Kackling Kamala(“KK”) is trying to walk a fine line with respect to the Israel-Hamas War. On one hand, she is offering disingenuous platitudes in support of Israel to try to convince it and the Jewish portion of the electorate that she backs our ally and is not antisemitic. In that vein she has told the story that as a child she helped raise money to plant a tree in Israel. (Even if that is true, and the likelihood is that it is a Bidenesque tall tale, it does not have any relevance to her positions today.) On the other hand, she is trying to convince the pro-Palestinian, antisemitic portion of the electorate that she supports them. Biden had been pursuing this two-faced, dichotomous approach, and it did not work for him. Both sides saw right through it and criticized him for it.
Neither side is happy. Pro-Palestinian voters in Minnesota have criticized what they perceive as her lukewarm support. They have made it abundantly clear that they want nothing less than for the US to withdraw its support for Israel entirely and support Hamas unequivocally. Also, a sizeable chunk of Dems in Michigan expressed their displeasure by voting “uncommitted” in the 2024 primary rather than voting for Biden. I don’t think this vacillating approach will work for KK either.
Jews, do not be deceived by KK’s current utterings. She has a long record of antisemitism and support for extreme Palestinians. As with everything else, she says one thing but does another. Her actions speak louder than her words. For example:
- She has continually demonstrated empathy and support for Palestinian rioters, such as those who occupied college campuses earlier this year. She minimized or overlooked that they committed various crimes, such as assault on Jewish students, breaking, entering and occupying university buildings, and harassing Jewish students with hateful antisemitic slogans and signs.
- She has been and is in compete lockstep with Biden and the Dems tepid support for Israel in its war with Hamas. In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ unprovoked terrorist attacks on October 7, they first tried to dissuade Israel from retaliating at all. When that didn’t work, they tried to get Israel to “show restraint” in its response. That was absurd on its face. Name one other instance in the history of the world in which a country that had been attacked was urged to show restraint. For instance, did the US show restraint after Pearl Harbor or 9/11? Then, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, aka “The Chameleon,” gave a speech in which he urged Israel to force out Netanyahu and hold new elections. Such interference in the internal workings of another sovereign nation is traditionally reserved for “banana republics,” not an ally.
- Last week KK “dissed” Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu by not attending his speech before Congress. Not only did she disrespect Netanyahu, but also Israel, our staunchest and most dependable ally in the ME and Jews, in general, as well. Her feeble excuse was that she had to attend a previously-scheduled speech at a college sorority. That snub was consistent with the Dem Party’s policy of criticizing Netanyahu rather than Israel itself in the hope that it will prevent or at least minimize Jews’ defecting to the GOP. I think and hope most Jews will see that for what it is, code for antisemitism. Several Republicans sharply criticized this obvious snub. Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s comment that this “made it clear that Harris stands with the woke antisemitic members of her party” was a typical example. She even drew criticism from some Dems. One, speaking anonymously in fear of retaliation, said “it makes zero sense that for our most important ally [in the ME] she’s skipping out on the speech.” The representative added “a bunch of us have [made] calls [to her office] saying, ‘what are you doing.'” Later, she tried to mend fences by meeting with Netanyahu privately, but in my view that was just for optics and too little, too late. Again, actions spoke louder than words.
- Recently, she offered a weak statement of support for Israel, proclaiming “Israel has a right to defend itself.” Well, duh. That was a typical KK non-sequitur. Of course, any country has that right. Rather than meaningless words how about some action such as sending needed weapons that Israel keeps on requesting.
- She has continually expressed sympathy for the plight of Gazan civilians. While it’s unfortunately true that many have been murdered and have been deprived of necessities like food, medicine and shelter that is primarily the fault of Hamas, not Israel. It was Hamas that started the war. It is Hamas that is stealing much of the aid being supplied by the Red Cross and others, and it is Hamas that has been using civilians as human shields. War is hell. In all wars throughout history civilians have been caught in the middle. They have been dispossessed, robbed, raped, enslaved and murdered. It is a sad fact, but it’s true. As anyone who has fought in a war will tell you that’s the very nature of war. It’s why we say, “war is hell.” In this case, I would like to denote that Israel has gone overboard to minimize civilian casualties.
- A few days ago, Hezbollah launched a rocket attack on a Druze village that borders on Lebanon. A dozen young children were killed while playing soccer. How about expressing sympathy, condemnation and outrage regarding that. As I write this, I have not heard a peep from KK.
CONCLUSION
This entire debacle is a prime example of cause and effect. Biden’s ME policies have been the cause, and the effect is what we see now. KK fully endorses those policies, and her comments and actions as delineated above have not been helpful. In actuality, they have served to encourage Hamas to keep holding the hostages and keep fighting and have extended the war. It’s clear to objective observers that her motives are disingenuous. In reality, she’s trying to placate the radical, antisemitic left wing of her party for political reasons, for votes in the upcoming election.
Israel is embroiled in an existential battle against enemies that have vowed to exterminate it as evidenced by their mantra “from the river to the sea.” They have consistently proclaimed they don’t want a two-state solution. They want a one-state solution. Theirs. Their desire to negotiate a cease fire is just a ploy to stop Israel from destroying them. When they feel the time is right, they will attack again. This is what they have always done.
Israel’s entire history has been characterized by a series of wars and terrorist attacks. All of them have been started by their enemies. If they don’t finish the job this time by destroying Hamas and Hezbollah entirely there will just be another war, and another, and another. Ultimately, it will cost more lives and treasure. I say to KK. Just get out of the way, and let Israel do what it has to do to finish the job.
One final comment. Let’s not forget that Iran has been sponsoring all these terrorist groups. Also, let’s not forget the root cause of all the terrorist attacks that have plagued the region in the last 3 1/2 years. Iran has been able to fund the various terrorist groups because Biden, in one of his more fatuous decisions, stopped domestic drilling for oil and ended the embargoes that Trump had put in place, which has allowed Iran to make a fortune selling its oil and use those funds to sponsor terrorism in the region.
Cause and effect.
We Built It Blog by Larry Jacob 