The Lesser of Two Evils - Is Still Evil

Harris- after meeting with Netanyahu: I won't stay silent on Gaza (TOI)

Even though we are less than 100 days from the election, it’s still early in the campaign. But the choices are not encouraging. In my view, both Harris and Trump will be a disaster. Each in their own way. I shudder at the thought of either of them becoming the leader of the free world. For purposes of this essay, I will limit my comments to how each candidate impacts on Israel and the Jewish people.  

My concerns about the former President are well known. I am not going to repeat what I’ve said – in what seems like hundreds of times already - about the man’s egomania, low character, lack of ethics and morality, his hyperbolic rhetoric that includes lies and sickening name calling.  All of which would normally disqualify anyone from any political office let alone the presidency of the United States.

On the other hand there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that the party he represents is by far more pro Israel that the party of his opponent. And that his foreign policy is far more favorable to Israel than that of his opponent. And it was his party that had the strongest response to the antisemitism  on college campuses. Which eventually led to 2 ivy league presidents (Harvard and Penn) resigning.

But what about Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris?  What would a Harris presidency mean for Israel and the Jewish people?

First let me say again that I do not believe for a moment that Kamala Harris and her VP pick, Tim Walz are in any way antisemitic. I reject the scare  tactics in some of the right wing media that try and smear them that way

That being said, her recent comments about the war in Gaza are troubling. As is her bypassing a Jewish VP candidate who was by most accounts a better choice to win Pennsylvania electors so vital to wining the election in November.

With respect to that last point, she did not pass over Governor Shapiro because she is an antisemite. I believe she passed over him because of pressure from those very same protestors who didn’t like his pro Israel position. Calling him ‘Genocide Josh’. She feared losing that vote. Her choice of Walz on the other hand was supported by anti Israel wing of the Democratic party starting with Ilhan Omar. In other words, she succumbed to political pressure from her progressive left flank instead of using her own good judgement in making her VP pick. Not that Walz is anti Israel. It's just that he is not Jewish and a safer pick for her. 

Explaining her choice she said that it was the rapport with Walz that secured her choice of him as her VP. That is not the best way to choose people who will best serve the American people and advise you on policy. You choose the best candidate for the job. Not the one you can sit down and have a beer with. Besides, she claims to have a great relationship with Shapiro dating back to her days when both were prosecutors. Was that rapport not good enough for her?

I am not alone in expressing these concerns. Nor are they entirely partisan. The Jerusalem Post– not known to be overly partisan with respect to American politics - expressed these concerns too in much more detail in an editorial entitled:  

Harris as president could be a disaster for Israel and the Jewish people. 

And it isn’t only political conservatives who have these concerns. As noted in the following excerpt in another article on the subject: 

“Across Hollywood and beyond, liberal Jewish Americans today feel a sense of unease,” wrote Hollywood Reporter senior awards editor Steven Zeitchik in his paper. “I don’t claim to speak for anyone but myself. But my thoughts seem to be echoed among the solidly liberal Jewish American producers, agents and executives I’ve talked to — namely, that even if the pick was the result of electoral calculations, those calculations come with baked-in antisemitic assumptions about the electorate.” 

This was antisemitism, he wrote, citing such personalities as Florida Democrat Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who recently said, “Josh’s position on Israel is almost identical to everybody else, but he’s being held to a different standard. So you have to ask yourself why.” 

Which candidate will be best for this country? Which candidate will be better for Israel and the Jewish people? Neither candidate is good. But neither candidate is antisemitic and neither will totally abandon Israel. Same thing their VP picks. 

The lesser of two evils is still evil. But these are our choices. Which one shall it be?