Harris’s Israel dilemma: How far to distance herself from Biden on Gaza

Vice President Kamala Harris emerged from a tense White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month demanding an end to the fighting in Gaza, saying she would “not be silent” about the worsening humanitarian conditions for Palestinians.

The demonstration of Harris’s forceful public posture toward Israel revealed subtle gaps between her and President Biden over the Middle East that are widening as her presidential campaign intensifies.

Though Biden and Harris are united on defending Israel, the vice president has been blunter than the president for months on the need for Netanyahu’s government to open up the flow of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and for a deal with Hamas on halting the fighting.

For Harris, staking out a position on the Gaza war distinct from Biden’s helps her woo progressives and other voters angry at the White House’s support for Israel, but it also carries risk. If she aligns herself too closely with Israel’s critics, she could alienate other voters and hand Republican nominee Donald Trump an opening to attack her.

“There is the inner Kamala, of a different generation than Biden whose empathy and sensibilities run deeper than the president’s when it comes to Palestinian suffering,” said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East peace negotiator who served in Republican and Democratic administrations. “Then there is the outer Kamala, the moderate pro-Israel Democrat who for political reasons when it comes to Israel needs to color between the lines.”

Harris has had relatively little influence on the administration’s Gaza policy, U.S. officials said, though she has joined more than 20 calls between Biden and Netanyahu and attended Situation Room meetings on the war. Biden, his top White House aides, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns drive the day-to-day cease-fire discussions.

Yet if a U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal remains out of reach or a wider Middle East war breaks out, Harris could be saddled with the diplomatic failure and a convulsing region, complicating her pitch for the Oval Office.

The challenges for Harris were on display during a campaign rally Wednesday in Detroit.

Leaders of the pro-Palestinian “uncommitted” movement, activists who discourage voting for Democrats over the administration’s handling of the war, said they had a brief interaction with Harris and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz backstage. Abbas Alawieh, one of the group’s founders, said he asked if she would meet with the group’s leaders about an arms embargo for Israel.

Alawieh said Harris expressed “openness” to a meeting but stopped short of making any firm commitments. “I certainly felt a level of openness and sympathy yesterday in my interaction with her,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Harris’s campaign said she hadn’t promised the group a meeting about restricting arms to Israel.

“In this brief engagement, she reaffirmed that her campaign will continue to engage with” Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian about the war in Gaza, the spokeswoman said. “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.”

Phil Gordon, Harris’s national security adviser, added Thursday that “she doesn’t support an arms embargo on Israel. She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law.”

During Harris’s Detroit speech, when protesters shouting about “genocide” interrupted her remarks, the vice president dressed them down. “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that,” she said to cheers from others in the crowd. “Otherwise, I’m speaking.”

Administration officials say Biden and Harris coordinate closely on how to handle Israel. She prefers to speak candidly with the president behind closed doors. Biden also entrusted Harris with devising “day after” plans for Gaza, leading her to travel to Dubai last December largely to meet with Arab leaders on pathways forward.

Though Harris has been careful not to contradict Biden, she has often pushed the envelope of the administration’s messaging on the Israel-Gaza conflict. She has at times advocated forcefully—and ahead of other administration officials—for limiting civilian casualties and addressing the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

As vice president, Harris hasn’t had an opportunity to define her own brand of foreign policy. Some observers say she might ultimately align herself more closely with the progressive elements of the Democratic Party and might be more inclined to make U.S. support for Israel more conditional on its conduct in Gaza and the West Bank.

Dean Lieberman, a Harris deputy national security adviser, labeled those assertions as “speculation,” insisting Harris has had “a lifelong and unwavering commitment to the security of Israel and will never leave Israel to stand alone.” But, he continued, Harris thinks “more must be done to protect Palestinian civilians and to deliver humanitarian assistance.”

During a March speech in Selma, Ala., Harris assailed what she described as inhumane conditions in the enclave, and she urged Israel to do more to expedite aid to Gaza, saying Palestinians were eating animal feed and leaves to survive.

Administration officials say the continuing Gaza war and turmoil in the Middle East might leave Harris no choice but to keep wading into the political minefield before the election.

“If events in the Middle East require her to speak about it more, then she’ll speak about it,” said Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council on America and Harris’s national security adviser when the vice president served in the Senate.

Sabrina Siddiqui contributed to this article.

Write to Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com