’ll accuse Harris of being “weak” and “indecisive” (and they’ll probably garnish their attacks with sexist undertones).

But this is an opportunity, as well as a challenge. It’s a chance for Harris to show strength, leadership, and independence from the man she hopes to succeed. Instead of kowtowing to Netanyahu as Biden has done, she can stand up to him. She can tell the world that she represents the best interests of the entire world, not just of one country, and that she respects international law.

Is that a fantasy? Probably. But even if she doesn’t go all the way—by, say, acknowledging the legitimacy of recent court rulings against Israel—she can demand an immediate cease-fire and a massive increase in aid to Gaza, unimpeded by Israel’s military or its citizen vigilantes. That would place her in the political mainstream—of voters, if not of politicians.

Those positions would be popular, especially among voters who have defected from the Democrats over Biden’s Gaza policy. A Chicago Council on Global Affairs-Ipsos survey conducted in March 2024 showed that, of those Americans with an opinion, 65% thought that the United States should either “reduce military aid to Israel until it ends its war with Hamas” or “exert diplomatic pressure on Israel but not reduce military aid.”

(These figures would be higher if not for the pro-Israel bias in the phrasing. Israel’s actions have been characterized by international authorities as genocide; they certainly are more than “a war with Hamas.”)

The Republicans have pumped up support for Israel among their own voters. Nevertheless, Gallup reports that a plurality of voters (48%) disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza. Most Democrats and independents oppose Israel’s actions; only 23% of Democrats and 34% of Republicans support them.

That tracks with long-term polling, which showed as far back as last December that, after hearing arguments on both sides of the issue, 76% of Democratic voters supported a U.S. call for a permanent cease-fire and deescalation of violence in Gaza. (That position was shared by 61% of likely voters overall.) And disaffection with the administration’s Israel policy is most pronounced among groups the Dems need most: young voters, Blacks, Hispanics, and Arab Americans in swing states.

The Democratic Party did not offer these Democrats an opportunity to vote against this administration’s Israel policy in the primary. This week, Kamala Harris can give them a voice.

She can also demonstrate courage, strength, independence, and resolve. The vice president can stand up to Netanyahu and tell him she will not be intimidated into acting against her own better judgment. She can demand a) an immediate end to the killing of civilians; b) that Israel stop blocking much-needed aid; and c) that he stop making unreasonable demands and immediately agree to a long-term cease-fire.

Gaza also desperately needs massive amounts of humanitarian aid. Harris can announce that she plans to work with UNRWA to deliver that aid since it’s the agency best positioned to do so. If she’s feeling especially brave, she can even send a message to the demonstrators who will be outside the Capitol this Wednesday: I see you, I hear you, and I will act.

You may say I’m a dreamer... and you’re probably right. I don’t expect any candidate produced by the current system to demand an immediate end to the occupation of Palestine—an occupation whose illegality was just confirmed by the International Court of Justice. But these are steps that a candidate can take, even under this rigged system. It would acknowledge human suffering while giving Harris a much-needed political boost.

I began by saying Netanyahu’s visit is both a challenge and an opportunity. It’s a test, too—of ethics, of courage, and of the determination it takes to become a leader. We’ll see how the vice president does this week.