Anti-Israel Pollster Claims Credit for Kamala Harris’s Pro-Palestinian Policy Shift, Predicts Major Turn on Israel

Anti-Israel pollster James Zogby, who serves as president of the Arab-American Institute in Washington, praised Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, for signaling a coming shift in U.S. policy towards Palestinians, insisting she will “turn a corner” on Gaza war policy, as he credited his own influence through discussions he had with her, soon after Hamas’s October 7 attack, for the Democratic nominee’s turn on the Jewish State.

James Zogby, leader of the radical Arab American Institute, known for his anti-Israel views, recently lauded Democrat nominee Kamala Harris, pointing to her approach to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and its divergence from President Biden’s established policy. 

According to Zogby, who has played a significant role in shaping Democrat platforms, served on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom under Obama and held leadership positions within the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Harris’s choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate is a clear indicator of this potential shift.

“What we have is somebody who will do no harm, who is not going to step on the fact that the vice president is trying to turn a corner,” Zogby told The Intercept last week. “This is not going to be the policy of Joe Biden — she’s made that clear in a number of ways, even though she can’t break from her boss.”

He further hinted that Walz, unlike other potential candidates such as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, does not obstruct this policy change and instead aligns with Harris’s more sympathetic view towards Palestinians.

“We have every indication that she is going to turn a corner, and [Walz] does not impede that corner turn — Shapiro on the other hand would have become an issue,” he added.

Walz’s softer stance on anti-Israel protesters, aligning with Harris, has earned support from progressives like Minnesota “squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Zogby noted.

“With regard to demonstrators on college campuses, [Walz] said that he respected the empathy they’ve demonstrated for the suffering of people in Gaza, which is pretty much what Harris has said as well,” he said.

Zogby also claimed that his discussions with Harris mere weeks after the October 7 massacre, including his urging her to say things that would “give Palestinians hope,” influenced her stance, pointing to her subsequent public statements in support of Palestinians.

Highlighting Palestinian suffering, Harris spoke of her support for their right to self-determination, a stance mainstream Democrats, including President Biden, had avoided at that time — less than two weeks after the worst massacre in Israel’s history on October 7, when some 3,000 terrorists attacked Israel, killing festival-goers and torturing, raping, executing, and kidnapping Jewish residents in nearby towns. 

“I didn’t expect her to do it that night,” Zogby stated about her pro-Palestinian remarks at an event in the White House Rose Garden that took place not long after the deadliest massacre of Jewish people since the Nazi Holocaust, which saw Gazan civilian participation and widespread Palestinian support.

“And she got an ovation from this Hispanic Heritage Month crowd, and it sunk in that this is an issue that resonates with people,” he added.

In an essay published in The Guardian last week, Zogby argued that through her selection of Walz as a running mate, Harris “has declared her independence from the Biden administration’s premise of Israel first and always as Middle Eastern policy.”

Zogby has a long history of radical rhetoric. He has described Hezbollah terrorists as “armed resistance,” compared Israel to the Nazi regime, referred to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as a “legitimate and moral response to Israeli policy,” and even attempted to justify Palestinian terrorism.

Last week, the notoriously anti-Israel activist falsely blamed Israel for deliberately provoking war while rationalizing the violent actions of Islamic terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and ignoring Israel’s right to defend itself.

Previously, in what appeared to be a justification of knife attacks against Israelis, Zogby compared the Palestinian situation to Ferguson — referencing the violent 2014 protests in the U.S. — highlighting the despair behind anti-Israel terrorism, which he suggested are expressions of frustration from youths who feel their lives don’t matter.

“The violence is the result of a situation of despair that is eating away at the lives and souls of both peoples, but Palestinians are, at the end of the day, the ultimate victims,” he said in 2015.

Next week, Zogby’s Arab American Institute, alongside other progressive anti-Israel groups, will host an event in Chicago during the DNC to address Palestinian rights in order to further push the Democratic Party to take a more radical stance on the issue.

“Arab Americans and those concerned with justice in the Middle East have been waging battles to shape the political parties’ positions on Israel/Palestine,” he wrote on Monday, adding that in the past “We couldn’t get the word ‘Palestinians’ in the platform. Now it’s in the Democrats’ platform, but neither party will include the word occupation or any criticism of Israeli policies.” 

“That must change,” he declared.  

His recent comments reflect growing divisions within the Democrat Party, with progressives pushing for a more pro-Palestinian stance.

Last week, the radical “uncommitted” movement — which urged Democrat voters to protest President Biden’s support for Israel by casting non-Biden votes in state primaries — celebrated Walz as Harris’s vice presidential candidate pick, as its leaders called for a complete arms embargo on the Jewish state.

Led by anti-Israel activists, the movement’s leaders have insisted they are to be credited for having sidelined President Biden in favor of Kamala Harris, as well as the vice president’s boycott of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s congressional address last month.

The movement, which aims to reshape U.S. policy on Israel, has achieved significant wins, including 19 percent uncommitted votes in Minnesota’s Democratic primary, sending 11 delegates from just the North Star State to the Democratic National Convention.

Walz, who has called the Israel-Hamas war “intolerable,” praised the “uncommitted” members as “civically engaged” following the primary election.

He is currently under fire for having met with and praised radical Hitler-promoting Imam Asad Zaman, who has justified Hamas terrorist violence against Israel.