August 19 through August 22 were the most critically important dates on the Democratic Party’s calendar, because those were the days of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Nowadays, conventions are largely seen as anticlimactic nonevents: Since most presidential nominees have locked up the delegates’ votes months prior, political conventions are normally perceived as an anachronistic throwback to the days of yore — a relic from a bygone era. There’s no excitement or drama; it’s all just a show for the TV cameras.
But this year was dramatically different, because the Democrats nominated a candidate who hadn’t received a single vote during the primaries. Kamala Harris was appointed, not elected, so the DNC had to do more than their typical speeches and boilerplate lectures: They had to kill Harris’s old reputation as an unlikeable vice president, reintroduce her to voters, explain what she stands for, and quickly establish an emotional connection to the voters.
That’s not a simple task. It requires a whole lot of TV time. Every minute — hell, every second — mattered.
The most cataclysmic outcome for Democrats would’ve been if a big international incident broke during the convention. (Especially if it diverted cameras away from the DNC, forcing them to alter their narrative, and maybe even DO SOMETHING since, y’know, they’re the party that still controls the White House.) All of that would’ve been disastrous enough, but imagine if this incident also infuriated liberal activists, divided the Democrats' base, and undermined their happy-happy-joy-joy love-fest.
Well, it nearly did.
Kamala Harris gave her acceptance speech on Thursday, August 22. After enduring months of nonstop missile strikes from Hezbollah, Israel waited until August 23 before escalating its response.
Coincidence?
Since the DNC concluded, Israel has taken off its gloves: On August 24, Israel blasted Aitaroun, Ayta ash Shab, and Maroun al-Ras in Lebanon. Then, one day later, Israel attacked 40 different targets in southern Lebanon, using 100 fighter jets. It was a much more aggressive response from the Israelis — and had they launched these attacks between August 19 – 22, it absolutely would’ve diminished Kamala Harris’s media spotlight.
Israel knows that if Harris wins in November, the fate of Israel’s security will, at least in part, be in her hands. As president, she could punish Israel, elevate its enemies (i.e. Iran), and demotivate its allies. Potentially, it’s an extremely serious problem. Worst-case scenario, it could even be an existential threat.
Americans and Israelis don’t look at history the same way. For Americans, history is the tale of our epic rise from 13 lowly colonies to the greatest superpower on earth. It’s a glorious story of triumph, success, and global dominance. God bless America!
But Israel sees things differently. They lost their country for nearly 2,000 years when the local superpower — Rome — decided to take their land. From an Israeli perspective, the difference between living free or being murdered in a Holocaust is who your friends are. When your friend isn’t a superpower, you’re in a precarious position. But when your enemy is the superpower, you’re in mortal jeopardy.
The lesson they’ve learned from history is that a small, vulnerable country like Israel will be destroyed if they end up in a superpower’s crosshairs.
It’s why they’ve been so reluctant to provide more aid to Ukraine: For much of the last century, Russia was a superpower, too. They know it’s unwise for a small country to antagonize a superpower. That’s how you get conquered and exiled.
And it also explains why they delayed responding to Hezbollah.
If Trump were still president, Israel would’ve gone ahead and attacked Lebanon when it was most tactically advantageous. Thus, the Israeli response would’ve probably hit more enemy targets and avoided more civilian deaths, since they’d control the timing. But with a mentally diminished invalid in the White House and a wildcard waiting in the wings, Israel opted to wait.
Not because they wanted to. Because they had to.
Kamala Harris hasn’t even been elected president yet, and she’s already making the world a more dangerous place.
