Israel’s brutal war in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 250 hostages. After months of repeated negotiations to hammer out a deal to release the hostages failed, the Israeli military reported on Aug. 31 they found six hostages that had been killed by their Hamas guards. The tragic deaths of these young hostages, one an American, provoked massive protests and a general strike by Israelis who blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his refusal to sign any ceasefire agreement to facilitate the release of the remaining hostages and end the slaughter in Gaza.
During the Democratic party convention in Chicago Palestinian Americans and their supporters didn’t succeed in their attempt to schedule a speaker to address the convention and the nation about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. But some of the activists involved in that effort were pleased that growing opposition to U.S. weapons transfers in full support of Israel’s war in Gaza war received widespread media attention.
Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with James Zogby, co-founder and president of the Arab American Institute, who was among those delegates in Chicago demanding a speaker to address the war in Gaza. Here he discusses growing Israeli anger at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for blocking a ceasefire, U.S. policy toward Israel, and whether or not Vice President Kamala Harris is signaling a break from President Biden’s unconditional support for Israel. He begins by assessing the effectiveness of public pressure on Netanyahu to change his Gaza War policy.
JAMES ZOGBY: So far, he’s resisted public opinion. Look, for several months since before the war began, but certainly since the war began. His numbers have been very low and all the polls show that if there were an election, his party would be swept out of power, which is why he so desperately hangs on to power and knows that if he does sign any agreement he loses the support of a number of parties in his coalition.
He might pick up others, but he’s not interested in that because ideologically he is part of this extreme right-wing government and not just captive of it, as some say. So he’s dealt with the fact that he’s not supported by the Israeli public. But he does have control of the reins of government and he’s not willing to let go.
So I don’t see the demonstrations as moving him. What would move him is if President Biden were to take some dramatic step, like suspending arms shipments as the British did today or some other action that would send a very clear message to Israel that he can no longer count on U.S. support. That would be the decisive thing.
SCOTT HARRIS: Over the last week or two, we’ve heard about the emergence of polio in Gaza, a threat to children and everyone. And there’s the 2.3 million residents of Gaza.
In recent days, there has been some agreement for a truce in several areas of Gaza to allow health workers to administer polio vaccines to Palestinian children. It seems that the only thing that likely moved Israel to cooperate in this effort — when they’ve been disallowing food and medical supplies and destroying water and sanitation infrastructure — is the threat of the spread of polio, this deadly disease to Israel itself.
JAMES ZOGBY: That is the case. Yes. And deeply troubling at that. There has not been any demonstrable concern for Palestinian suffering, Palestinian fate in all of this. It is something that has really gripped me and I think many others, that there is a genocide unfolding. We know it. We get the reports daily. I’ve spoken with doctors who’ve been there from several different countries and they have told harrowing stories. I’ve spoken to human rights groups and individuals on the ground who are seeing it play out every day.
It is just amazing. I remember going through the 1982 Israeli invasion of Beirut. I thought that was bad. This is much worse. I actually, I’m hearing stories of things I can’t even imagine that you know, how people get over it.
SCOTT HARRIS: James, there’s been much speculation about Vice President Kamala Harris and her position on U.S. policy towards Israel and its war in Gaza. In your recent editorial, you expressed some optimism that the vice president has a more empathetic view towards Palestine and Palestinians than does President Biden. I wonder if you could explain the signs you see that if she is elected president, she may depart from this long litany of steadfast support for Israel, with very little consideration given to Palestinians and their right to self-determination.
JAMES ZOGBY: I can’t predict; I have no crystal ball to look in. But what I can say is that I had a conversation with her. I’ve seen the things. Listen, I’ve heard the things she said, watched how she’s operated and feel that clearly there’s a difference between her and the president. And I don’t want to ignore that.
I don’t think anyone should not pay attention to the fact that nobody has ever spoken about Palestine before the convention. I don’t want to ignore the fact that she has spoken about self-determination, something that no president has ever done before. And, I do think that, you know, that she has the capacity to break free.
“Will she?” is still to be determined, but I’m feeling better about it than I felt about the last couple of presidential candidates that we’ve had on the Democratic side. Better than Hillary Clinton and better than Joe Biden.
For more information, visit the Arab American Institute website at AAIUSA.org.
Listen to Scott Harris’ in-depth interview with James Zogby (25:33) and see more articles and opinion pieces in the Related Links section of this page.
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