As Kamala Harris prepares for the biggest moment of her political life at this week’s Democratic National Convention, I’ve been reflecting on a recommendation I once received from her soon-to-be ex-boss, President Biden.
When I was a White House intern in 2014, I had the opportunity to pose a question to then-Vice President Biden: How did he balance a seemingly endless list of priorities and problems without losing faith in the possibility of solving them? He left me with a blunt piece of advice: “Pick the battles worth losing.” His argument was that, regardless of the outcome, the most existential threats to our society demand our opposition.
As I have watched the untold suffering of the Palestinians over the past ten months, I return to that advice from the very leader who is currently providing Israel with billions of dollars worth of weapons to carry out its devastating war in Gaza and who wields the influence needed to end it. I have marched with students, made calls to representatives in Congress, and donated to relief funds. In response, I see seemingly unwavering support for Israel’s war from this administration.
Nearly a decade after I had that exchange with Biden, I was invited to attend a reception at Vice President Harris’s home, just days before Biden dropped out of the presidential race and Harris became the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. It was an event celebrating Black economic achievements, in many ways a self-congratulatory event for the Biden-Harris administration. It has provided More money to historically black colleges and universities than any other administration in history, reduced the unemployment rate for black communities in half and Reducing Black Child Poverty by almost half between 2020 and 2021.
Despite those victories, I declined the invitation. I knew I couldn’t comfortably celebrate with the vice president while the administration she serves continues to send more weapons to Israel than humanitarian aid to Gaza. Instead of the president demanding that Israel allow aid trucks to reach starving Palestinians, we airdropped food and killed people as the packages arrived. He crushed them from the skyThe US attempt to create a sea route for humanitarian supplies (by building a floating aid dock) was a $230 million failure. It closed after operating for only 25 days.
The proper solution to this manufactured humanitarian crisis is clear: a lasting ceasefire and unconditional access to Gaza and the exit of humanitarian aid. Yet the government refuses to apply the necessary pressure, such as stopping arms transfers or sanctioning ultra-nationalist members of the Israeli cabinet over settler violence in the West Bank.
In a crucial election, the Black community is being asked to come together. We are being asked to support candidates who look like us, who come from our neighborhoods and share our values. Harris and I come from the same city, Oakland. She has been my attorney general, senator and vice president for over a decade. Now that she is the Democratic nominee, a mix of pride and discontent washes over me as I consider my vote and we all anxiously await the end of the bombing in Gaza.
Candidate Harris has the opportunity to follow the advice I received from her boss 10 years ago. I hope she will seriously rethink our relationship with Israel to make more room for the dignity and humanity of the Palestinian people. The horror of October 7 cannot justify the atrocious war Israel is waging, which includes actions and policies that are not Israeli. International Court of Justice and a United States federal court could be considered genocide. It is becoming increasingly clear that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, refuses to negotiate in good faith to reach a ceasefire and return the hostages. Meanwhile, the world watches in horror as the death toll continues to rise.
There is room for optimism. Harris has met with activists calling for a ceasefire and expressed sincere concern for the well-being of Palestinians, something Biden has not done. Harris can chart a new foreign policy centered on human rights at this critical moment. Americans would be enthusiastic about having that message of peace heard at this week’s convention.
As I have in every election with her name on the ballot, I will support Kamala Harris for president. But I know too many people who will not. This genocidal war demands more than gestures. She should accept, not reject, an arms embargo against Israel, as many human rights organizations have called for. She should uphold the Foreign Assistance Act and promise to cut off funding to Israeli military units that the State Department determines have grossly violated Palestinian human rights, as the Leahy law requires. She should support justice for the Palestinian people. Research shows that many Americans would be willing to support justice for the Palestinian people. I would be more likely to vote for her if she did..
Demanding an end to the killing in Gaza and freedom for the Palestinian people is a fight worth losing, but it is also a fight we can definitely win.
Ron Busby Jr. is the chief product officer for ByBlack, which supports Black-owned businesses, and lives in Oakland.
