On Israel, Harris Parallels 2008 Obama on Marriage

Kamala Harris supports Israel like Barack Obama supported traditional marriage in 2008. Just enough to win the election.

On the surface, Obama claimed to support traditional marriage in 2008. "I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman," he told pastor Rick Warren at the time.

As the country learned later, that was a lie. In 2015, his political advisor David Axelrod admitted that Obama was in favor of gay marriage the whole time. He lied to advance his political career.

"Opposition to gay marriage was particularly strong in the black church, and as he ran for higher office, he grudgingly accepted the counsel of more pragmatic folks like me," Axelrod wrote in his book with the unintentionally ironic title of "Believer."

See if you can spot the parallels here.

On the surface, Harris claims to support Israel. In a March speech, she said, "I have said repeatedly since Oct. 7, Israel has a right to defend itself."

Jewish voters have overwhelmingly supported Democrats for decades. In 2020, surveys showed they favored Joe Biden by around 40 points over Donald Trump. That margin matters in swing states with sizable Jewish populations like Pennsylvania and Nevada.

Harris needs strong support from Jewish voters. Many of them care deeply about maintaining U.S. support for Israel as it fights Hamas and stopping antisemitism domestically.

But if you look beneath the surface, Harris' disdain for Israel is obvious.

For one, she reflexively validates Hamas propaganda. Last weekend, the Israeli Air Force attacked and killed 31 terrorists who had gathered at a compound with a school and mosque. The Israeli Defense Forces said it only proceeded after its intelligence confirmed there were no women or children in the targeted building. Hamas officials, however, quickly claimed Israel killed more than 90 people, including civilians.

Now, there are lots of reasons to trust Israel's military. It's our ally. It has a democratically elected government and free press. It has a history of honesty. Hamas is a terrorist group that frequently exaggerates casualty numbers knowing they'll be parroted by gullible Western leftists.

That group includes Harris. In response to a question on the incident, she said, "Yet again, there are far too many civilians who have been killed." She added, Israel has "an important responsibility to avoid civilian casualties."

Look at the double bind Harris puts Israel in. Hamas intentionally puts its military infrastructure in and around civilian buildings. So, when Israel exercises its "right to defend itself," it sometimes inadvertently kills civilians. Instead of blasting Hamas for its cowardly actions, Harris smacks Israel. The pressure she puts on Israel is an example of why Hamas uses human shields.

There are more clues Harris will undermine Israel. In July, she boycotted a congressional speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier this month, she met with leftists in Michigan who want an arms embargo on Israel. Her new Jewish liaison, Ilan Goldenberg, spent the last several months working to impose sanctions on Israelis.

Harris won't even stand up vigorously to antisemites on the left despite her husband being Jewish. Hamas sympathizers pressured her not to pick Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. He's Jewish. She picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. For his part, Walz once praised imam Asad Zaman as a "master teacher." Zaman once promoted a pro-Hitler video and declared "solidarity with Palestinians" after the Oct. 7 massacre. This summer, Harris said, "I understand the emotion behind" the antisemitic protesters on college campuses. In July, pro-Hamas protesters in Washington, D.C., burned the American flag and vandalized monuments to protest Netanyahu's visit. Harris waited until the next day to condemn them in a statement.

If you can't see where Harris is headed here, Obama probably duped you on marriage in 2008.

Trump was the most pro-Israel president in American history. Harris would be the most pro-Hamas.

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Victor Joecks is a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Email him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or follow @victorjoecks on X. To find out more about Victor Joecks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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