'No,' Kamala Harris Says to Withholding Arms From Israel | Common Dreams
'No,' Kamala Harris Says to Withholding Arms From Israel | Common Dreams
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris said in a CNN interview that aired late Thursday that, if elected in November, she would not change the Biden administration's policy of steadfast military support for Israel.
"I'm unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel's defense and its ability to defend itself, and that's not gonna change," said Harris, recounting the horrors of the Hamas-led October 7 attack. "Israel had a right, has a right to defend itself."
Makes sense. Biden was given the most money by AIPAC ($4m) and she's Biden's VP. I am not at all surprised that she's honoring whatever agreement came attached to that money. I think anyone who is surprised that she is continuing Biden's support of genocide isn't paying attention.
"Israel had a right, has a right to defend itself."
Obviously I know the answer, but why is such an easily disproven lie uncritically repeated? Does literally no one in the mainstream media have the guts to call it out?
No. You do not have a right to defend yourself from your own illegal occupation for fucks sake.
This is a bog-standard propaganda tactic. It’s the same reason that US corporate media always qualify Ansar Allah (A.K.A. “the Houthis”) with “Iran-backed.”
Because it's an attempt to change the conversation from "Israel is killing children" to "anti-semites think Israel shouldn't defend themselves."
It is intellectual dishonesty and people who engage in this need to he called on this shit.
genocide is brat
I hope she is such passionate about all rights. Like the students right to protest.
Lesser evil, but still evil.
I was Waiting for Harris to throw the VERY EASY win away!
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory as always
It's not like she wasn't gonna get asked...
How is it easy?
Be ethically correct and abandon Israel. Take a highly unadvised risk and lose the election. Uber douche dives headlong into atrocities.
But at least she could sleep at night.
How? You just jerk us off like every other Democrat in the pass and lie to us about shit you are going to do.
Just say you are considering all options.
Give a Gazan Democratic elected official 5 minutes to speak at the DNC.
Hint at things like how Reagan and other presidents have withheld aid or arms for violating US and international law, but just lip services. Make no real commitment.
Just wag the fucking dog and stop leaving money I. the table.
That's how fucking easy. You just fucking lie and it's easy.
The fact is, Reagan and Bush sr were both stricter on Israel than Kamala or Harris. So lean into that. We've withheld arms and aid from them before for this exact kind of shit.
Nobody is suggesting Israel be abandoned, why do you feel the need to jump to such an absurd extreme?
We’re tired of civilians being slaughtered with American tax dollars. Stop sending new weapons shipments right away, and use our leverage by telling Netenyahu to cut the crap and get to a ceasefire now OR ELSE we’ll stop sending money too. We’d have a ceasefire tomorrow.
Who even are the two dozen centrists that she thinks she can court?
The donor class, A.K.A. the capitalist class that funds political campaigns.
Defending yourself should be things like building up border fences and increasing border security. Not invading another country and shooting people.
The entire country of Israel is just land they stole from Palestine, and the campaign of genocide, eviction, and an attempt to erase the Palestinian people from the face of the earth.
What if they flood your border security with thousands of soldiers?
Idk, given that Israel is a settler colony ethnostate with one set of rules for Israelis and another rule for the people who are occupied. The people they are killing have lived there for generations… it seems like we are handing military gear over to the baddies. But that makes sense given that we are also a settler colony.
If only the situation were even that "good" for Palestine. It's been an occupied territory by Isreal for years - long before last Oct. There already are "border fences" - Gaza has been under blockade by Isreal for at least 2 decades, restricting any movement of Palestinians. I recommend having a look at a map to see just how dire the situation is for Palestine when they have Isreal right in the middle and all around simultaneously.
Palestine isn't even recognized as a country by several, including - conveniently - Isreal and the US.
So, neither of those proposed alternatives would really be a good argument to Israel I'm afraid.
Natives Ameericans were almost wiped out for defending their land. Do they have the right to take their land back? Things aren't that simple, isn't it? The fact is Israel isn't going anywhere. Based on my understanding, Israel and the US, and also China, supported the two state solution. Guess which side didn't want that? I hate both sides equally. But if I have to choose one for humanity, Israel.
Welp. It was nice to feel some hope for a couple of weeks. I'll cherish the memories. I don't think I'll be feeling that emotion again for a very long time.
The Biden administration is actively working on brokering a cease fire. Did you know the US is not one of the combatants in this war?
Also your alternative is Trump. Kindly fall in line unless you think that Trump would provide a balanced approach. Spoiler alert,he 100% would not
Is your face all painted blue already?
could be all a facade to get some votes from the centrists, we can't know yet
Israel has a right to defend itself from direct attack.
It does not have the right to defend its bigoted backwards ideals by indulging in the mass murder of children.
Awesome. /s
Awesome. No sarcasm.
Feeling represented yet?
I'm sure Ukraine needs what the zionists are throwing at civilizans. Maybe the democrats don't care about Ukraine.
So genuine question what does this mean for the protestors come election day. Is there only choice to vote Democrat or Republican? Can they vote for an independent? How would it work?
Vote independent of course, I'd propose you should vote for Claudia de la Cruz from PSL if you live in the states where they're on the ballot, and probably either Green or write in/don't vote if they aren't.
They can:
- stay home - this results in whomever gets the most votes from everyone else getting the electoral votes for that district/state. In many districts, this benefits trump
- write in someone else - more clearly shows protest, but what that actually does or if anybody really counts it, I have no idea. Effectively the same as option 1 for the outcome of this particular election
- vote for a third party - basically the same as the above, though certain things do happen if a party gets some percentage of the vote, but not until the next election. The outcome for this election is the same
- vote for one of the two major candidates - self-explanatory
How much not voting or protest voting impacts the actual results kinda depends upon the district and state. However, even in a seemingly secure district or state, enough people protest-voting could actually have a negative impact in that particular election (though I find that fairly unlikely). I vote in a rural district that supports trump. Since he's objectively worse in basically every way and has indicated that he's willing to let Netanyahu's government do whatever they want, I feel it unethical to do anything but vote against trump which, given what I wrote above, basically leaves Harris. If I know that trump will be worse, and I know that doing anything other than voting for Harris in my district helps cement trump, then I must vote for Harris or I'm just helping trump.
We are here because nearly everywhere uses first-past-the-post and voter turnout isn't great, particularly by voters in local and regional elections. I vote as progressively as I can in local elections and advocate for ranked choice or rated voting wherever possible. People in power tend to hate ranked choice voting or similar because it removes what almost always just becomes a two-party fight which often leads to tactical voting rather than properly representing people. The state in which I vote also has a huge gerrymandering problem, but that's another story.
They can vote for anyone on the ballot in their state, or in states that support it, write in a name of their choosing.
It would essentially be a protest vote, telling the big 2: “you might have got this vote if you’d had a better stance on Israel.”
They work towards passing state level electoral reform in their respective states so they are free to vote for who best represents them. All while secure in the knowledge that their vote would still be counted against the republicans.
It is possibly to late for this election without a general strike. But possible it remains. In fact, Alaska and Maine have already done away with First-past-the-post voting.
Democrats believe in democracy right? If so, why do the vast majority of blue states continue to use First Past the Post voting?
Tell any blue conservative that you are considering voting 3rd party and they will show that they understand the mathematical flaws of our voting system. Yet they do nothing to fix the issue between elections. Curious.
They have a choice of staying home and not vote