The Democratic candidate for vice president defines herself as African-American • Like Biden, Harris belongs to the pro-Israel camp in her party

• Candidate for Vice President, Kamla Harris // Photo: Reuters

The Democratic presidential candidate has decided, after a long and difficult deliberation, to elect Senator Camela Harris of the State of California to be his partner in the race for the White House and vice president, in case he is elected. Due to Biden's older age, many consider his choice to be much more significant because his deputy will fill his place by chance and will not be eligible for it.

Kamla Devi Harris, 56, was born to a father of Jamaican descent and a mother of Indian descent and grew up in California. Due to its Jamaican roots, Harris defines herself as African-American. As a child she suffered discrimination due to the color of her skin when children from the neighborhood where her father lived refused to play with her. When she was 7, her parents divorced and she moved with her mother to Quebec, Canada, where she received a research position at a prestigious Jewish hospital.

After: Gilad Distelman

Harris attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., and chose to practice law. She returned to California where she progressed rapidly up the legal ladder. In 2004, she was elected San Francisco District Attorney. In 2010 she ran for the position of California State Attorney and won, she held the position until she ran for the Senate in 2016.

Harris ran a tough campaign and won a Senate run. As part of her role, she has dealt extensively with issues related to immigration and the rights of the proud community. In 2018 she was appointed to chair the Senate Legal Committee, an important role for a relatively young senator. As part of her role, she initiated discussions against separating infiltrator children from their families.

In recent Democratic primaries, Harris has run for president. During a confrontation between the contestants, Harris, in eloquent and firm speech, managed to embarrass former Vice President Joe Biden and present him as detached from political discourse. But despite her impressive performance in the confrontation, Harris struggled to gain significant support and retired from the race in December.

Despite, and perhaps because of, Harris' impressive performance against Biden, the Democratic nominee placed the California senator on his list of possible candidates for the role of his race partner. Surveys conducted among minority communities have shown positive results for her election as deputy and she herself in April said she would "be honored" if Biden invited her to be his deputy.

"Israel must not be a party issue"

Harris' positions on domestic issues in the United States, such as immigrant rights, the gay community and minorities, place her on the party's liberal wing, and her views on foreign affairs tend toward June. Harris supported the Iran nuclear deal and condemned Trump's withdrawal from the deal, saying it was embarrassing United States allies. She also expressed concern about the escalation following the assassination of Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, by the United States military in January of this year.

Harris is considered part of the pro-Israel camp in the Democratic Party. She is married to a Jewish lawyer and has participated in many Zionist events during her political career. At a conference of the pro-Israel lobby "AIPAC" in Washington, Harris said: "I believe that Israel must not be a party issue and as long as I am an American senator I will do everything in my power to ensure bipartisan support for Israel's security and its right to defend itself."

Harris clarified that: "The first decision I participated in drafting as a senator was a decision aimed at combating the anti-Israel bias in the UN." Harris referred to the resolution marking the 50th anniversary of the unification of Jerusalem. 

In 2017, Harris visited Israel and even met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She visited the Yad Vashem Museum, the Western Wall, and the Jerusalem Supreme Court. In 2019, she expressed strong opposition to the boycott organization on Israel, the BDS, which has the support of its party's extremist wing.