On Kamala Harris and Calls for a Ceasefire

Jayson Massey 

August 10, 2024 

The Brookings Institute claims that Vice President Kamala Harris is walking a tightrope about Israel’s war against Gaza. She is supportive of Israel yet says that she is concerned about Israel’s gross mistreatment of Gazans. I argue that there is no need to be in a middle ground position, nor defend or uphold President Biden’s unpopular Gaza policy. Her background, her campaign, and potential administration will all be helped if she would move quickly to push for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Kamala Harris’s background provided her the training to follow a non-violent approach to Gaza and beyond in her potential administration. Harris was inspired by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, even met King at a civil rights demonstration at Berkeley, CA per AP. The Vice President’s pastor is also in support for a ceasefire. So, pushing for non-violent solutions is something that comes naturally. 

The energy in her campaign can only be increased with a call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Many people, especially the younger people that Democrats want to mobilize in the next 100 days, want a ceasefire in Gaza. Per Pew Research Center, Americans under 30 years of age are opposed to military aid to Israel and generally less supportive of a U.S. role in the Israeli conflict in Gaza. Advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza and limiting arms to Israel allows the Harris campaign to solidify its base as it works to get out the vote on November 5. 

If Harris wins the election, a non-violent solution in Gaza achieves several important things. First, it gives the Palestinian people a way to recover from the vicious onslaught they have suffered. The Lancet estimates that over 186,000 have died in Gaza, over 370,000 buildings have been razed, and 90 percent of Gaza residents have been displaced. They deserve, and are way overdue for, the humanitarian aid that the Israeli government has denied them. Second, it should cool down tensions in the Middle East, hopefully avoiding a larger war against other countries and factions. Third, many countries are moving to reject the Netanyahu administration’s handling of Gaza, including America’s closest ally, the United Kingdom. They dropped their objection to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister Gaza war crimes. 

The Vice President has less than 90 days to push and prepare for a more non-violent world by stopping the Israeli government’s aggression. This current war is unpopular, immoral, and illegal, and in January, Vice President Harris will have all the power needed to stop it.