JDCA in JTA

“Coming down the stairs in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City in 2017, Kamala Harris saw the Western Wall and knew what she had to do.

Harris, then a California senator, reached into her pocket and pulled out a blue kippah and clips she had prepared for the occasion. She told her Jewish husband, Doug Emhoff, to bend down a bit and fastened the kippah to his head.

Halie Soifer, then Harris’ national security advisor, took a candid photo of the moment, which she says embodied Harris’ relationship with the Jewish community: The senator knew what to expect at a moment of Jewish significance.

‘She prepared for it because she knew it would be meaningful for Doug,’ said Soifer, who is now the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America. ‘Part of the reason that trip was so special for both of them was because it was his first time in Israel.’ The trip was Harris’ third time in the country.

…

Harris’ backers say she understands Israel’s security needs. On the 2017 visit to the country, Soifer recalled her viewing Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system and its cybersecurity capabilities.”