Pro-Israel Democrat Kamala Harris announces 2020 presidential bid
US Senator Kamala Harris announced Monday that she is running for president, joining an already-crowded field of Democrats who are making or considering bids to take on Donald Trump.
"The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American values. That's why I'm running for president of the United States," the senator representing California said in a video posted on Twitter.
Harris -- who made the announcement on Martin Luther King Jr. Day -- aspires to be not only the first female president of the United States, but also the first black woman to hold America's top office.
She joins Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and former housing secretary Julian Castro, among others, in vying for the 2020 Democratic nomination.
-- Harris and the Jewish State --
By all appearances, Harris is more pro-Israel than other prominent Democrats, many of whom have taken a sharp left turn when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Since taking office in 2016, Harris has spoken at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) twice. In 2017, her remarks were made public while her 2018 appearance at AIPAC’s annual policy conference was off-the-record and not listed in the event’s itinerary.
“Let me be clear about what I believe. I stand with Israel because of our shared values which are so fundamental to the founding of both our nations. I believe the bonds between the United States and Israel are unbreakable, and we can never let anyone drive a wedge between us,” she said while speaking to AIPAC attendees in 2017.
“And I believe Israel should never be a partisan issue, and as long as I’m a United States senator, I will do everything in my power to ensure broad and bipartisan support for Israel’s security and right to self-defense,” she added.
Harris what not part of the group of Democratic senators who sent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a letter in November 2018, calling for Israel to abandon all efforts to demolish the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank and warning against he Israeli government’s ongoing policies toward settlement expansion.
Instead, about a week before the letter was sent, Harris travelled to Israel and met with Netanyahu to discuss a number of issues relating to “deepening cooperation” between the US and Israel.