Harris’s Views on Israel Are in the Spotlight as Netanyahu Visits Washington

In her first week as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris will confront the most politically divisive issue in U.S. foreign policy as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel pays an official visit to Washington.

Mr. Netanyahu’s trip throws a spotlight on the views of Ms. Harris, who has emerged as a forceful voice on the Israel-Hamas war, particularly in discussing the plight of innocent Palestinians. In a civil rights speech in Selma, Ala., this year, Ms. Harris garnered widespread attention for calling for an “immediate cease-fire” and assailing Israel for creating a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.

Ms. Harris will meet privately with the Israeli leader at the White House. But her remarks before and after their conversation will be closely watched for signals about her approach to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza should she win the White House in November.

President Biden, who will meet with Mr. Netanyahu on Thursday, has seen his popularity dive among progressive Democratic voters, as he has resisted their pleas to halt the flow of American arms to Israel. The damage has been acute in key battleground states such as Michigan. Democrats hope that Ms. Harris will be largely free of that stigma and can win back those liberals who have said they could never vote for Mr. Biden because of his Israel policies.

Ms. Harris plans to skip Mr. Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, White House officials say, which surely will not hurt that effort. She will instead keep a longstanding commitment to speak at an event in Indiana hosted by one of the country’s largest historically Black sororities.

Although Ms. Harris has been seen as more sharply critical of the