the_dunk_tank

It wasn’t so much what she said. It was how she said it.

“Israel has a right to go after the terrorists that are Hamas,” Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters on Aug. 10. It was a standard line, used many, many times by officials seeking to defend Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

But watch the video of the moment: Her discomfort is obvious. She raises her hands, palms outward, as if to say, Look. “I mean, Israel has a right …”—and she pauses.

“… to …”—her hands circle in the air, as if she’s searching for adequate words for the situation.

“… go after the terrorists that are Hamas,” she finishes at last. She sounds deeply exasperated. “But,” she adds—and now her hands are clasped, her words fluent—“as I have said many, many times: They also have, I believe, an important responsibility to avoid civilian casualties.”

These are the same words President Joe Biden himself has used many times to condemn civilian deaths, even as his administration has shoveled money to the Israeli war machine and provided diplomatic cover for its leaders. The difference is largely in Harris’ tone.

“Sometimes, it’s the music and not the words,” says Jeremy Ben-Ami, director of the advocacy group J Street, which supports Palestinian self-determination. “I think there’s a real sense that this is not just lip service, but she really means it, and I think that comes across.”

Sadly, the article goes on to say that "subtle signs might not be enough" for people to believe she means the opposite of what she says. "Harris may be singing their tune, but they might not hear her."