This was no ordinary interview. Despite being conducted via Zoom, the emotions of anxiety, anger, hope, and love that accompanied it easily crossed the ocean. "I want to make it clear that I care deeply about Israel. I studied in Israel, worked and lived in Israel. I first visited when I was 15, and since then I've been there more times than I can remember. And as someone who worked for Kamala Harris, I have absolute confidence, from knowing this issue in particular, that she is a strong supporter of Israel and a partner of the Jewish community."
This is how Halie Soifer, chief executive officer at the Jewish Democratic Council of America, responds to the question that preoccupies most of the public in Israel regarding the US elections: Who is better for Israel, Donald Trump, with his pro-Israeli record, or Joe Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris? As the conversation progressed, the differences became clearer. No less than she supports Harris, Soifer is terrified by the prospect of Trump's return. From my perspective, that's not really the situation.
Secondly, Soifer looks at the whole matter from the perspective of an American living in the US. For me, on the other hand, Israel trumps everything else.
Six years ago, she founded the Jewish Democratic Council of America, which she still heads today. Her goal for the 2024 elections is to make Harris the overwhelming choice of Jewish voters.
"I'm doing everything I can to not only ensure that she wins but ensure that 75% of Jewish voters support her," she tells Israel Hayom.
About half a million of those Jewish voters live in Israel. Nevertheless, only the Republicans are actually campaigning in the Jewish state.
Soifer served as her national security advisor in the Senate, from January 2017 through 2018. "I saw firsthand her deep commitment to the US-Israel relationship. She was very focused on national security. She was serving on the Senate Intelligence Committee as well as the Homeland Security Committee. When she traveled to Israel in November of 2017 I accompanied her and Doug Emhoff [Harris' husband], it was her third trip to Israel. And I saw on that trip her deep commitment to the security relationship with Israel. She was looking at every aspect of the relationship, and particularly cybersecurity cooperation, but also looked at the military relationship, the intelligence relationship, and of course, all of this falls under the larger umbrella of our security ties. And not only did she enter this White House with a deep understanding of the importance of this relationship, but also a deep commitment to it. So some ask whether she shares Joe Biden's views on Israel."
Q: That's indeed one of my questions. Biden defines himself as a Zionist, but I'm not familiar with such a statement from her.
"What I can describe it as is that she has a staunch and abiding commitment to the US-Israel relationship and to the security relationship."
Q: Can you give me examples that demonstrate this?
"In that sense, she does share Joe Biden's views, but perhaps just as importantly, she entered this White House with those views. This is what I saw when I worked for her in the Senate, years before her serving as Vice President even seemed like a possibility, let alone President okay for her views. This is how she entered the Senate. So some examples include her support of military assistance to Israel. She has always supported us, aid to Israel, the $3.8 billion that is given every year. This is an issue on which, when she served in the Senate, there was never any wavering. She does not support cuts or conditions. And then in this White House, we've seen not only that aid continue, but also the increased assistance after October 7, the $14.3 billion which she strongly supported and Republicans delayed for many months. JD Vance voted against it twice, and it was not only the president but also the vice president that urged Republicans in Congress to pass this assistance because six months was a long time to delay."
"There is no arms embargo"
Q: Let's jump to the future. People here are worried that if Harris becomes President, she might take a tougher approach compared to Biden. Because he's been sending shipments for a year now, and it's unbelievable, but he also puts up obstacles from time to time. When I compare his language to policy, I see a connection. If I take her language and try to analyze what the policy would be, it seems to me that she wouldn't send as much munitions as he does, because her language isn't so positive. She speaks much more critically about Israel.
"I think that's incorrect, and I'm happy to go through it. I think your readers should be deeply concerned. Keep in mind, this election is between two people. Joe Biden's not on the ballot. It's between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, and they should be very concerned at the prospect of Donald Trump potentially becoming president. I fear for the future of the US-Israel relationship if Donald Trump becomes president. But let's start with Harris, so she has made her position on Israel abundantly clear in her statements, in her actions, but just recently, including at our convention, she dedicated over a minute of her acceptance speech to Israel. She started by saying that she will always stand up for Israel's right to self-defense, that she will ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that the terrorist organization Hamas caused on October 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people to music festival..a.nd we recently had a debate this where both her and Donald Trump were asked about Israel, and in the debate, she made abundantly clear, again, her assurance of support of Israel's security and its right to self-defense, and the fact that she withstands by Israel in the aftermath of October 7, she's also had interviews recently where she's talked about this. She recently released a statement following the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, where she again provided an assurance of her support for Israel's security and its right to self-defense. All of that stands in stark contrast to the empty words, bluster, and threats from Donald Trump. Let's look for a moment at the extensive interview that he gave your paper earlier. His answers were horrific. Not once did he mention the hostages [ (Trump actually responded to a question on the subject and said he would have reacted to the kidnapping of his children or grandchildren, "largely as you did. You'd have to be crazy or stupid not to do so" - A.C.]. Do you want to know why? Because he doesn't care. He has talked a lot about hostages this year when speaking to Israelis, he still couldn't get it right. Do you want to know who he's referring to when he talks about hostages? He's talking about incarcerated insurrectionists from January 6, whom he said he will pardon. That's who he believes are hostages."
Q: I'm not here to defend Trump, but to the best of my recollection, what you're saying isn't correct. I remember explicit statements from him that if the hostages aren't released immediately when he's elected, Hamas will be in very serious trouble or something to that effect.
"He has said nothing about the killing of Nasrallah. He said nothing. Jared Kushner tweeted something. Jared Kushner has nothing to do with Donald Trump. He wants no part of this campaign. Kamala Harris, President Biden. They have provided assurances. They have supported Israel's right to self-defense. Donald Trump said that if, basically, if he was president, that October 7 wouldn't have happened. That means nothing. He also said that if he's not president, Israel won't exist in two to three years."
Q: I think Trump has his record from when he was president, and I can tell you that many Israelis, including myself, very much appreciated what he did as president. Many Israelis also have a concern that if she becomes president, the tiny embargo that exists now regarding some of the military supplies will be much larger.
"There is no reason to, first of all, there's no arms embargo in place. Last week, this Administration approved, I think, $5.8 billion in defensive weapons sales. This administration has done more by an exponential amount in terms of military sales for Israel than any before it. We're talking about about $20 billion this year alone. So we could call that five times more than previous administrations in a single year."
"Giving Trump a pass"
Despite the conviction that Harris is committed to Israel's security and that she will treat Israel like Biden does, Soifer stresses that she is not part of the vice president's official campaign and is not authorized to speak on her behalf. So between the lines, it seems that even she herself doesn't fully know what policy will be pursued. On the other hand, she naturally wants to emphasize how dangerous and problematic Trump is in her eyes for America in general and Jews in particular.
Trump, she argues, is "an antisemite" and "a threat to Jewish Americans."
Q: Why?
"Well, first of all, he's disparaged millions of us almost incessantly this campaign, he has said we need to get our head examined. He said we should be ashamed of ourselves. He has said we hate our religion, we hate Israel, we're disloyal and we're uninformed. I'm talking about Jews who support Democrats. He took it one step further two weeks ago when speaking at the IAC when he's he expanded his denigration of Jews to not just be Jews who support Democrats, but he said, the Jewish people, all of us, this includes you too, Ariel, will be to blame if he loses this election. He is scapegoating us, and per the IHRA definition of antisemitism includes blaming the Jewish people for real or imaginary threats, he is an antisemite. He's also aligned with right-wing extremists. He excused Neo-Nazis. He said there were very fine people on both sides. He dined with a neo-Nazi leader, Nick Fuentes, also Kanye West. He has echoed them. He has talked about the Great Replacement Theory. "
Q: Regarding antisemitism, there's no doubt that there's a steep rise in incidents. I know very well what he said, I wrote against it but we can argue about it endlessly. Because from my point of view, blaming Israel, for example, for hunger in Gaza was a bit antisemitic, because there was no hunger in Gaza and we are the only country in the world blamed for it without reason. The administration knew very well that there was no hunger and yet these claims were made. Additionally, under this administration, there has been a rise in antisemitism, and massive demonstrations by Hamas supporters are held across the US Trump as President approved a plan to combat antisemitism on campuses, and let's remember that he has Jewish grandchildren. But again, I'm not here to defend him. I do know and the whole world knows that he has his language and style.
"My fear is that the Israeli media is letting him off the hook. If Harris had said that all the Jewish people would be to blame for her losing the election, you would be reporting on it."
Q: That's why I, as an Israeli, put all that aside and focus on the question of who will be better for Israel.
"When President Biden returned from Israel in October of last year, he pledged this $14.3 billion in assistance as an unprecedented amount and then tried to work with Congress for some time to get it passed. It was Republicans who delayed it for six months, first in the House, then in the Senate, then again in the House, and JD Vance voted against it twice. Eventually, it passed in April, and this administration has gone to great lengths to ensure that Israel has everything that it needs. It's Donald Trump who said earlier this year that he would consider changing US foreign assistance into loans, with no exception for Israel."
Q: But you know that the aid from the Biden administration was delayed by half a year because the administration, the President, linked aid to Israel with aid to Ukraine and securing the southern border of the U.S. So these were political obstacles within the US It's not because JD Vance is against Israel.
"Well, Vance voted against it twice. That says it all."
Q: Kamala Harris has Philip H. Gordon, who is considered an Iranian sympathizer, as her assistant and he could be her national security advisor.
"Phil Gordon and those working around the vice president are experienced, national security advisors and committed public servants. I think there's a lot of reason to to question those who aim to disparage whether it's staff that work in this White House or even the candidates themselves, based on speculation and in some cases, disinformation, I think there's, there's no reason to believe that Vice President Harris' views with regard to Iran or Israel, for that matter, are any different than what we've seen from this White House. She's a part of this White House. She's played a critical role as it relates to this administration's policy and support of Israel. That is not going to change."
The battle for the Jewish vote
Q: One of the issues that clearly distinguishes between the U.S. presidential candidates is the question of a Palestinian state. While the Democrats continue to push for its establishment, Trump and the people around him sound very different.
" I don't know that she's speaking about prospects for two states any differently than any other administration official. And keep in mind that a two-state solution has been the stated policy of the US administration since the early 90s, both Republican and Democratic, with the exception of the Trump administration, which took it out of the Republican Party platform. But I think she's clear-eyed about the fact that this is not happening anytime soon. You know, she's under no illusion that this is around the corner. She's very clear about the current conflict and the challenges that Israel faces on its borders, including from Hamas and Hezbollah, and the fact that a two-state solution, while perhaps aspirational at some point in the future, is not something that is in any way around the corner. She's, she's clear about that."
Q: That's a very interesting insight. I've never heard that before.
"Again, I don't speak for her. I want that to be clear. I am outside the US government. I am outside the campaign. I am working for a completely independent organization. So I hope that's very clear…I'm doing everything I can to not only ensure that she wins, but ensure that 75% of Jewish voters support her so but I'm not speaking on her behalf in terms of policy, and I can't tell you with certainty, you know where she will take this White House."
Q: Another advisor of hers is Ilan Goldenberg, who didn't respond to my inquiries. According to reports in the U.S., he played a central role in imposing unprecedented sanctions on dozens of Israeli citizens, and not just people suspected of violence but also on activists whose protest was legitimate.
"Ilan is serving as the Jewish outreach director, and in that role for the campaign, he's engaging with Jewish voters, talking about a wide range of issues that are driving the Jewish vote in this election, and the Vice President's positions. Again, I don't think it's particularly useful to speculate on where he personally stands, and I don't think it's been reported accurately."
Q: So let's talk about the policy itself, about the sanctions. This is a very painful topic. These are not "just" settlers, but Israeli citizens, from both sides of the Green Line, whose economic lives have been ruined, without trial, sometimes without hearing their version when they were engaged in legitimate protest and explicitly spoke out against violence.
"I don't speak for the administration, but I have worked in the State Department, and I'm I'm well aware that they would only take such matters on targeting those that they believe are involved in violence or human suffering or harming security or undermining prospects for peace."
Q: Can you say that if she wins, these sanctions won't be expanded?
"I can't say with any degree of certainty what the policies of a White House will be. You know, we have 36 days until this election. That is my entire focus is ensuring she wins this election. This is the focus, and my focus is ensuring that when Jewish voters go to the polls, and we know they vote, their turnout rates are high, and they live in battleground states, so they can have a disproportionately higher impact on the outcome of this election than the numbers might suggest that 75% of them support Kamala Harris and that they are they go to the polls with enough information about her record and Donald Trump's record to make an informed decision based on the facts, not disinformation and lies. And there's a lot of disinformation out there. It is incredibly important that Jewish voters understand that Kamala Harris stands with the vast majority of Jewish Americans on every key issue of importance to Jewish voters in this election, starting with the defense of our democracy. That is the number one issue for Jewish voters in this election, followed by defense of our reproductive rights, that's the number two issue for Jewish voters in this election. 88% of Jewish voters support abortion being legal, or in all or some cases, Donald Trump is proud of the fact that he appointed Supreme Court justices who took away women's right to choose in this country. So those are two really important issues. Maybe your readership isn't interested, but Jewish Americans are."
Q: I think Israelis are mainly interested in U.S.-Israel relations. Can you say she loves Israel?
"I'm not going to put words in her mouth. I only you. I use the words that she uses…I really think it's also important okay, that your readers understand that Donald Trump poses a threat to Jewish Americans."
