As she courts votes for her newly launched presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris will skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
Harris, whose campaign began Sunday after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, normally would preside over the speech as part of her duties.
Instead, Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland will preside, according to NBC News.
Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington is president pro tempore of the Senate, but she also plans to skip the address, as will many other left-wing and anti-Israel lawmakers.
NBC News and Politico both reported that Netanyahu’s aides were working with former President Donald Trump’s team to bring about a meeting of the two men before the prime minister returns to Israel on Thursday.
Netanyahu will meet with Biden and is expected to meet with Harris at some point during his U.S. trip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested an in-person meeting with former President Donald Trump while in the U.S. this week, according to two people familiar with the outreach https://t.co/ZDhI84BCNz @ErinBanco
— Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) July 22, 2024
David Friedman, who was ambassador to Israel during the Trump administration, said the vice president’s decision is a sign of what could come about in a Harris administration.
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“Biden made many mistakes regarding Israel, but he is miles ahead of Harris in terms of support for Israel,” Friedman told The Jerusalem Post.
“She is on the fringe of the progressive wing of the party, which sympathizes more with the Palestinian cause,” he said.
Friedman said Harris’ decision not to preside over Netanyahu’s address “tells you everything you need to know about where she stands on Israel,” according to the U.K.’s Telegraph.
In a December speech, the vice president voiced her sympathy for Palestinians.
“I have spoken with members of the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities of America, including those who have lost loved ones in Gaza and American citizens who were injured and evacuated from Gaza. It is truly heartbreaking,” Harris said while in the United Arab Emirates.
“As Israel defends itself, it matters how,” she said. “Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”
“We want to see a unified Gaza and West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian voices and aspirations must be at the center of this work,” Harris said.
