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Harris and the Dems Still Have a Chance to Correct Course on Gaza
By committing to policy changes such as an arms embargo, Harris can regain the support of communities that have distanced themselves from the Democratic Party in recent months.
Aug 22, 2024
When U.S. Vice President Harris addresses the Democratic National Convention today, it will mark a historic moment for our nation, emblematic of what the future of representation can look like. As the first Black and Asian woman to earn a major party’s nomination, communities of color, much like my own, see in her the opportunity for a new direction in our country.
But for a majority of Americans, that new direction must include charting a different path than that of President Joe Biden and his predecessors when it comes to the war in Gaza and Palestinian rights.
As a Palestinian American who is an elected Democrat to the Colorado State House, it has been disheartening to witness Biden facilitate and abet Israel’s brutal war on Gaza with billions of dollars in U.S. weapons. While Israel has traditionally been the top recipient of U.S. foreign military aid (now surpassed by Ukraine since Russia’s invasion), the U.S. has, on average, sent Israel a weapons shipment every four days over the last 10 months, appropriating over $18 billion in weapons transfers during that period—and the administration just approved another $20 billion worth of military funding.
Harris can set a precedent in defending human rights without prejudice. Not only is this the right thing to do, it will also bolster her chances in November.
When I speak with my constituents, they are keenly aware of the billions in economic and military aid sent to Israel each year. Imagine if those funds were invested in education, housing, and healthcare right here at home.
Over the past 10 months, Israel has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, including upwards of 15,000 children. It has used starvation as a weapon against the population and violated every “red line” set by Biden. The International Court of Justice and a U.S. federal court have even ruled that Israel may be guilty of genocide and opened up an investigation.
In May, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister for war crimes. In July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza violates international law and constitutes apartheid.
Shortly after the court’s ruling, Israel’s parliament overwhelmingly voted to reject the creation of a Palestinian State, officially declaring what has been unofficial Israeli policy for decades. This rejectionist Israeli position is problematic for the U.S. at best.
For decades, the two-state solution has been the default talking point the U.S. uses to deflect from acknowledging the reality of Israel’s apartheid system, but Israel is making it harder and harder to maintain this fiction.
Biden has followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, providing, in essence, unconditional support to Israel despite its violations of international law and U.S. policy. This has fostered a sense of impunity among Israeli leaders, paving the way for and worsening the current crisis.
Earlier this year, however, more than 750,000 voters chose “uncommitted” on their ballots in the Democratic primaries, signaling a demand for a new direction.
Harris has expressed concern and empathy for Palestinian suffering in ways Biden has not, but she hasn’t shown any openness toward a fundamental policy change—at least not yet. Her notable absence during Netanyahu’s speech to Congress and her choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate—seen as more favorable to progressive and Palestinian rights supporters—are encouraging signs.
However, these symbolic gestures need to be matched with concrete policy changes.
Harris has said that an arms embargo—which human rights organizations have been calling for—is off the table, but that she supports a cease-fire. To truly reach a cease-fire and prevent a regional conflict, the U.S. must halt the arms shipments that fuel the conflict.
As a former attorney general and as current vice president, Harris has taken an oath to defend the Constitution. She is no stranger to the responsibility to enforce existing laws and policies that prevent weapons transfers to foreign military units that commit gross human rights violations. Meanwhile, U.S. made bombs continue to kill Palestinians seeking safety in schools, tents, and hospitals.
Harris can set a precedent in defending human rights without prejudice. Not only is this the right thing to do, it will also bolster her chances in November.
Polls and recent protests show that a majority of Democrats want an immediate cease-fire and a change in U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine, including sanctions imposed on Israel over settlement construction, and sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis. Indeed, most Americans of all political stripes want a cease-fire, a halt in weapons transfers to Israel until it ends its assault on Gaza, and for the U.S. to be neutral between the two parties. By committing to policy changes, Harris can regain the support of communities that have distanced themselves from the Democratic Party in recent months—Arab and Muslim voters, young people, people of color, progressives, anti-war advocates, and the uncommitted movement.
The national Democratic party platform states, “We will speak and act with clarity and purpose on behalf of human rights wherever they are under threat.” This week, the Democratic Party has a chance to correct course on the war in Gaza and revive our democratic principles. We must adhere to the values that define us as Democrats.
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Palestinian Rights Advocates Hold Sit-In After DNC Refuses Speaking Slot
"DNC, we will stay here until we get the call from Democratic leadership."
Aug 22, 2024
Delegates from the "uncommitted" movement led a sit-in outside of the Democratic National Convention and refused to accept no for an answer late Wednesday after the party declined their request to provide a mere five minutes of onstage time for a Palestinian American to speak to the horrors unfolding in the Gaza Strip, which Israel has been bombing relentlessly with U.S. support for more than 10 months.
DNC organizers did not say publicly why they are refusing to allow a Palestinian American to speak at the event at Chicago's United Center, which is located in the county with the largest Palestinian American population in the U.S.
The Uncommitted National Movement secured dozens of delegates to the DNC after hundreds of thousands of Democratic primary voters cast ballots earlier this year protesting the Biden administration's support for Israel's assault on Gaza.
In a joint statement late Wednesday, Abbas Alawieh, June Rose, Sabrene Odeh, and other uncommitted delegates said that "we are waiting for a phone call from Vice President [Kamala] Harris and the DNC to allow a single Palestinian American speaker from the convention stage."
"Our party's platform states that every life is valuable: whether American, Palestinian, or Israeli," the delegates said. "We will conduct a moral act of sitting in at the convention to push our party to better align our actions, instead of just our words, with the notion that every life is valuable by simply allowing a Palestinian American to speak from the stage."
Memo to Harris campaign: since you invited American Jews w/ a child held captive in Gaza, you should’ve also invited to speak a Palestinian American w/ family in Gaza suffering from the assault. Palestinians deserve respect. To fail to do this is an unforced error. Fix it now. pic.twitter.com/mImkced0tj
— James J. Zogby (@jjz1600) August 22, 2024
The DNC's speaker lineup thus far has included Republicans, the former CEO of American Express, and the parents of an Israeli American held hostage in Gaza.
"The Democratic Party has ignored Palestinian voices—canceling meetings, belittling protestors, and now blocking a Palestinian speaker from appearing at the DNC," the Uncommitted National Movement wrote on social media. "We won't let that happen. Palestinian Americans have watched for 10+ months as Democrats have spent their own tax dollars supplying Israel with weapons to kill their loved ones in Palestine."
"All we asked for was five minutes," the movement added. "DNC, we will stay here until we get the call from Democratic leadership. We will not stop until we win an arms embargo. We will not stop until the Democratic Party becomes the party of Palestinian rights."
The window for a reversal from DNC organizers is rapidly closing: Thursday is the final day of the convention, which will feature remarks from Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that "many Democratic leaders were concerned" that providing even a brief speaking slot to a Palestinian American "would threaten the unity that has been on vivid display at the convention," given the likelihood that the speaker would criticize U.S. support for Israel's assault.
Waleed Shahid, a progressive organizer and Democratic strategist, said that "several names" of Palestinian Americans were submitted to the DNC for consideration and uncommitted delegates were "well aware that every speech would be vetted and edited by the campaign and have agreed to that process."
"There are tens of thousands of Palestinian Americans," Shahid added. "The DNC can find one person to speak."
In response to the DNC's decision, the group "Muslim Women for Harriz-Walz" announced that it "cannot in good conscience" keep its organization going "in light of this new information."
"The family of the Israeli hostage that was on stage tonight has shown more empathy towards Palestinian Americans and Palestinians than our candidate or the DNC has," the group said in a statement. "This is a terrible message to send to Democrats. Palestinians have the right to speak about Palestine. We pray that the DNC and VP Harris' team makes the right decision before this convention is over. For the sake of each of us."
Ongoing Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip—enabled by tens of billions of dollars of American weaponry transferred by the current Democratic administration—and the enclave's appalling humanitarian crisis have received scant attention from DNC speakers thus far. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the two most prominent progressive lawmakers to speak at the convention, each mentioned Gaza just once, with the latter offering praise for the Biden administration's diplomatic efforts that critics said was entirely unwarranted.
Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan wrote Wednesday that "there are plenty of Dem delegates at this convention here in Chicago who I am sure support an arms embargo and are against what's happening in Gaza."
"But," he added, "they don't want it to get in the way of pro-Kamala party atmosphere. It's an inconvenient genocide."
Reps. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) joined the sit-in late Wednesday, expressing solidarity with the demand for a Palestinian American speaker on the convention stage.
"To still speak up in your grief in the face of people who would essentially spit in your face, and to do it anyway, is a love that some people will never understand," Lee told the demonstrators.
This story has been updated to include a statement from the group "Muslim Women for Harriz-Walz."
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For First Time in Its History, DNC Will Feature Panel on Palestinian Rights
"We will keep pushing for our party's leadership to break away from its current financing of Israel's horrific assault on Gaza and military rule over Palestinians," said the co-founders of the Uncommitted National Movement.
Aug 19, 2024
The opening day of the Democratic National Convention on Monday will feature its first-ever panel on Palestinian rights, a result of persistent grassroots organizing against U.S. support for Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip—a war that a majority of Democratic voters believe is genocidal.
The co-founders of the Uncommitted National Movement—which urged voters to mark "uncommitted" on their Democratic primary ballots earlier this year to protest the Biden administration's support for Israel's bombardment of Gaza—announced the panel in a statement on Monday, calling it an "important step toward recognizing the rightful place of human rights advocates for Palestinian rights within the Democratic Party."
"With this panel and throughout our engagement at the DNC, we will use our platform to communicate the cries of the majority of Democratic voters who want an end to the unconditional flow of U.S. weapons that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is using to kill Palestinian families," said Layla Elabed—the sister of U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)—and Abbas Alawieh.
"We thank DNC leadership for working with us on this historic panel, and we remain hopeful that they and the Harris campaign will honor our request for Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan and a Palestinian-American to be granted speaking time from the convention stage," they continued. "Our focus remains on policy change. Vice President Harris has an opportunity to unite the party against [Republican nominee Donald] Trump this week by turning the page toward a human rights policy that saves lives and helps us re-engage key voters for whom Gaza is a top issue."
"We will keep pushing for our party's leadership to break away from its current financing of Israel's horrific assault on Gaza and military rule over Palestinians," Elabed and Alawieh added.
On Monday, for the first time in its history, the Democratic National Convention will hold a panel on Palestinian human rights. We thank the DNC for recognizing this pivotal issue and remain dedicated to pushing VP Harris to stop providing weapons for Israel's assault on Gaza. pic.twitter.com/4rgvlPMG9w
— Uncommitted National Movement 🌺 (@uncommittedmvmt) August 18, 2024
The last time the DNC featured discussion of Palestinian rights was in 1988, during a policy debate that included Arab American Institute founder James Zogby, who will take part in Monday's six-member "Democrats for Palestinian Rights" panel.
"What's happening today is that it's not a candidate-led effort, it's a people-led effort," Zogby said in an MSNBC appearance on Sunday, contrasting the current Palestinian rights push with the 1988 effort spearheaded by Jesse Jackson.
Palestinian rights advocates "have elected their own delegates," Zogby noted, referring to the dozens of "uncommitted" delegates who will be in attendance at the Democratic convention in Chicago, where tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected to rally in the streets in opposition to the Biden administration's ongoing military support for Israel.
"They're not Jackson delegates, they're uncommitted delegates. They're not Bernie delegates, they're uncommitted," Zogby continued. "I think Kamala Harris has to read the room."
In recent weeks, Palestinian rights advocates have been pressuring Harris, the Democratic nominee, to substantively break with the Biden administration on Gaza by endorsing an arms embargo against Israel—a position backed by a majority of American voters.
Harris has expressed an openness to dialogue with Palestinian rights advocates but has yet to accept their concrete demands.
We spent this morning in Chicago with uncommitted DNC delegates who want answers from Kamala Harris on Gaza. https://t.co/f5YZwvPeWx pic.twitter.com/rMh0bwyBWO
— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) August 19, 2024
Monday's panel will also feature Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care surgeon who recently served in Gaza; Hala Hijazi, a Democratic organizer who has had several family members killed in Gaza by Israel's military; Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison; and former U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.), a Jewish progressive who was unseated in the 2022 midterms by an AIPAC-backed candidate.
On top of the efforts of panel participants, "uncommitted" delegates, and outside demonstrators, a roughly 60-member group called "Delegates Against Genocide" plans to "exercise its freedom of speech rights during main events" at the four-day convention, Reuters reported Sunday.
The delegate group is urging a "no" vote on the Democratic Party's 2024 platform over its "failure to demand a permanent and sustainable cease-fire in Gaza enforced by a U.S. arms embargo on Israel." The proposed platform expresses support for an immediate and "durable" cease-fire agreement and voices opposition to the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements.
"We must take a stand for justice, both domestically and internationally," Nadia Ahmad, a DNC delegate from Florida, said in a statement. "A 'no' vote on the platform sends a clear message that we, as Democrats, will not support policies that enable genocide, war crimes, and human rights abuses."
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'Uncommitted' Leaders to Harris: 'Voters Need to See You Turn a New Page on Gaza'
"It's clear to us that Vice President Harris can lead our country's Gaza policy to a more humane place," said Layla Elabed and Abbas Alawieh. "We hope she will meet with us so we can move forward to discuss an arms embargo."
Aug 08, 2024
Leaders of the Uncommitted National Movement aimed at pushing the U.S. government to end its support for Israel's assault on Gaza called on Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday to commit to a policy change and to follow through with her statement—made to them in a brief meeting Wednesday evening just before her campaign rally in Detroit—that she was open to discussing an arms embargo.
Layla Elabed and Abbas Alawieh, two Michigan voters who co-founded the Uncommitted National Movement earlier this year, spoke with Harris and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, about the deep personal connection many people in the crucial swing state feel to the 2.3 million Palestinians who have been under siege in Gaza since last October.
Elabed broke down in tears as she told Harris that she meets "with community members every day in Michigan who are losing tens and hundreds of family members in Gaza."
"Michigan voters want to support you, but we need a policy that will save lives in Gaza right now," Elabed told the Democratic presidential nominee. "Right now, we need an arms embargo. Will you meet with us to talk about an arms embargo?"
According to a statement released by Uncommitted after the rally, Harris "shared her sympathies and expressed an openness to a meeting with Uncommitted leaders to discuss an arms embargo."
On Thursday morning, however, Harris' national security adviser, Phil Gordon, said on social media that the vice president "does not support an arms embargo on Israel" and "will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups."
Elabed and Alawieh responded to Gordon's remarks by saying they would "continue engaging because people we love are being killed with American bombs."
"When we told Vice President Harris that members of our community in Michigan are losing dozens and hundreds of their family members to Israel's assault in Gaza, she said back: 'It's horrific,'" said the leaders of the movement, which includes 700,000 supporters across the country. "It's clear to us that Vice President Harris can lead our country's Gaza policy to a more humane place. We hope she will meet with us so we can move forward to discuss an arms embargo."
Elabed and Alawieh urged Harris to unite the Democratic Party "by correcting course because our democracy cannot afford to pay the bill for disregarding Palestinian lives should it come due in November."
The leaders engaged with Harris and Walz amid outrage from human rights groups over a leaked video that apparently showed Israel Defense Forces members gang-raping a Palestinian prisoner at the Sde Teiman military base. World Health Organization officials on Wednesday warned that without a cease-fire, polio virus that has been found in wastewater in Gaza could spread widely and cause an epidemic among a population that has suffered mass displacement since October, and United Nations experts said last month that famine has taken hold in the enclave due to Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid—which Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich suggested Monday was "justified and moral."
As several House Democrats told the Biden administration in March, advocates for an arms embargo on Israel are only demanding that the federal government follow U.S. laws, including the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act—Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which states that the U.S. cannot provide military aid to any country that is prohibiting or restricting the delivery of U.S. assistance into an area.
"We want to support you, Vice President Harris, and our voters need to see you turn a new page on Gaza policy that includes embracing an arms embargo to save lives," Alawieh, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, told Harris on Wednesday evening.
Although the leaders' meeting with the Democratic ticket reportedly left them feeling relatively hopeful about Harris' "openness to engaging with the demands of Uncommitted voters," the vice president's reaction to a group of protesters who chanted, "We won't vote for genocide!" during her rally speech left some advocates calling on Harris to bring the same empathy regarding Gaza that Elabed and Alawieh saw to her public appearances.
Harris first responded to the protesters by saying, "I'm here because we believe in democracy. Everyone's voice matters. But I am speaking now." After the chanting continued, she said, "If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I'm speaking."
Human rights lawyer Qasim Rashid said Harris had missed "a golden opportunity to show empathy to people in deep pain because their family is suffering torture, famine, displacement, and genocide."
"They don't want Trump to win," said Rashid. "They want the suffering to stop. Don't push them away. Invite them in. She should remedy this ASAP."
Hours before the rally and Harris' meeting with Elabed and Alawieh, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) posted on social media a video taken at an event he held in Portland, Maine on July 27, in which an attendee told the senator that there are many uncommitted voters across the country "who are absolutely wanting to see Donald Trump defeated, but the big issue is Gaza."
"What can we do to convince Harris that she must take a different position now?" asked the voter.
The American people do not support Netanyahu’s horrific war.
We must remind the Democratic Party: If they want young people to get involved in the political process, they must change their approach to Gaza. pic.twitter.com/u7IXjXBjs2
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 7, 2024
Sanders approached the issue with support for voters who are unsure they can back a candidate who won't terminate the billions of dollars in military aid the U.S. has provided to Israel since last October, noting that opposition to the current U.S. policy is hardly radical; numerous polls have shown a majority of Americans don't support Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's U.S.-backed actions in Gaza and that conditioning military aid could improve support for the Democratic candidate.
"What we have got to do in a grassroots way is, say to the Democratic Party, is that the policies that you have right now regarding Netanyahu are wrong," said Sanders. "And if you really want to get young people involved in this campaign, the time is now to change those policies.
The Sunrise Movement, a member of the Green New Deal Network, which endorsed Harris days after Biden announced he was stepping aside in the presidential race, called on the vice president to "accept the meeting invitation from the Uncommitted National Movement and turn the page on Biden's unconditional support for Netanyahu."
"Millions of young people are watching what you do next," said the Sunrise Movement. "Don't miss this moment."
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'Progressives for Harris' Call Rallies Broad Coalition to Defeat Fascism
"For the sake of our kids and our grandchildren, and for the planet, Trump must be defeated and Kamala Harris must be elected," Sen. Bernie Sanders said on the call.
Aug 06, 2024
More than 150,000 people tuned in Monday night to a Zoom call featuring prominent progressive lawmakers, organizers, and labor leaders who have united in an effort to help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris defeat former President Donald Trump and the far-right forces he represents in November.
The "Progressives for Harris" call, which lasted more than three hours, came ahead of the vice president's expected announcement of her running mate, a choice that progressives see as an important signal of how Harris intends to campaign and govern.
Progressives have backed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who is reportedly one of the final two contenders in the running for the spot on the Democratic ticket. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is believed to be the other candidate under consideration.
But Harris' vice presidential pick was not a significant topic of discussion on Monday night's call, which included remarks from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain and Association of Flight Attendants-CWA president Sara Nelson, Reps. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and leaders of the Uncommitted Movement.
"I'm inviting you all to get formation with the pro-democracy forces uniting against American fascism as well as fascism all around the world, a coalition that includes black men and women who organized in the tens of thousands not too long ago, LGBTQ folks, labor unions, and millions of workers all around the country and the world," said Working Families Party national director Maurice Mitchell, who emceed the event. "People like me who want an arms embargo to stop the war in Gaza and care deeply about public safety and police accountability and climate change and housing justice and education, people who want to protect reproductive rights, and everybody of good conscience in between."
"We cannot be spectators," Mitchell added. "We must be agents."
Watch the full event:
The call was held hours after polling from Data for Progress showed that strong majorities of voters in key battleground states support central elements of the progressive agenda, including raising taxes on the rich and large corporations, expanding Medicare and Social Security benefits, hiking the federal minimum wage, and reining in out-of-control housing costs.
Sanders, who commissioned the survey as he pushes Harris to embrace an ambitious working-class agenda, said during Monday's event that "my message is pretty clear, and that is: All of us together must do everything that we can to defeat Donald Trump and elect Kamala Harris as our next president."
"The truth of the matter," said the Vermont senator, "is that our nation will not survive in any form that we can be proud of if we elect as president a pathological liar, somebody who I think just doesn't know the difference between truth and lies, someone convicted of 34 felonies, someone who is a convicted sexual abuser, and someone who as a businessman in the private sector was involved in 4,000 different lawsuits."
"For the sake of our kids and our grandchildren, and for the planet, Trump must be defeated and Kamala Harris must be elected," Sanders added.
While the call showcased broad support for Harris among leading progressives and a commitment to preventing Trump from winning another four years in the White House, grassroots organizers also made clear that they intend to pressure the Democratic nominee on critical issues, including the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza—created by Israel with the support of the United States.
"Gen Z is determined to make sure Trump is nowhere near the White House ever again," Elise Joshi, executive director of Gen Z for Change, said during Monday's livestream. (According to one estimate, nearly 41 million members of Gen Z—people between the ages of 18 and 27 this year—will be eligible to vote in November.)
"At the same time, Gen Z for Change must honor where this generation is at," Joshi continued. "Heeding the calls of young people means calling for an immediate and permanent cease-fire, and using the leverage at our disposal to achieve one, including a weapons embargo. With that, and a working-class agenda, we will see record turnout from Gen Z in November."
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Harris Must Commit to Ending Support for Israel's Genocide in Gaza
"Our common humanity compels us to act," the vice president and now presumptive Democratic nominee said earlier this year. Now she must.
Aug 02, 2024
During Donald Trump’s presidency, he repeatedly capitulated to Israel’s Zionist regime. He illegally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, illegally recognized Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, and declared Israeli settlements on Palestinian land lawful despite international law to the contrary.
As Israel continues its 10-month genocidal campaign in Gaza, there is no doubt that if he were president now, Trump would give Israel everything it wants to “finish what they started” and “get it over with fast,” that is, ethnically cleanse all of the Palestinians from Gaza.
But this genocide is happening on Joe Biden’s watch. His administration has aided and abetted Israeli genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, killing more than 40,000 Palestinians according to the official Gaza Health Ministry count, although the real death toll is likely much higher. Besides the $3.8 billion the U.S. sends annually to Israel, it has furnished an additional $15 billion in military aid since October 7, 2023. And the U.S. has provided political and diplomatic cover to Israel by vetoing three Security Council resolutions that would have required a ceasefire in Gaza.
A second Trump administration would not just double down on enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza. It would also usher in a system of fascism grounded in Christian nationalism.
During the primary elections, nearly 1 million voters—many of them Arab American and younger progressive voters—cast their primary ballots for “uncommitted” to protest Biden’s complicity in Israel’s genocide.
In order to capture those votes, Kamala Harris should commit to ending U.S. support for Israel’s genocide and its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
Harris’s Record on Israel-Palestine
Harris has a history of strong support for Israel. As a senator, she twice addressed the pro-Zionist AIPAC conference, co-sponsored a bill to undermine a UN resolution that condemned Israel’s illegal annexation of Palestinian territory, and denounced the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement. During the 2020 presidential race, when asked by The New York Times if she believed that Israel complied with international human rights standards, she said, “Overall, yes.”
An integral part of the Biden administration, Harris has participated in 20 calls between Biden and Netanyahu since the October 7 attacks in Israel. But in the past 10 months, she has made public statements that went much further than Biden in expressing concern about the humanitarian devastation in Gaza.
While stating that Israel had a right to self-defense, Harris maintained that it must comply with international humanitarian law by protecting civilians and allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. On October 29, she said on CBS’s 60 Minutes that “it is very important that there be no conflation between Hamas and the Palestinians. The Palestinians deserve equal measures of safety and security, self-determination and dignity, and we have been very clear that the rules of war must be adhered to and that there be humanitarian aid that flows.”
After meeting with leaders of Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in November 2023, Harris decried the horrors of October 7 and called for the return of the Israeli hostages. But, she added, “As Israel defends itself, it matters how. Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating.”
In late 2023, Harris reportedly urged Biden to get “tougher” on Netanyahu and express more public concern about the deaths of Palestinian civilians.
On March 3, in a speech commemorating the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, Harris pressed for an immediate six-week ceasefire, stating, “What we are seeing every day in Gaza is devastating. We have seen reports of families eating leaves or animal feed, women giving birth to malnourished babies with little or no medical care, and children dying from malnutrition and dehydration.”
Harris also declared, “As I have said many times, too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. And just a few days ago, we saw hungry, desperate people approach aid trucks, simply trying to secure food for their families after weeks of nearly no aid reaching Northern Gaza. And they were met with gunfire and chaos,” adding, “Our hearts break for the victims of that horrific tragedy and for all the innocent people in Gaza who are suffering from what is clearly a humanitarian catastrophe. People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane. And our common humanity compels us to act.”
Harris is Constrained by Administration in Her Criticism of Israel: “Her hands are tied”
NBC News reported that officials at the National Security Council watered down Harris’s March 3 speech before she delivered it. The original draft came down harder on Israel over the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need for Israel to allow more aid.
Harris has apparently wanted to take a stronger stand against Israel’s assault on Gaza. A Democrat who helped elect Biden in 2020 told NBC News that Harris went to great lengths to be more responsive to the concerns of Muslim and Arab Americans and other Democrats who are disturbed by the worsening humanitarian situation after months of Israeli bombing. “Her hands are tied,” the person said. “People are not attacking her because they know that this is not her policy. This is Biden’s war. This is Biden’s failure,” adding, “I think she would have asked for a cease-fire a long time ago.”
Last week the Washington Post cited multiple current and former White House officials who anonymously reported that Harris has advocated for the rights of the Palestinians in several internal meetings and in public remarks when she thought they were not being adequately considered in crafting policy. She faced a backlash in June after she publicly mourned the over 270 Palestinians who were “tragically killed” by an Israeli military operation that rescued four hostages held by Hamas since October 7.
To her credit, Harris refused to preside over the joint session of Congress on July 26 where Netanyahu gave what shamefully sounded like a State of the Union address.
She met with Netanyahu later and then called for a long-term cease-fire. "It's time for this war to end and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination." She reported that the meeting had been "frank and constructive."
Harris also stated, “Israel has a right to defend itself, and how it does so matters.” She had “serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians,” and “images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety.” She declared, “We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent.”
Make Harris Commit to Ending Support for Israel’s Genocide and Illegal Occupation
After leaving Washington D.C., Netanyahu met with Trump in Florida. Trump declared that Harris’s "remarks on Israel were disrespectful."
A second Trump administration would not just double down on enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza. It would also usher in a system of fascism grounded in Christian nationalism.
The American Muslim 2024 Election Taskforce said in a statement: “By fully charting a new course on Gaza policy,” Harris can “win back the support of American Muslims and other voters in key swing states and, ultimately, save the country from another Trump presidency.”
We must push Harris to commit to a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of U.S. support for Israel’s genocide and its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
The Uncommitted National Movement says it will support any candidate who backs a permanent ceasefire and an arms embargo. It issued this statement:
Supplying weapons to Netanyahu’s regime makes a mockery of Democrats’ claims to fight against MAGA authoritarianism. By funding a government committing human rights abuses, we undermine our party’s stance against far-right extremism and contradict our commitment to democracy. It’s time to align our actions with our values. Vice President Harris can start the process to earn back trust by turning the page from Biden’s horrific policies in Gaza.
Veterans for Peace (VFP) wrote an open letter to Harris saying that it “wholeheartedly concurs” with her sentiments following her meeting with Netanyahu. “We applaud you for expressing sympathy with the Palestinian people,” the letter says. “We also refuse to become numb to their suffering, and we cannot be silent. Like so many of our fellow citizens, including Jewish Americans, we are deeply disturbed that our government continues to provide Israel with a steady supply of bombs, and to provide political cover for Israeli leaders charged with war crimes.”
VFP states that “justice and humanity require” there be “an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the opening of Gaza’s borders for massive humanitarian and medical aid, and the end of US arms shipments to Israel.” VFP exhorts Harris not to wait until January to urge Biden to change course in Gaza.
We must push Harris to commit to a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of U.S. support for Israel’s genocide and its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
The choice is clear. It is critical that Trump be defeated in November. Either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will be elected president. A vote for anyone other than Harris will help Trump take the White House - and our constitutional government with it.
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Will Kamala Harris Pivot on Gaza and Win the ‘Uncommitted’ Vote?
Simply displaying more empathy toward Palestinians, while shipping arms to Israel that are used in killing those same Palestinians, is not likely to win over recalcitrant voters or to truly energize peace voters.
Jul 27, 2024
As the surreal and high-stakes 2024 Presidential election careens through its surprising twists and turns, one thing is near certain—at the finish line the election will be decided by a relatively small margin. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, as the likely Democratic nominee, would do well to appeal to the over 650,000 people who voted for “uncommitted” or cast other protest votes in the primary.
Vice President Harris has seen polling revealing that the Democrats suffered from a large enthusiasm gap—trailing Republicans by 11 points in one Gallup poll before President Joe Biden Biden dropped out. Given Democratic-leaning voters’ well-founded existential angst about former President Donald Trump’s authoritarian impulses, such a gap in this election is astounding.
At least part of that “enthusiasm gap” was reflected in the “uncommitted” vote over the last few months. In addition to the 650,000 Democrats voted against Biden by choosing options such as “uncommitted,” etc., millions of rank-and-file Democrats are unhappy with the war in Gaza. According to one Reuters poll, 44% of Democratic voters disapprove of the administration’s handling of the Gaza crisis and these voters said they were less likely to vote for Biden come fall. Obviously, Arab American voters are watching Harris’ actions on Gaza closely. But so are other critical constituencies. Younger voters, and particularly younger voters of color, are more likely to support an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and disapprove of Israel’s actions. Seven major labor unions, representing 6 million workers, just wrote to President Biden and called on him to “shut off military aid to Israel.”
Harris is unlikely to truly change course without being pushed to do so by her base.
Some former Biden administration officials who resigned over Biden’s Gaza policy are “cautiously optimistic” about a fresh approach with Harris. They point to Harris speaking in favor of a cease-fire before Biden did. Former State Department arms control expert Josh Paul described Harris as less “fixed and intransigent” on Gaza and said, “I have cautious and limited optimism—but also a deep sense of relief that the Democratic party will not be nominating for the presidency of the United States a man who has made us all complicit in so much and such unnecessary harm.” At the same time, most observers feel it is unrealistic to expect her positions to be a radical departure from Biden’s based on her history of strong support for Israel.
Clearly Biden-Harris messaging has recently become more focused on seeking peace and a cease-fire. In Biden’s historic address explaining his decision to drop out of the race, the president courted peace voters by bragging that he was “the first president this century to report to the American people that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world.” That was at best a fib, given that the U.S. had just bombed Yemen hours earlier. But it displayed recognition of the importance of the peace vote. He also promised to work for a cease-fire for Gaza.
VP Harris’ remarks after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reflected an even greater emphasis on a cease-fire. She bluntly stated, “It is time for the war to end.” It was refreshing to hear her emphasize the famine in Gaza, a critical issue that the media is underreporting. As Randa Slim of the Middle East Institute put it in a post on X (formerly Twitter): “This is the best speech I heard so far from a senior U.S. official about Israel[’s] war on Gaza. [The] VP mentioned the word Palestinians more times than in all Joe Biden speeches combined. There is hope fellow Arab #Americans!” But simply displaying more empathy toward Palestinians, while shipping arms to Israel that are used in killing those same Palestinians, is not likely to win over recalcitrant uncommitted voters or to truly energize peace voters.
The task in front of Harris is daunting. Ideally she needs to deliver a cease-fire despite the fact that she is not (yet) the president of the U.S., let alone the prime minister of Israel. But the U.S., as Israel’s crucial ally, has immense leverage, and it’s long past time to fully deploy it. Netanyahu has ignored U.S. calls to prevent human rights violations for months. He is resisting a cease-fire. One way to reach a desperately needed lasting cease-fire—including the release of all Israeli and Palestinian captives—is for the U.S. to put real pressure on Netanyahu by ending the flow of weapons to the Israeli government.
If Netanyahu will not agree to a cease-fire, the Biden-Harris administration needs to become more assertive in concrete policy terms. Matt Duss, of the Center for International Policy, laid out some of the policy changes that could be the basis of a real pivot on Gaza that goes beyond a change in tone:
She can announce that as president, she will immediately suspend the U.S.-supplied military aid being used in violation of U.S. law. She can reject the baseless and inflammatory claims that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the largest and most important relief agency in Gaza, is a “Hamas front,” and state that she’ll work to see UNRWA funding resumed as soon as legally possible.
The grassroots has a role to play in all this. Harris is unlikely to truly change course without being pushed to do so by her base. The Uncommitted National Movement, now that their ballot box campaigns are over, is pushing a “Not Another Bomb” campaign to push Harris to take a bolder position on ending the war. Peace groups like Peace Action are calling on Harris to support an arms embargo on Israel and other concrete policies. Everyone who cares about these issues should be contacting the vice president and getting out the message that her empathetic words are refreshing, but it is long past time for bold action to end the killing and famine in Gaza once and for all.
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13% of 2020 Swing State Biden Voters Won't Be in 2024 Because of Gaza: Polls
The figure comes as part of a new set of polls that show former President Donald Trump narrowly leading Biden in 5 out of 6 crucial battleground states.
May 13, 2024
Approximately 13% of poll respondents in six swing states who voted for U.S. President Joe Biden in 2020 but would not vote for him again said that his foreign policy or Israel's war on Gaza were the most important issues determining their vote.
The figure comes as part of a new set of polls released Monday from The New York Times, Siena College, and The Philadelphia Inquirer that show former President Donald Trump narrowly leading Biden in 5 out of 6 crucial battleground states.
"We have warned that this would happen for months, and the Democratic Party didn't give a damn," author and organizer Daniel Denvir wrote on social media in response to the news.
The polls showed Trump leading Biden with registered voters by three percentage points in Pennsylvania, seven in Arizona and Michigan, 10 in Georgia, and a full 12 in Nevada. Only in Wisconsin did Biden edge ahead by two points. Biden won all of these states in 2020, but he could still win in 2024 if he secures Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania and does not lose any other states he previously won. The results were slightly different for likely voters, with Trump narrowly leading in every state except for Michigan.
One voter the pollsters spoke to was 30-year-old Gerard Willingham, a Georgia web administrator who voted for Biden in 2020 but said he would vote for a third party candidate in 2024 because of Biden's response to Israel's war on Gaza.
"I think it's made quite a bit of difference in that it made me more heavily than in the past push toward voting for a third party, even if I feel that the candidates almost 100% won't win," Willingham said. "It's starting to reach into my moral conscience, I guess."
"Biden seems to get the blame for the war in Gaza. For the high cost of living, too."
The polling comes after Biden has spent the last seven months providing military, financial, and moral support for the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as it wages a ground and air assault on Gaza that the International Court of Justice ruled could plausibly be a genocide. Only last week did Biden threaten to withhold certain weapons from Israel if it launches a full ground assault on Rafah, but several observers pointed out that Israel's incursions into Rafah so far should already qualify. Further, the poll was conducted from April 28 to May 9, so many respondents would have given their answers before Biden's May 8 remarks.
Palestinian rights and progressive activists have spent the primary season trying to persuade Biden to switch course on Gaza, launching "uncommitted" campaigns that won two delegates to the Democratic National Convention in the key swing state of Michigan. The poll provides further evidence that Biden's support for Israel's war is a real electoral liability.
"There is a cottage industry of political columnists who have said for months that these voters don't exist, only live in Brooklyn and Berkeley and on Twitter, TikTok, etc.," said Hamid Bendaas, communications director of the Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project. "To the extent that Biden and his advisers are buying into it, they are costing him the election."
Gaza isn't the only—or even the primary—issue threatening Biden's reflection bid. A quarter of voters consider the economy and cost of living as their most important issues, and more than half of all voters rated the economy as "poor." Further, Biden actually lost more support overall from conservative and moderate Democrats.
Responding to the poll results, journalist Frank Bruni said that Biden needed to "wake up."
While Democratic Party insiders seem to believe that there is no way voters could ultimately prefer Trump's anti-abortion stance and authoritarian leanings, Bruni warned against "complacency."
He pointed out that Democratic senators in Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Nevada did continue to poll ahead of their Republican opponents, suggesting that the problem is less with the Democratic Party overall than with Biden himself.
"Biden seems to get the blame for the war in Gaza. For the high cost of living, too," Bruni wrote.
"Regarding the economy, he has a story to tell—infrastructure investment, the CHIPS Act, low unemployment—and must tell it better, with an eye not on his liberal base, but on the minorities and young people who are drifting away from him," he advised. "That's the moral of the latest numbers: Take no voter for granted. And there's not a second to waste."
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The Cease-Fire Movement Brings Me Hope This Arab American Heritage Month
Despite attempts to smear and silence them for supporting Palestinian human rights, a new generation of Arab Americans is having an impact.
Apr 18, 2024
I’ve always known my Arab culture is worth celebrating.
I heard it in Syrian tenor Sabah Fakhri’s powerful voice reverberating in my mom’s car on the way to piano lessons and soccer practice during my youth. I smelled it in the za’atar, Aleppo pepper, allspice, and cumin permeating the air in the family kitchen.
I saw it in the intricate embroidery on my grandma’s silk robe. And in the determination etched in the faces of my immigrant parents, who raised seven children in Southern California without relinquishing our rich Syrian traditions.
How can Arab American life and culture be celebrated when fellow Arabs are facing erasure in Gaza?
April is National Arab American Heritage Month. It should be a time to celebrate the contributions of the over 3.5 million Arab Americans who strengthen our proud nation.
We have Ralph Nader to thank for consumer protections like automobile safety. We have the late Sen. James Abourezk (D-S.D.)—the first Arab American elected to the U.S. Senate—to credit for landmark legislation championing Indigenous rights. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician, first exposed the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.
There are countless others. But right now, it’s impossible to feel celebratory. My community is reeling from the immense pain and horror of an unfolding genocide against the 2.3 million Palestinians of Gaza.
Palestinian Americans have lost family members in Gaza from Israel’s unrelenting bombardment and mass starvation of civilians. Adding insult to injury, Israel is using U.S.-supplied weapons to commit these atrocities.
Palestinian Americans—along with other Arabs—have also been on the receiving end of increased hate crimes, harassment, racist rhetoric, and discrimination, belying the message that they, too, are an integral part of this nation. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee received 2,500 reports of anti-Arab hate from October to March.
During this period, Wadea Al-Fayoume, a six-year-old Palestinian American boy from Illinois, was fatally stabbed. Three Palestinian college students were shot in Vermont.
In his proclamation marking this year’s heritage month, President Joe Biden was forced to reckon with Gaza. Instead of announcing a long overdue, permanent cease-fire and an end to U.S. military support for Israel, he offered empty words.
How can Arab American life and culture be celebrated when fellow Arabs are facing erasure in Gaza? Nearly 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza so far, including nearly 14,000 children. Thousands more remain missing. And at least 576,000 Palestinians are on the brink of famine.
Homes filled with family heirlooms and memories have been systematically destroyed. The ancient olive trees that symbolize Palestinians’ deep-rooted connection to their land haven’t been spared.
It’s easy to feel despair. But what brings me hope is the new generation of Arab Americans organizing, marching, and working with other communities to demand a permanent cease-fire. We are reminded that dissent is the highest form of “patriotism.”
Despite attempts to smear and silence them for supporting Palestinian human rights, their efforts are having an impact. A March 27 Gallup poll showed a significant drop in American public support for Israel’s conduct of the war, from 50% in November 2023 to 36% now.
Meanwhile, Arab Americans have emerged as a new and powerful voting bloc. Spearheaded by Arab Americans in Michigan, hundreds of thousands of Americans voted “uncommitted” in recent primary elections in Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and elsewhere to protest U.S. policy in Gaza.
This represents a real shift from the days after 9/11, when Arab Americans faced blanket demonization without any pushback. This is progress, although much more must be done.
We know we belong in America even if we’re not always treated that way. We need enduring collaboration between Arab Americans and policymakers, educators, and community members to defend our rights, create a more equal America, and promote more just U.S. policies abroad—starting with a cease-fire in Gaza.
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Surpassing Goal, 47,000+ Wisconsin Democrats Vote 'Uninstructed' in Primary
"Rather than dismissing the wave of votes being made to stand in support of Palestine, listen to the demands the movement is making and shift policies," said one campaigner. "Stop sending weapons to Israel."
Apr 03, 2024
Campaigners with Listen to Wisconsin had hoped they could convince 20,000 Democratic primary voters on Tuesday to select "uninstructed delegate" on their ballots to send the message to President Joe Biden that he can't yet count on their votes in the November general election due to his support for Israel's bombardment of Gaza.
After organizing for less than a month, the campaign far surpassed its goal, with more than 47,800 people voting for the uninstructed option.
The results show "how serious of a problem Biden will have in the general election" if he does not change his policy regarding Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories," said Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
About 8.4% of voters in the primary voted for "uninstructed delegate" over the president, in a state where Biden beat former President Donald Trump by less than 1%—just 20,682 votes—in 2020
The primary came just over a month after the Listen to Michigan campaign started the nationwide push for Democratic primary voters to vote "uncommitted" in order to pressure Biden to change his policy in Israel, whose U.S.-backed military has killed at least 32,975 Palestinian people in Gaza.
Wisconsin voters went to the polls a day after a Israeli shelling killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen, including one U.S.-Canadian citizen. An Al Jazeera investigation found the attack was intentional.
Nearly 20% of Minnesota Democratic primary voters last month voted "uncommitted," as well as 13% of Michigan voters. On Tuesday, 15% and 12% of voters in Rhode Island and Connecticut, respectively, marked "uncommitted" on their ballots.
Iman Abid, director of advocacy and organizing at the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, said the results, particularly in crucial swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin, must not be ignored by the Biden administration.
"Rather than dismissing the wave of votes being made to stand in support of Palestine, listen to the demands the movement is making and shift policies," said Abid. "Stop sending weapons to Israel."
A poll released Monday by Poll Progressive Strategies showed that voters under the age of 29 in Wisconsin are among those pushing most strongly for Biden to demand a permanent cease-fire, to halt military aid to Israel, and to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gazans. One hundred percent of voters in the age bracket said they strongly or somewhat approved of an immediate and permanent cease-fire.
"This president must decide if loyalty to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is worth delivering Trump the election in November," said former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner. "He must decide."
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