Kamala Harris has shown up time and again for the Jewish community - opinion

As I’ve watched my friend Kamala Harris run for president this year, speaking to crowds of tens of thousands across our country, and debating on television in front of tens of millions, the outpouring of energy has been beyond exhilarating.

But while watching Kamala inspire a sea of voters at a recent rally, I found myself thinking back to a much quieter moment.

More than 30 years ago, I had the honor of helping establish a group called Shalom Bayit, a Jewish women’s domestic violence task force based in the San Francisco Bay area. This was work I took very seriously, which is why I ensured that our honorary committee included a local district attorney whose intellect and passion I respected immensely: Kamala. 

The two of us had begun working together through another advocacy group I helped create called Partners Ending Domestic Abuse. PEDA later became a funding arm that financially supported a network of 17 domestic abuse organizations, including Shalom Bayit. 

It wasn’t splashy work. It wasn’t an issue that many people wanted to talk about. But Kamala and I, among other dynamic women, did everything we could to get businesses and local governments to pay attention to a reality that so many women faced every day. And we got results. I remember the day we got a national retailer to install a training system to help their employees better recognize abuse situations.

That quiet but impactful win was the memory I had as I watched Kamala at that rally. Her persistence had made all the difference that day. It was proof of what could come, thanks to her devotion to the right causes, and to the issues that matter most to the Jewish community and communities everywhere.

Working with the Vice President

I loved working with Kamala. The truth is, she amazed me from the very beginning. Sometimes you just know when someone is special. She was so smart and professional, so sweet and wonderful. She was a mensch.

Around that same time, Kamala went on her first trip to Israel, a 10-day tour. I was very active and involved with pro-Israel groups then, a few years away from serving on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s national board. I was honored to be one of the first people she called when she returned.

I’ll never forget how excited she was, taken by Israel’s beauty and complexities. She wanted to learn more about the country and its history and how best to address the issues faced by the Jewish community here at home. 

Years later, I learned that her commitment to Israel had started when she was younger, having carried around a Jewish National Fund coinbox to raise money for Israel as a small child. 

I’ve known Kamala for many years now, and she has always stayed true to the values of the Jewish community. She and her husband, Doug Emhoff, played a key role in drafting the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. This was a plan widely praised for its power, one that mobilized over two dozen federal agencies and offered more than 100 actionable steps to end and prevent antisemitic attacks.

Thanks in large part to Kamala’s advocacy, the Biden-Harris administration also supported increased funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, bolstering investment to help secure synagogues and Jewish institutions from hate crimes.

At Israel’s Independence Day reception in June 2023, Kamala made her views clear, saying, “When Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or identity, and when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism, and that is unacceptable.”

These are the actions of a vice president not just willing, but eager to fight on behalf of vulnerable communities, including the Jewish community, a people she has stood with since before she even sought public office. 

Yet it’s the little things, away from Kamala’s official duties, that I love just as much. I think about Kamala and Doug hanging the first mezuzah at the vice presidential residence, or hosting the first Passover Seder at the residence, or lighting the first Hanukkah menorah there. Kamala has told me that she takes enormous pride in these moments. I know it to be true because I’ve been with her for moments like them – and I can see the pride on her face myself.

The choice this November couldn’t be clearer. Kamala Harris has shown up time and again for the Jewish community. Her lifelong pursuit of our shared values has me deeply excited for her to become president. 

The writer has devoted decades to philanthropic and community service efforts at the local, national, and global levels. She is former national board member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a lifetime trustee of the Shalom Hartman Institute, and a current board member of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation.