By accepting her nomination, Kamala Harris promises to work for a ceasefire, support Israel and fight for Palestinian freedom.

CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination with a promise to ensure Israel's ability to defend itself, end the fighting in Gaza and work for Palestinian self-determination.

Harris' speech, which culminated a four-day Democratic convention, sought to bridge differences over the Gaza war, the main issue that threatens to undermine the unity Democrats are trying to demonstrate in Chicago. She also positioned herself as a hawk on other foreign policy issues, including relations with Iran.

She sought to reassure pro-Israel activists who longed for reassurance that the party was still on their side. And she sought to appeal to pro-Palestinian activists who felt their voices were not being heard on the main stage.

“On the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock because now is the time to reach a hostage deal and a ceasefire agreement,” she said Thursday night to cheers that rang through the United Center toward the end of her 36-minute speech.

“Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself, and I will always ensure that Israel has the ability to defend itself,” she said. “Because the people of Israel must never again be confronted with the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas inflicted on October 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival.”

The policies outlined by Harris on Israel and Gaza were the same ones pursued by President Joe Biden. Yet in those two sentences, Harris hit a number of points that the pro-Israel community has been looking for as the Democratic leadership shifts from Biden, who has harbored affection for the country for 50 years, to someone whose deep feelings about Israel have been questioned.

As the war progressed, a growing number of progressives called on the Biden administration to impose an arms embargo on Israel. Harris made it clear that she would support defense aid.

In addition, Israeli politicians and pro-Israel activists have been annoyed for months by the attention Israel's military operation in Gaza has attracted. Harris stressed that the war was started by Hamas and pointed to the terrorist group's sexual violence, which is a priority for Israel's supporters.

Harris also made a strong point about the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza – a point that younger progressives and other pro-Palestinian voting groups said was absent from Biden's remarks and not sufficiently expressed at the convention.

“At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating,” she said. “So many innocent lives have been lost, desperate, hungry people continue to flee safety – the scale of the suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war so that Israel is safe, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”

The words “freedom and self-determination” sent the room into a frenzy, reflecting growing frustration among Democrats over the rising death toll in Gaza and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes the establishment of a post-war Palestinian state. (Notably, Harris did not explicitly call for a Palestinian state, which has long been a Democratic foreign policy priority.)

She also made no mention of wanting to return to the Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran, which her rival Donald Trump withdrew from during his presidency and Biden tried to revive. Instead, she said she would confront the country's expansionist troublemakers.

“I will never hesitate to take all necessary measures to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and the terrorists it supports,” she said, referring to attacks on American assets by a number of Iranian proxies across the region. Iranian proxies – including Hamas as well as the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah – have been attacking Israel continuously since October 7.

Harris' expressions of sympathy for the Palestinians came as a small group of pro-Palestinian delegates sought in vain a speaking role on the stage, especially after the parents of an Israeli-American hostage brought the convention to a standstill on Wednesday night.

The approximately 30 delegates belonging to the “Uncommitted” movement walked arm in arm through the halls of the congress and tried to be heard until the last minute.

Earlier on Thursday, a more radical pro-Palestinian group had brought together several thousand protesters. They marched about a mile from the convention center into the adjacent neighborhood, waving Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian banners and repeating chants that essentially called for the end of Israel.

“We don’t want two states, we want all 48,” was one of the slogans, referring to the territory of Palestine before the founding of the State of Israel in 1948.

Harris began her speech by thanking her family, including her Jewish husband Doug Emhoff, and pointing out that it was the couple's 10th wedding anniversary. They joined her on stage at the end.

One of the two clergy who gave the blessing on Thursday was the rabbi of the Conservative synagogue in Washington that Emhoff attends, Lauren Holtzblatt of Adas Israel.

Unlike some other clergy on other nights of the convention, Holtzblatt made no mention of Israel or the Gaza war. Instead, he gave Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, blessings that are consistent with themes Democrats have addressed throughout the convention.

Harris also emphasized these themes in her speech, including ending the resentment Democrats have for Trump and preserving the democratic traditions and individual freedoms she believes he threatens.

“God of strength, protect Vice President Harris and Governor Walz with your protective presence as they move forward with courage and conviction to build a better future for all Americans. Shine a light upon them so they can continue to seek justice, equality and reproductive freedom in an America free of gun violence and ensuring free and fair elections with less vitriol and more joy,” Holtzblatt said.