Kamala Harris: The political and personal resonance
Published in The Australian Jewish News
November 12, 2020
While Sunday saw the revelatory results of the 59th US presidential election, it was much more than just a victory for Joe Biden.
As reported – and widely celebrated by countless women, minorities and people of colour worldwide – Kamala Harris was elected vice-president. In a quartet of “firsts”, Harris is the first female, first Black, and first South Asian person to serve in the position. Further, Harris and Jewish husband Douglas Emhoff will fly the flag as the first interfaith Jewish family in the position.
The embodiment of diversity, the appointment of Harris was relished by supporters as a beacon of hope as she shatters glass ceilings at a time when a stalled trajectory of women in positions of political leadership prevails.
But what are her views on Israel? What does her appointment mean for Jews worldwide? And what does it mean to Jewish women?