Kamala Harris, Israel, and the Jewish community

About Vice President Harris: Vice President Harris has dedicated her career to pursuing justice and safeguarding civil rights for all. Born in Oakland, California, Vice President Harris was elected District Attorney of San Francisco in 2004, where she became a leading advocate in the movement for LGBTQ+ rights, tenant rights, and more. She then served as California Attorney General, holding polluters accountable, protecting homeowners and tenants, prosecuting sex offenders, and reducing recidivism in California's prisons. She was elected to the Senate in November 2016, where she worked to combat climate change, secure voting rights, and protect minority communities from hate and consistently supported aid to Israel and opposed antisemitism. In 2020, she broke barriers as the first woman, the first Black American, and the first Asian American to be elected Vice President of the United States. As Vice President, she has played key roles in fighting antisemitism and calling out sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas, as well as protecting fundamental rights and securing historic investments in environmental protections, infrastructure development, and healthcare access.

Supporting the Jewish Community: 

• Combating Antisemitism and Hate: Vice President Harris is a friend and ally to the Jewish community. She played a key role in drafting the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism in U.S. history. As Vice President, she also supported increased funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, bolstering funding to help secure synagogues and other Jewish institutions from antisemitic hate crimes. Throughout her career, she has condemned acts of violence and antisemitism against Jewish Americans, visited Yad Vashem, and led a Senate resolution to combat antisemitism.
• Supporting the U.S.-Israel Relationship: Throughout her career, Vice President Harris has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to Israel’s security. Prior to and since October 7, Vice President Harris made it abundantly clear that Israel has a right to defend itself. She has prioritized engaging with Israeli government officials, supported full funding for U.S. security assistance to Israel, and repeatedly called for eliminating the threat Hamas poses to Israel.

FAQs on Vice President Harris:

Where does Kamala Harris stand on Israel? 

• Throughout her career, Vice President Kamala Harris has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to Israeli security. Long before and after October 7, the Vice President made it abundantly clear that Israel has a right to defend itself. The Biden-Harris administration has worked tirelessly to support Israel diplomatically and militarily and bring the hostages held by Hamas home. She went out of her way to draw attention to Hamas’ use of sexual violence on Oct. 7 and convened the first-ever White House meeting on conflict-related sexual violence in June 2024, shining a light on Hamas’s horrific acts of sexual violence. She reiterated her strong support for Israel on July 25 after meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
• Harris played a critical role in the passage of the National Security Supplemental package, which provided Israel with $12.5 billion in aid. She held calls with congressional leadership to ensure its passage.
• Harris has met and worked with Israeli leaders, including Prime Ministers Netanyahu and Lapid, War Cabinet member Gantz, President Herzog, and more, to support Israel’s security. Since October 7, The Vice President has joined more than 20 calls with PM Netanyahu and 6 with President Herzog.
• VP Harris' commitment to Israel began early. Speaking at an event in honor of Israel's 75th anniversary, she said she collected contributions for the state as a child. "As a little girl growing up in the Bay Area of California, I collected donations for KKL-JNF, and for those of you who are old enough, you can remember those little blue boxes we carried around and asked people, 'Please donate so we can plant trees in Israel.' Our action, as children and young people, meant much more than that; it represented the connection for us to the importance of the establishment of the State of Israel."

What has she done to combat antisemitism, and how will she support the Jewish community? 

• Vice President Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff played a key role in drafting the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. The strategy mobilizes over two dozen federal agencies and contains over 100 specific, actionable steps to end this scourge of hate and prevent antisemitic attacks.
• In the Senate, Harris was the lead sponsor of S.Res.118, a resolution condemning hate crimes and any other forms of racism and discrimination. The resolution highlighted the threat posed by antisemitism and its dangerous rise and called on the Trump administration to devote additional resources to combating hate crimes, including those targeting Jews.
• When then-Senator Harris visited Yad Vashem in 2017, she wrote: “As we bear witness to the horrors of the Holocaust, let us always strive to remember that we as human beings have so much more in common than what separates us. And by embracing this truth, let us live up to that solemn promise — never again!”