Foreign Policy
Israel-Hamas
Oct. 7 marked the anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel in 2023. Since then, the United States has given $17.9 billion to Israel in military aid. Recently, under the Biden-Harris administration, the United States gave Israel 30 days to address the aid crisis in Gaza, threatening to slow the supply of weapons.
Although Harris has said Israel has the right to defend itself, she has also pushed for a cease-fire and a two-state solution, emphasizing humanitarianism and the right of self-determination of Palestinians.
Trump has said he supports Israel but also criticized Israel’s handling of the war. He’s also said the war wouldn’t have happened if he were president.
The United States has given $404 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza. However, Palo Alto resident Nicole Sault said she is frustrated with the hypocrisy of leaders who advocate for general welfare while ignoring the devastating impacts in areas like Gaza.
“I’m so tired of politicians saying they support family values, and they bomb families,” Sault said. “I’m so tired of people saying they support health care and education and schools while refugee camps and hospitals are being bombed. What do you say to a Palestinian who’s had 100 family members killed?”
Stanford professor of Middle East history Joel Beinin said the Biden-Harris administration has done a poor job of holding Israel accountable in their military response.
“President Biden jumped to defend Israel after October 7 – which was undoubtedly a horrific terrorist attack on Israel – without understanding what Israel was going to do,” Beinin said. “Anyone who knows anything about Israel would have told you, on the evening of October 7, Israel is gonna unleash a vengeful campaign of annihilation against the Gaza Strip, and that’s what they’ve done.”
Beinin said the United States should have set clear conditions for the use of its funding.
“The United States should and could have said to Israel, ‘This is a horrific attack that you have suffered, and we totally condemn what Hamas did,’” Beinin said. “‘If you target the people who are responsible for this attack and don’t target the entire population of the Gaza Strip, we will give you complete material diplomatic intelligence support. If you go beyond that, you will not have American support.’”
While the United States is financing billions to Israel, Beach said he believes the funding is part of a mutually beneficial exchange, as opposed to a one-sided contribution.
“We have deals with (Israel),” Beach said. “They give us back new technology to develop our stuff … I’m not a fan of just outright funding them and funding weapons for them, because it’s not like they’re at a loss for weapons.”
Beach also said Trump has done an excellent job supporting Israel.
“I think that Trump’s foreign policy is peace by strength,” Beach said. “He made it very clear that we support them, and we support their right to self-determination, nationalistic self-determination and their ability to defend themselves against the terrorist groups which are attacking them.”
Stanford political scientist Didi Kuo said Harris brings a more inclusive approach to foreign policy, particularly regarding the Middle East, by considering diverse perspectives that may not be as readily acknowledged by other leaders.
“Harris is more responsive to the different viewpoints about what’s happening in the broader Middle East,” Kuo said. “She’s at least hearing from a lot of different corners in a way that I’m not sure Trump or his administration is willing to.”
Russia-Ukraine
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, the war has emerged as a topic between the political parties.
When asked during the September presidential debate whether he would support Ukraine if elected, Trump said he would prioritize using diplomatic strategies to end the war.
“What I’ll do is I’ll speak to one, I’ll speak to the other, I’ll get them together,” Trump said. “That war would have never happened.”
Supporting Ukraine’s defense is a priority for Harris, who has previously said Trump’s disregard for military alliances such as NATO is a threat to world stability.
“It is in the strategic interest of the United States to continue our support (for Ukraine),” Harris said in February 2024. “International rules and norms are on the line, including the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Mia McIntyre, a junior at Woodside Priory, said she worries that Trump’s foreign policy decisions could have drastic consequences for the U.S.’s relationships with other countries. According to the New York Times, many European diplomats and foreign policy experts have expressed fear that Trump’s lack of commitment to NATO is enough to severely weaken the alliance that is built on trust.
“Trump has been on record saying that he would threaten to pull out of NATO, which is really undemocratic,” McIntyre said. “Because one big feature of democratic nations is that they have a consistent policy.”
NATO aside, Beach said he sides with Trump on this issue and said he thinks that the United States should have been more involved in peace negotiations.
“It’s not about supporting one country versus another because ultimately, we’re not involved in that war,” Beach said. “We have some influence, of course, but it’s not our war. We shouldn’t be (sending) 200 plus billion dollars to Ukraine.”
Kuo said it’s really important for the United States to support democracies in geographical regions that are historically anti-democratic and anti-American.
“The Ukrainian people are completely innocent,” Kuo said. “They’re only guilty of being a democratic state that exists on the border with Russia.”
Still, Beach said Trump’s claims about his influence in foreign policy is an exaggeration.
“I think that Donald Trump is a bit hyperbolic in some aspects, so I think that you should take a lot of what he says with a grain of salt,” Beach said. “But one of those things is, I do think that he will be able to end the war peacefully. He could end it in 24 hours, but likely not going to happen, it’s going to be more of a slow diplomatic approach.”
Regardless of who people support, Hasanov said, with regard to foreign policy, the most important issue should be the eradication of violence.
“I think it’s better to help the people that are dying instead of feeding money to one side so they keep fighting,” Hasanov said. “I’m not saying cut (both sides) off fully, but I’m pretty sure there’s a way to end it without conflict.”
