The Trump-Harris Contrast

What a contrast. For those assessing the differences between the two presidential candidates in respect of Israel, feature Prime Minister Netanyahu’s separate meetings with, today, President Trump and, yesterday, Vice President Harris. The former received him warmly at his home in Florida and in the spirit of wartime allies. The latter met him in Washington, said some perfunctory words of support, and then lectured him for killing babies.“We’ve had a good relationship,” Mr. Trump told reporters today at Mar-a-Lago, after warmly greeting Benjamin and Sarah Netnayahu. “I was very good to Israel, better than any President has ever been,” he said, listing his recognition of the Golan Heights and moving the American embassy to Jerusalem. “Maybe the best thing that I did for Israel,” he said, was walking out on the 2015 Iran deal. Under his maximum pressure policy, Iran was broke. Ms. Harris told reporters that she and Mr. Netanyahu had a meeting that was “frank and constructive” — diplomatic doublespeak for dodgy and troublesome. She read out a statement on Israel’s right to defend itself. She said the names of American hostages, and called Hamas a “brutal terror organization.” The rest was dedicated to berating Israel’s Gaza policies, on which she made her now-famous vow: “I will not be silent.”Mr. Netanyahu, who felt sandbagged, was understandably furious. The Israelis concluded she’d prepared her remarks in advance, didn’t share them with the Israelis, and ignored the fact that Mr. Netanyahu had briefed her on Israel’s humanitarian efforts. Ms. Harris seemed to rely instead on reports by Hamas to anti-Israel human rights organizations, the press, and UN agencies. One such now debunked report claimed Gaza is on the verge of famine.Ms. Harris stuck with the theme, talking of “food insecurities.” She strived to appeal to two equal sides in a war between an ally and terrorists, signaling that, in a Harris administration, Mr. Biden’s recent criticism of Israel would grow by leaps and bounds. She seemed more intent on signaling to the “Squad” and other left-wing Democrats that she will not forget them nor the Palestinian Arabs whose side they are taking against the Jewish state.Mr. Netanayhu told reporters at Mar-a-Lago that an American-sponsored deal for hostage release is gaining some “movement because of the military pressure exerted” by Israel on Hamas in Gaza. Asked about Ms. Harris’ comments, he added, “to the extent that Hamas understands that there is no daylight between Israel and the United States — that expedites the deal. And I hope that these comments won’t change that.” Oomph. When Mr. Trump greeted the Netanyahus, he displayed relaxed friendship, reminiscing about a wonderful meal they once shared. Before meeting the premier at the White House compound, Ms. Harris seemed eager to quickly end a handshake. She’d skipped his speech to Congress. Her inclination to distance America from Israel was especially pronounced in an appeal to Americans to avoid looking at the Gaza war as a “binary issue.”That admonition was pure Kamalaism. “Too often,” she said, “the conversation is binary, when the reality is anything but. So I ask my fellow Americans to help encourage efforts to acknowledge the complexity, the nuance, and the history of the region.” That comment stood in contrast to — and perhaps was even meant to directly contradict — Mr. Netanyahu’s invocation during his speech Wednesday of Reagan’s Cold War strategyWhen America and Israel stand together, Mr. Netanyahu echoed Reagan, “we win, they lose.” Ms. Harris, meanwhile, claims to champion the world’s underprivileged and to fight climate change. Those are causes that a UN chief would champion. We prefer presidents who fully embrace allies, and none more so than Israel. There surely are disagreements, but as the Israeli premier notes, airing them out during ceasefire talks can be dangerous.At times we worry that even President Trump appears reluctant to venture abroad in the current climate. Yet he does not appear to have forsaken Israel, nor to have forgotten the Abraham Accords, or rebuffed the idea of an expanded Abraham Alliance that Mr. Netanyahu told Congress he wants to pursue in an effort to build a regional peace. To Ms. Harris’ condescension and anger Mr. Trump has a program of peace, prosperity, and optimism.

The Trump-Harris Contrast

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