Vice President Kamala Harris needs cross-cultural Middle East training - opinion

Vice President Kamala Harris, who ignored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress and states that she understands the pro-Hamas rioters in the US, is now openly criticizing Netanyahu and Israel, demanding that an immediate ceasefire take place with Hamas, a terror organization.

“So to everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire, and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you and I hear you,” Harris said.

No one wants a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza for more than nine months more so than Israel. But it appears that Harris has been listening to Iran and Hamas leaders in Qatar who, according to US intelligence, coordinated the antisemitic, pro-Hamas riots on college campuses and in the streets of almost every city in the US.

Agents of the Iranian government have worked to influence American protests against the war in Gaza, said National Intelligence director Avril Haines” “People working for Iran have ‘opportunistically’ inserted themselves in the protest movement via social media and other cyber activities, posing as activists online and promoting, and even funding, public demonstrations.”

Harris has stated: “OK, the trucks are taking flour into Gaza. But here’s the thing, I like to cook. So I said to my team: You can’t make sh** with flour if you don’t have clean water. So what’s going on with that?”

Did anyone ever mention to Harris that it is Hamas that is stealing the water pipes to produce rockets against Israeli civilians?

I must be honest. I had tremendous respect for Vice President Harris before she boycotted the prime minister’s speech. She serves as president of the Senate. It is her duty to attend the speech of a prime minister visiting the United States. 

It is her sacred duty to support America’s allies who literally give their lives for democracy abroad, rather than saying: “The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third, or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.”

Does Harris know that Hamas hides behind children in Gaza? Does Harris know that many of the images she has seen of dead children are really actors – being paid by Hamas and Iran? Is Harris aware that negotiations are conducted completely and totally differently in the Middle East than in New York, London, Washington, and San Diego?

It is not my opinion that Harris intentionally means malice to the Jewish people. Her husband is Jewish.

She has condemned Hamas. Her empathy is outstanding and is a sincere source of inspiration to many, but in the Middle East – to Iran, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah – her feelings of concern are interpreted as weakness.

Therefore, when Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar states: “We make the headlines only with blood; no blood, no news.” Harris buys into it saying: “I will not be silent.”

More headlines for Sinwar?

Does she hear Israel saying: “We hope that it won’t make it harder to achieve a hostage deal because it [Harris’s comments] gives the appearance of daylight between Israel and the United States.”

Importance of unity in achieving hostage deal

THE IMPORTANCE of unity with regard to the hostage deal was clear during the meeting Netanyahu held with President Joe Biden, which lasted for an hour and a half.

“The more our enemies see that there is a unified position between Israel and the US,” a senior Israeli official said, the more “we increase the chance of securing the release of the hostages and decrease the chance of a regional war.”

“The larger the divide – the more we move away from a deal and thus we also increase the possibility of a military flare-up,” the official stated.

Vice President Harris needs immediate and urgent cross-cultural training in Middle East negotiations. You never demand that we need a ceasefire now. You say: “Israel has a right to defend itself and how it does so matters. What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating.”

Does Vice President Harris know that Israel did not start this war? Because of her words, many of our hostages will now not be released by Hamas.

Netanyahu needs to bring cross-cultural, crisis communications professionals into his meetings with US officials. Netanyahu, who is perhaps the most experienced and successful international diplomat, who has signed several regional peace treaties, is subjective regarding many of his own personal actions.

His Middle Eastern confidence must not be taken as arrogance in the United States. He needs to understand that Harris and company need a full and thorough briefing by the IDF, Mossad, and Shin Bet. 

Harris and Netanyahu need to meet again. This time with cross-cultural, security professionals and a bottle of Israeli wine.

The writer is president of Leyden Communications Israel, a crisis communications, public affairs, and digital PR organization with offices in New York and Ra’anana. He has served as an officer in the IDF Spokesperson’s Office and as a senior media/cross-cultural communications and social media consultant to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.