Israel Must Battle the “But”

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the presidential debate on September 10, 2024 (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

“I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel.”

So declared Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the September 10 presidential debate. The statement certainly resounded positively among Israel supporters. It defied those radical progressives who impugn Israel’s right to defend itself and even its right to exist. It refuted those in the White House who had pressed for—and for a while succeeded—in delaying vital munitions supplies to Israel. These commitments, though, proved part of a much broader context. Immediately following them was the pivotal word, “But.”

Israel can defend itself, Harris stated, “but how it does matters.” Israel can defend itself, but not if it prevents the achievement of a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages. Israel can exist and preserve its existence, “but we must have a two-state solution…. where the Palestinians have security, self-determination, and the dignity they so rightly deserve.” 

Harris’s remarks represented a new boilerplate and not only for moderate Democrats. In many sectors of America—indeed, throughout the West—recognition of Israel’s right to self-defense and sovereignty is now subject to a number of conditions. Few, if any, can be met. 

By the administration’s own admission, the achievement of a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza is now highly unlikely. “Mr. Sinwar is the major obstacle,” White House National Security spokesman John Kirby recently averred. “No question about it.” Nor is the creation of a Palestinian state, which only a third of Palestinians and Israeli Jews back, a realistic possibility. No one—not even the United States—can say what that state would look like or who would govern it other than Hamas, which the majority of West Bank Palestinians do favor. No one can guarantee that that state could, in fact, give security and dignity to its inhabitants or ensure that it won’t quickly deny security and dignity to its neighbors. 

Those who condition their support for Israel on the conclusion of a ceasefire in Gaza and the establishment of Palestinian statehood risk reducing that support to meaningless. Still, the biggest “but” pertains to the way Israel defends itself. 

The implication is that, if Israel cannot defeat terrorists without causing large numbers of civilian casualties, it must be defenseless. “Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” the Vice President explained. “Children, mothers.” Since no one in Washington or elsewhere in the world can prescribe how an enemy that hides behind and beneath millions of civilians can be fought without causing collateral damage, this “but” effectively neuters the IDF.

The “how it does matters” condition is rapidly gaining prominence as Israel switches its main military effort from Hamas to Hezbollah. Throughout the liberal media, Israel is already being accused of causing excessive damage to Lebanon and its civilians. “The sophisticated attacks…killed Hezbollah operatives,” the New York Times reported, “but also several civilians, including children. The blasts wounded thousands, spreading panic across Lebanon, and prompted international concerns that Israel had risked further escalating tensions in the region.” The Times even ran an op-ed by Princeton philosopher Michael Walzer labeling Israel’s alleged booby-trapping of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies—the most precise anti-terror operation in history—a war crime. 

So totally qualified, Israel’s right to fight, much less defeat, Hezbollah will be a priori nullified.

Clearly, the conditioning of Israel׳s legitimacy and defensibility critically endangers both. Diplomatically, publicly and behind the scenes, Israel must strive to eliminate those conditions and remove the asterisks above our rights to national liberty and life. While battling both Hamas and Hezbollah, Israel must wage war against the “but.”