A national pro-Palestinian group has announced it will not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, who will return to Detroit on Thursday as Muslim and Arab American community leaders and voters voice concerns about the U.S. handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.
But the Uncommitted National Movement, which grew out of organizing efforts to push people to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary earlier this year in protest of President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Gaza war, also said in its lengthy statement that it opposes Donald Trump. It said the former president’s agenda “includes plans to accelerate the killing in Gaza while intensifying the suppression of anti-war organizations.” And it urged voting for third-party candidates in November, which leaders say would help a Trump victory in key swing states.
“We urge uncommitted voters to register and vote anti-Trump on the ballot. Our focus remains on building a broad anti-war coalition, both inside and outside the Democratic Party,” the group said in a statement.
The group’s statement comes as Harris plans to campaign in Michigan’s largest city on Thursday, where she will hold a rally and participate in an event with Oprah Winfrey. The pro-Palestinian movement has remained stubbornly persistent in the state, with large Arab-American and college-age populations heavily supporting the cause, raising concerns it could do damage in November.
But the decision to oppose Trump speaks to the crossroads faced by the movement that emerged over the Gaza conflict, a foreign policy issue that has quickly become a major point of tension between centrist Democrats and progressives. Organizers are still deeply frustrated with Harris, who has not deviated from Biden’s Middle East policy, but they fear even more what a second Trump administration could mean for the Palestinians in Gaza.
Community leaders were somewhat optimistic when Harris launched her candidacy, noting her openness to listening to community concerns even as she refused to cave to their demands. The vice president has not changed her stance, reiterating her position on Israel’s right to defend itself and the need for a two-state solution during an interview with a panel of members of the National Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday. She also expressed sympathy for both Israelis and Palestinians, noting that too many innocent people have been killed in Gaza.
It’s an issue that goes to the heart of the delicate challenge of running for vice president. It has become increasingly complicated as ceasefire negotiations remain deadlocked after Hamas killed six hostages on August 31, forcing the US to revise the proposal it presented earlier this summer. Israel and Hamas have since added new demands to the deal, with tensions rising following the hostages’ deaths.
The group remained critical of Harris on Thursday, whom it has repeatedly asked to speak on Gaza policy, particularly her demand for an arms embargo on Israel. Tensions with the group flared again during last month’s convention, when the group said the DNC and Harris’ campaign had rejected its request to have a Palestinian speaker address the crowd on the main stage, something the group apparently took into consideration when making its endorsement decision.
“For months, we have been pushing Vice President Harris to change her Gaza policy so we could mobilize voters in key states to save lives and our democracy. The DNC and the Vice President’s campaign squandered even a small gesture to unite our party for November by rejecting the simple request for a Palestinian-American speaker,” the group said. Now, Vice President Dick Cheney’s campaign is courting him while marginalizing disillusioned anti-war voices, pushing them to consider third-party options or sit out this critical election.”
