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By Joel B. Pollak
Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign issued a statement Wednesday evening to walk back a statement she made earlier in which she said she was open to talking about an arms embargo on Israel in exchange for votes in Michigan.
As Breitbart News reported:
Vice President Kamala Harris indicated Wednesday that she would be open to discussing an arms embargo against Israel in exchange for the support of the so-called “uncommitted” movement of Muslim and Arab voters in Michigan.
The New York Times reported:
Before her rally in Detroit, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke briefly with the co-founders of the Uncommitted National Movement, which mobilized tens of thousands of voters in Michigan to withhold their votes from President Biden in the primary earlier this year over his support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Abbas Alawieh and Layla Elabed said they were in the welcoming line for Harris and Governor Walz, and communicated to Harris that they wanted to support her but that voters wanted her to consider an arms embargo to immediately stop the carnage in the besieged enclave.
Harris listened to stories of people in Michigan who have had dozens of family members killed in Gaza. The leaders asked to meet with her about the embargo request, and she indicated she was open to it, and introduced the two leaders to her staff.
Later, Harris was heckled by pro-Palestinian protesters during her speech.
Harris’s openness to an embargo was just the latest example of an anti-Israel shift in her policy. In March, she appeared to break with President Joe Biden in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. And earlier this week, she passed over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, in deference to anti-Israel Democrats, who opposed him.
In an attempt to tamp down the controversy, Harris’s campaign issued a statement on Wednesday evening (via Yashar Ali):
Since October 7, the Vice President has prioritized engaging with Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian community members and others regarding the war in Gaza. In this brief engagement, she reaffirmed that her campaign will continue to engage with those communities. The Vice President has been clear: she will always work to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. The Vice President is focused on securing the ceasefire and hostage deal currently on the table. As she has said, it is time for this war to end in a way where: Israel is secure, hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinian civilians ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination.
The statement did not specify that all hostages be released, nor that Hamas disarm or leave power in Gaza.
The fact that Harris’s off-the-cuff remarks to anti-Israel activists caused the campaign some headaches may reinforce her advisers’ reluctance to allow her to speak to journalists or to the public in an unscripted manner.
It has been 18 days since she joined the 2024 presidential race, and she has declined thus far to do interviews or press conferences.
Update: Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, asked about the Harris campaign’s statement, declined to comment, citing the principle of non-intervention in domestic politics during elections. He stressed that it was important for U.S. support for Israel to remain bipartisan. “We have many, many shared values in this country … no matter which party” is in office, Mencer says. He added that Iran threatened both Israel and the United States.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
