Kamala Harris is skipping indicted Netanyahu's big speech—and that's a good start

Let's not be naive about this. If new presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris wanted to preside over indicted far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's latest efforts to bend America's politics to support his own personal ambitions, she would have found a way.

Harris was scheduled to attend an event for the Zeta Phi Beta sorority in Indianapolis before the Israeli prime minister’s address date was set. The conflict allows Harris to circumvent the question of whether to attend the address, a political challenge for many Democrats who oppose the way Israel is conducting the war in Gaza.

Instead inviting him to a private sit-down away from the cameras is a smooth move, and one that will no doubt infuriate Netanyahu, who still faces public demands for his resignation back home due to his decades of policies that have done nothing to keep Israel safe but instead keep worsening the violence. In his last-ditch efforts to cling to power Netanyahu has now aligned himself with far-right figures who have defended "pro-settler" violence and have called for purging both the West Bank and Gaza of Palestinians so that Israeli "settlers" could instead claim those homes and property; that should have led to widespread U.S. condemnation even before Ben-Gvir and other allies then used their new power to sow new violence.

In her one-on-meeting with Netanyahu, Harris plans to reiterate her commitment to Israel’s security and right to defend itself but will also “convey her view that it is time for the war to end in a way where Israel is secure, all hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can enjoy their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination,” the aide said. [...]

One person close to the vice president’s office said she believes the United States should be “tougher” on Netanyahu. She has called for being “more forceful at seeking a long-term peace and two-state solution,” this person said.

This is one area where President Biden has fallen flat; his efforts to block Netanyahu from expanding his government's response to last October's terrorist attacks into an intentionally produced, large-scale Gazan famine have been halfhearted, and U.S. diplomats have been egregiously tone-deaf in backing Netanyahu and condemning the now-multiple world investigations of world bodies who believe that the resulting starvation has crossed the threshold into genocide.

In Israel, Netanyahu is widely believed to be prolonging the war for the sake of maintaining his own power. This latest attempt by Republican leaders to prop him up yet again does not need or deserve two-party support. Netanyahu has treated non-Republican, non-far-right American leaders with contempt for two decades now, all for the sake of promoting a conservative "security" doctrine that has produced nothing but catastrophic. He should be replaced, and since he has felt so free to meddle in American politics in order to boost this nation's fascist far-right the current and next administration should not feel shy about meddling in his own.

Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray has also "declined" to stand behind the suspected war criminal during his speech, and a number of Democrats have said they'll be staying home. Good. Again, Netanyahu has been egregious in his support for the coup-attempting Donald Trump and the rest of America's far-right while thumbing his nose at the Americans who oppose them; that he would rather boost authoritarianism here than face diminished personal power back home is entirely consistent with the rest of his shameful career. It is about damn time this nation recognize that Benjamin Netanyahu is not Israel, and that supporting Israel does not mean supporting a corrupt incompetent who has never shown hesitation in damaging his country or ours.

I know, I know. It will probably have to wait until we have settled the matter of our own corrupt violence-promoting incompetent seeking to slither his way back into undeserved power. Here's hoping.