What a Biden-Harris Presidency Means for Israel

Israeli and American flags photographed at the headquarter of Red Magen David at the entrance to Jerusalem. Photo by Zeev Barkan

Other than in a few brief moments during the Democratic primaries, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—and American-Israeli relations overall—was largely undiscussed  during the 2020 presidential election. Now that America has elected a new president, it is worth assessing what the Biden-Harris administration will mean for the American-Israeli relationship. Both Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden have been vocal about Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict throughout their careers in politics.

As both an American citizen and a fervid Zionist, I closely follow the status of American-Israeli relations; it is important to me that Israel is supported by its American ally. While I recognize the imperfections of the current Israeli leadership, revocation of U.S. support—military or otherwise—that others may advocate for, should not be considered. Biden has never put himself in that category. Throughout his 36-year senatorial career, he acquired a reputation as a staunch supporter of the state of Israel, and has declared himself a proud Zionist. “I am a Zionist. You don’t have to be Jewish to be a Zionist,” he claimed in April of 2007, just before he was chosen as President Barack Obama’s running-mate. 

Today, Biden’s support of Israel remains strong, and he has been steadfast in his intention to bring that support to the White House. According to a survey conducted by The New York Times, which asked each Democratic primary presidential candidate various questions regarding Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Biden unequivocally asserted that “America must sustain its ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”

Biden has done more than vocalize that his “commitment to Israel is completely unshakable,” though. During his time in the Senate, Biden fought in favor of the U.S.’s critical aid to Israel, deeming it “the best $3 billion investment we make” and consistently opposed any attempts to diminish aid to Israel, calling such efforts “outrageous.” Additionally, as vice president, Biden was a key member in securing “the unprecedented $38 billion, 10-year, Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Israel” which was signed in 2016—the largest military aid package in American history.

More recently, when asked about the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement—which seeks to boycott, divest from, and sanction the State of Israel specifically—Joe Biden reaffirmed his support of Israel, writing in the Jewish Telegraph Agency: “The calls here in the United States to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel are wrong. Period. The BDS movement singles out Israel—home to millions of Jews—in a way that is inconsistent with the treatment of other nations, and it too often veers into anti-Semitism, while letting Palestinians off the hook for their choices.”

While Vice President Kamala Harris’s rise to political prominence is far more recent than her running mate, she has publicly communicated her fervent support of Israel. Harris has concurred with Biden on the BDS movement, claiming that it “seeks to weaken Israel” and “will only isolate the nation and steer Israelis against prerequisite compromises for peace.” BDS, Harris claims, is “based on the mistaken assumption that Israel is solely to blame for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Indeed, Harris has been outspoken about her condemnation of other organizations and countries that unfairly target Israel in their criticisms. As a United States senator, the first resolution she co-sponsored sought “to combat anti-Israel bias at the United Nations” while simultaneously affirming the United States’s role in sealing a two-state solution; and during one of her three visits to speak at AIPAC, Harris declared, “I believe that when any organization delegitimizes Israel, we must stand up and speak out for Israel to be treated equally.”

It is critical to note that despite Joe Biden’s strong opposition to the policy positions of the Trump administration, his stance on Israel is quite similar to that of his predecessor. In fact, Biden has commended—albeit begrudgingly—the Trump administration’s role in soliciting various peace-talks and deals between Israel and its neighbors, offering praise to President Trump on the peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Throughout his role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, though, President Trump has strongly favored Israel rather than seeking a balance between the two sides, a sentiment that has not been mirrored by Joe Biden. Biden has pledged to support both parties in order to reach peace, declaring that the U.S. must “resume assistance to the Palestinian Authority that supports Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation, people-to-people programs, economic development, and humanitarian aid and health care for the Palestinian people”—something the Trump Administration ended in 2019.

Still, Biden has been firm in his criticisms of the Palestinian leadership. He told The New York Times, “Palestinian leaders should stop any incitement and glorification of violence, and they must begin to level with their people about the legitimacy and permanence of Israel as a Jewish state in the historic homeland of the Jewish people.” In a separate statement, he criticized the Palestinians for inciting violence and hatred in the West Bank through teaching violent anti-Semitism and historical inaccuracies in their schools. “No matter what legitimate disagreement they may have with Israel,” Biden said, “it’s never a justification for terrorism, and no leader should fail to condemn… those who commit these brutalities.”

Even as he denounces Palestinian-incited terrorism, though, Biden has been clear that his administration will hold both parties accountable, urging “both sides to take steps to keep the prospect of a two-state outcome alive.” When on a conference call with Jewish donors, Biden stated emphatically that he believes the Palestinians’ acceptance of the legitimacy of Israel and the right of a Jewish state in the Middle East is a key factor in achieving peace.

“And Israel needs to stop the threats of annexation, stop settlement activity because it will choke off any hope of peace,” he went on to say. This condemnation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is another stark difference between Trump’s approach to the conflict which seemed to be more sympathetic towards and even in favor of the settlements. However, according to the Washington Post, “analysts say [Biden] is unlikely to insist on undoing all of Trump’s initiatives” in Israel; this includes the relocation of the U.S. embassy in Israel. Biden criticized this step, but has alluded that his administration will likely not reverse it.

Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have proven that between the two of them, Israel will continue to have a strong ally in the White House upon inauguration day, although in a way that is more diplomatic, professional, and sophisticated than the world has seen over the past four years. 

Noa Fay is a staff writer at CPR and in her first year at Barnard College. Along with politics, she is passionate about singing opera, reading, and writing. In January 2020, she published her first novel and is working on future installments.