On Gaza, Democrats’ Most Divisive Issue, Harris Embraces Biden’s Balancing Act

When Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday finally addressed the most divisive issue of the Democratic convention — the war in Gaza — she signaled she would pick up almost exactly where President Biden left off.

At the end of her acceptance speech, a hall of supporters who had cheered her calls for reproductive rights and her denunciations of Donald Trump suddenly quieted as she uttered the words: “With respect to the war in Gaza …”

“Let me be clear,” she said, twice, knowing that just beyond the convention hall hundreds of protesters had been calling for the United States to cut off weapons to Israel, as a way of forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cease bombing densely packed neighborhoods in his effort to kill Hamas leaders.

“I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself,” she said, adding “because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7.” She went on to describe the massacre at a music festival that Saturday morning, 10 months ago, specifically noting the “unspeakable sexual violence” that morning, an accusation Hamas continues to deny.

She then went on to talk anew about the “devastating” damage and “innocent lives lost” as the Israelis retaliated. “The scale of the suffering is heartbreaking.” But, like Mr. Biden, she gave no indication that, if elected, she would use the leverage of America’s military support for Israel to pressure it to change tactics. She offered no hint of the tension in the relationship with Mr. Netanyahu, which she has witnessed firsthand, as a listener-in, and sometimes participant, in the tense phone calls with the Israeli leader.