New York Times: Here's How Harris Can Change Biden's Israel Policy

Kamala Harris, the US Vice President, is facing a difficult situation, as she is being harassed and objected to by protesters at her election rallies, who are demanding an end to US support for Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, according to an article in the New York Times.

Writer Peter Beinart said that Harris, the Democratic Party candidate to run for president in November against her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, finds herself facing a dilemma, as these activists want her to support stopping the supply of weapons to the occupying state.

In his article in the newspaper, he wrote that Harris' foreign policy adviser, Phil Gordon, ruled out that the Democratic Party candidate would resort to this option.

Risks of rejection

But the writer believes that any outright rejection of these demands by the Vice President would put her at risk of losing progressive votes in key states such as Michigan, and sparking a fierce confrontation at the Democratic Party convention today.

Beinart, a professor of journalism and political science at the City University of New York who is also the editor-in-chief of the Jewish Currents magazine, has proposed a solution that he claims would allow Harris to go beyond simply calling for a ceasefire and say that “too many” civilians “have died” in Gaza.

He added that she could still signal a clear abandonment of President Joe Biden's “almost unconditional” support for the Israeli war, but without declaring her support for an arms embargo on Israel.

Enforcement of the law

To avoid this embarrassment, Beinart instructs Harris, a former prosecutor, to simply say she will enforce the law.

The law in question has been on the books for more than a decade, the professor said, and prohibits the United States from assisting any foreign security force unit that commits “gross violations” of human rights. The aid can be returned if the foreign country appropriately punishes the perpetrators.

The law, named after former Senator Patrick Leahy, was passed by Congress in 1997 and has been applied “hundreds of times” to countries including U.S. allies like Colombia and Mexico, but has never been applied to Israel, a country that has received U.S. aid for the past eight decades, Beinart said.

Sufficient evidence

He criticized the failure of American officials to apply the Leahy Law to the occupying state, citing a statement made by former State Department official Charles Blaha last May that “there are already dozens of Israeli security force units that have committed gross human rights violations” and should therefore be ineligible for American aid.

Beinart noted that Blaha oversaw the office responsible for implementing the Leahy Law from 2016 to 2023. While a State Department spokesperson claimed in April that Israel does not receive “special treatment” under the Leahy Law, Blaha said his own experience has shown otherwise, explaining that when it comes to every country except Israel, the decision is made by senior State Department policy officials.