Bill Maher in a preview to a 60 minute CBS interview with VP Harris asked Harris some pointed questions about the Israel– US relationship.
He asked Kamala the following question: "We supply Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, and yet Prime Minister Netanyahu seems to be charting his own course. The Biden-Harris Administration has pressed him to agree to a ceasefire, which he's resisted. You urged him not to go into Lebanon, but he went in anyway. He has promised to make Iran pay for the missile attack, and that has the potential of expanding the war. Does the US have no sway over Prime Minister Netanyahu?"
Here's how Harris responded: "The aid that we have given Israel allowed Israel to defend itself against 200 ballistic missiles that were meant to attack the Israelis and the people of Israel. When we think about the threat that Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran present, I think it is without any question our imperative to do what we can to allow Israel to defend itself against those kinds of attacks. Now, the work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles, which include the need for humanitarian aid, the need for this war to end, and the need for a deal to be done which would release the hostages and create a ceasefire. We're not going to stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel and in the region, including Arab leaders."
Maher then told Harris that "it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening [to you]." Harris didn't give a real answer to this question, but the next question/answer was much more important: When Maher asked Harris, "Do we have a real close ally in Prime Minister Netanyahu?" She just couldn't bring herself to say that Netanyahu is a close ally of America.
Instead she said, "I think, with all due respect, the better question is: do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people? And the answer to that question is yes."
VP Harris is looking to her potential presidency and she seems to be saying that although the Americans and Israelis as people / nations have an alliance, their governments don't share the same alliance or won't have one in the future.
This could prove devastating for Israel if she gets is elected in the upcoming elections. She has already called to hold up arms shipments to Israel, repeatedly instructed Israel to leave Gaza and just yesterday, she offered Lebanon the huge sum of
We might soon face the situation when Israel has to cut its purse strings from the all powerful USA– Until then, though, and as always, actions speak louder than words.
We hear you loud and clear, Mrs. Vice President. And as we have done before, we will survive and we will thrive with or without your help.