The Shift: No surprises in Harris’s foreign policy agenda

Kamala Harris has finally added a policy section to her campaign website.

In a section titled, “Stand With Our Allies, Stand Up to Dictators, and Lead on the World Stage” the Middle East gets a paragraph. No surprises here, as she takes a hawkish tone on Iran and expresses a strong commitment to Israel:

Vice President Harris will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to protect U.S. forces and interests from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. Vice President Harris will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and she will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. She and President Biden are working to end the war in Gaza, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination. She and President Biden are working around the clock to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done.

Once again we are presented with an image of Biden and Harris working tirelessly on a ceasefire, despite no proof of this in reality. You might recall that Biden was allegedly on the verge of making a final, robust ceasefire push after the Israeli hostages were killed, but shortly after these claims Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear that a deal was not close.

No amount of carnage or tragedy seems to speed up the ceasefire process, as evidenced by any number of recent events.

Last week an American citizen was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper while peacefully protesting settlement expansion in the illegally-occupied West Bank. Biden hasn’t reached out to the family of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi and the State Department won’t even publicly acknowledge that Israel is responsible for the killing.

This morning we learned that more than 40 people have been killed in an Israeli attack on a designated “safe zone” in southern Gaza. “The people were buried in the sand,” an eyewitness told The Associated Press. “They were retrieved as body parts.”

Democrats launch investigation into Trump DOJ over Egypt money

In a story that seems like it should be getting more attention, Democrats on the Oversight and Accountability Committee have launched an investigation into Trump’s DOJ over allegations that it covered up a $10 million cash bribe from Egypt’s president.

The announcement comes one month after the Washington Post published a story on the allegations. According to the reporting, Trump had stated that he was through pumping money into his cash-strapped 2016 presidential campaign, but suddenly announced he was personally contributing $10 million after meeting with President El-Sisi.

Here’s some of the press release from the Committee on Oversight and Accountability:

In early 2019, DOJ investigators obtained Egyptian financial documents showing that in January 2017, an entity affiliated with Egypt’s intelligence services withdrew $9,998,000 in U.S. currency—a large portion of Egypt’s dollar reserves—from a state-run bank branch.  Shortly after this breakthrough, federal investigators proposed subpoenas seeking Trump’s bank records.  Jessie Liu, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia who was overseeing the probe, had indicated she was open to issuing these subpoenas but “made a 180-degree turn” and refused to authorize them after consulting with Attorney General Barr.  By January 2020, Attorney General Barr had ordered Liu to step down.  Her hand-picked replacement, Michael Shwerwin, quickly moved to shut down the investigation.

Republican Jewish Coalition targets voters with $10 million ad buy

The Republican Jewish Committee (RJC) is spending $10 million on ads targeting voters across five swing states.

The ads attack Kamala Harris for allegedly being anti-Israel and aligning herself with The Squad, despite neither point being true.

“Kamala Harris embraces and defends the Squad, even after Omar made disgusting antisemitic comments,” declares the ad’s narrator, who claims that Harris sympathizes with “antisemitic, anti-Israel protesters.”

RJC CEO Matt Brooks says the ads are “by far, the largest and most comprehensive effort ever to turn out the Jewish vote for President Donald J. Trump.”

AP Story on disillusioned Palestinian voters

The AP ran a thorough piece on Palestinian-Americans voters who feel disillusioned by the presidential race.

Some of the quotes from voters:

“Without stopping U.S. financial support and military support to Israel, this will not stop…I’m a U.S. citizen. I’m a taxpayer … and I feel betrayed and neglected.”

“Right now, it’s a struggle being a Palestinian American. I don’t want a Trump presidency, but, at the same time, the Democratic Party needs to win our vote.”

“We in the community still need to continue to push Harris on conditioning aid, on a cease-fire. The fight is not over.”

“Our community has given our votes away cheaply. Once we can start to understand our votes as a bargaining tool, we’ll have more power.”

There is a presidential debate tonight and the candidates are expected to be asked questions about the war on Gaza. Follow Mondoweiss for continuing coverage of the election.