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Wall Street Journal

Tensions between Bibi Netanyahu and Kamala Harris

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a commemoration ceremony for soldiers killed during the 2014 Gaza war, also known as Operation Protective Edge, at the Memorial Hall on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on July 16, 2024. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a commemoration ceremony for soldiers killed during the 2014 Gaza war in Jerusalem on July 16, 2024. (Abir Sultan/AFP via Getty Images)

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris won’t be there. Despite having become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, she decided that an earlier commitment to the Zeta Phi Beta sorority’s convention in Indianapolis mattered more than a speech by the leader of one of America’s closest allies at a time of conflict and crisis in a region involving vital U.S. interests.

Ms. Harris is expected to meet Mr. Netanyahu during his visit to Washington, but the snub is unmistakable. It is fueling rumors of a rift between the Harris and Biden approaches to the Middle East. On March 4, NBC News reported that National Security Council officials “toned down” a draft of remarks Ms. Harris was to give on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This week the Journal reported that other fissures could appear. Observers will focus on any signs of Biden-Harris tension as the election approaches.

Read the full article in the Wall Street Journal.

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