How Harris wants to handle Gaza at the Democratic convention

CHICAGO — Vice President Harris wants to send a message about Gaza and Israel while she gives her major speech to fellow Democrats at the Democratic National Convention, but she’s even more focused on her message about the economy, abortion and other hot-button issues.

While Gaza is a big issue outside the United Center, seen through the protests that have launched in Chicago, it’s not the issue Harris wants as the focal point inside the building.

Much of this is cold political reality.

Gaza and Israel is an issue that has divided the Democratic Party, making it something speakers don’t necessarily want to embrace during a convention about unity.

Speakers at the convention so far have not ignored the issue, but they have not spent tons of time on it either.

Democrats also think that other issues, notably the economy and inflation, abortion rights and immigration, are more likely to decide the 2024 election.

That sentiment is backed up by some polls.

Nearly ninety percent of voters list the economy as one of the most important issues this cycle, with 86 percent listing inflation and 77 percent listing health care as important issues, according to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll released Sunday. Only 50 percent of voters polled said the Israel-Hamas war is one of the most important issues of the election. That also ranked behind immigration, gun violence and abortion.

The war was not listed as a major factor in a vote for president in a CBS News/ YouGov poll this week, while 83 percent of surveyed voters said the economy is the top factor ahead of November, 76 percent said inflation and 7 percent said the state of democracy.

“The voters are focused on those issues,” said Virginia Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D).

“[And] the voters are focused on the economy and reproductive freedom and democracy and building the middle class and addressing climate change.”

Still, there are reasons to think Israel’s war in Gaza could have a sizeable impact on the race.

President Biden, before he dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, was politically damaged by the issue and appeared in danger of losing Michigan to former President Trump. Michigan has a large Arab American population, and Biden’s handling of the war had led thousands in the Democratic primary to vote “uncommitted” rather than cast ballots for the incumbent president.

It would be difficult, though not impossible, for Harris to win the presidency without taking Michigan.  

When asked about the war protesters in Chicago this week, Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler argued that Harris is “somebody who understands the goals of the people who are showing up to demonstrate here and frankly who shares the goals.”

Tyler said she is “going to work day and day out until we resolve” the issue, while the Biden administration is engulfed in talks on a cease-fire deal that Biden has expressed a recent uptick in optimism about.

Harris is seen as more sympathetic to the Palestinian population, and this already appears to be helping her.

Rep. Dan Kildee (D), who represents a sizeable Muslim population in his Michigan district, said Harris has used sharper rhetoric compared to Biden in defense of human rights, and that puts her in a good position to make a break, even subtle, with the president on Gaza-Israel. 

What’s unclear is whether Harris will signal definitive differences on policy with Biden on Israel and Gaza at the convention.

“I hope she does make a clear statement — I’ve been suggesting that she make a clear statement — that those Palestinian lives matter,” Kildee said. “And what I hope she says is that the U.S. is not going to, just as a matter of course, accept every decision that the Netanyahu government makes during its prosecution of this war.”

Biden referenced demonstrators in his own speech Monday night.

“Those folks I see out in the street, they have a point,” Biden said, referring to the protesters. “A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides.”

His remarks were met by pro-Palestinian protesters, who were removed from the building quickly after they unfurled a banner that read “Stop Arming Israel.”

Harris has faced pro-Palestinian protesters at other campaign stops, during which she has tried different tactics from how Biden has handled interruptions from demonstrators, like reminding them who is talking.

She told the protesters at recent rallies that she is pushing for an end to the war in Gaza but then argued the stakes of the election in November against former President Trump are too high for the advocates and pro-Palestinian Americans to oppose her.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said Harris should use the convention stage to send a clear message to the Gaza protesters in Chicago that she won't ignore their pleas.

“It’s that I hear you, and you won't be forgotten,” Thompson said. “They feel right now that nobody’s listening. So, I’m convinced that she will acknowledge that we have a problem.”

Other Democrats at the convention say activists protesting in Chicago speak for a significant segment of the party’s liberal base that is furious that the Biden administration has continued to provide weapons support to Israel.

“It's a horrible look on the global stage,” said Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who lost his primary this summer to a Democratic rival heavily backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel group.

Democratic strategist Michael Starr Hopkins said Harris has to find the right balance on the issue.

“Vice President Harris has shown the ability to empathize with the Palestinian people while standing firm in her support for Israel’s security. Her challenge now is finding the right balance — acknowledging humanitarian crises abroad while keeping her focus on the key priorities at home: the economy, immigration, and abortion,” he said.

Harris, who met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month in a meeting separate from Biden’s, has largely shown support for the president’s handling of the war and his pro-Israel stance.

She has echoed his argument that Israel has a right to defend itself following the brutal Oct. 7 attacks.

“The reality is, a lot of innocent people have died in this conflict, and it's important that that be acknowledged,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). “That doesn't mean you're walking away from Israel. It just means acknowledging the heartbreak that so many are experiencing right now.”

Mike Lillis and Amie Parnes contributed to this report.