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Former Clinton Adviser Says Harris Not ‘Sufficiently Committed to Israel and Fighting Antisemitism’
US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as part of the US-ASEAN Special Summit, in Washington, DC, May 13, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Doug Schoen, a former adviser under then-US President Bill Clinton, revealed on Tuesday that he is not planning to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris to serve as the next commander-in-chief in the White House, citing her policies toward Israel and combating antisemitism as the main reasons.
During an appearance on Fox News, Schoen said he “cannot” commit to voting for Harris, stating that he is “undecided” on who he will support in the 2024 presidential race. The former Clinton pollster voiced concern about Harris’s unstable positions on Israel and the Middle East.
“At this point I cannot [vote for Harris],” Schoen said. “I would call myself undecided, at this point. But I can’t vote for her, for reasons related to her changing position and also the Middle East as we have talked about before. I do not believe she is sufficiently committed to Israel and fighting antisemitism.”
Schoen has previously criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
In April, Schoen noted that the administration was under immense pressure by the left wing of the Democratic Party to “take a strong stance against the Jewish State.” He argued that the anti-Israel drift of the Democratic Party is “dangerous” and overlooks the Jewish state’s “strategic importance.” He also lamented that US President Joe Biden adopted a more pointed and adversarial “tone” toward America’s closest Middle Eastern ally.
“During this turbulent time in Israel, it is crucial that Biden prioritizes realpolitik over politics. He mustn’t cave to the political pressure he is facing from within his own party to denounce Israel forcefully,” Schoen wrote.
In May, Schoen published an op-ed in the Orange County Register, arguing that the Biden administration’s decision to halt some arms transfers to Israel hamstrung the Jewish state’s ability to eradicate the Hamas terrorist threat from the Gaza Strip. He lambasted the decision as “politically motivated” and argued that it “endangers Israeli lives.”
“By trying to prevent Israel from defeating Hamas, the Biden administration is giving Hamas more aid and support than it is giving Israel,” Schoen wrote.
Schoen’s concerns over the true extent of Harris’s support for Israel has been echoed by other supporters of the Jewish state in the weeks since she has replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket. Though Harris has voiced support for the Jewish state’s right to exist and self-defense, she harbors close ties to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, which has become increasingly hostile toward the Jewish state. Harris has been under pressure from pro-Palestinian activists to break with the Biden administration by adopting a more adversarial posture toward Israel.
She has also expressed sympathy for far-left narratives that brand Israel as “genocidal.” The vice president has additionally often criticized Israel’s war effort against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
Harris also pushed the unsubstantiated narrative that Israel has intentionally withheld aid from the people of Gaza, allegedly triggering a famine.
“People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane. And our common humanity compels us to act,” Harris said. “The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid.”
Harris has also expressed sympathy for anti-Israel protesters on US university campuses, saying that they are “showing exactly what the human emotion should be.”
Some indicators suggest that Harris could adopt a more antagonistic approach to the Jewish state than Biden. For example, Harris urged the White House to be more “sympathetic” toward Palestinians and take a “tougher” stance against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a Politico report in December. Then in March, White House aides forced Harris to tone down a speech that was too tough on Israel, according to NBC News.
However, during her speech at the final night of the Democratic National Convention last month, Harris reaffirmed her commitment to ensuring Israel’s security and vowed that her administration would always furnish the Jewish state with the arms necessary to thwart future terrorist threats.
The post Former Clinton Adviser Says Harris Not ‘Sufficiently Committed to Israel and Fighting Antisemitism’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.