Pro-Palestine groups are urging the Kamala Harris campaign to come out strongly against Israel’s genocide in Gaza after the selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Harris’s running mate on Tuesday, saying that the ticket must work to earn back the trust of a huge swath of voters who are disgusted with the Biden administration’s unconditional support of Israel.
In statements on Tuesday, several groups said that Walz is a step in the right direction for Harris — who many pro-Palestine advocates view as complicit in the Biden administration’s genocide funding — but that the ticket must go further and vow to end the U.S.’s endless weapons shipments to Israel.
“The Biden administration’s unconditional support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza has tarnished Democrats’ longstanding support from Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and progressive communities, and it will take real change in policy to repair that damage,” wrote a coalition of seven groups in a statment released shortly after the decision was announced.
The group, led by the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project, said that Harris and President Joe Biden should heed voters’ calls and use their “immense leverage” to secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, MPower Action Fund, Americans for Justice in Palestine Action and Muslim Civic Coalition also cosigned the statement.
“Voters have made clear that they want healthcare, affordable housing and a livable planet; they don’t want their tax dollars being used to buy bombs for Israel to kill more Palestinian children. President Biden and Vice President Harris should commit to following the United States’ own laws regarding weapons transfers and immediately halt the transfer of weapons to Israel,” the groups said.
As of Monday, the Harris campaign’s search had reportedly narrowed to Walz and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — the latter of whom has been harshly criticized by pro-Palestine advocates for his repression of student protests against the genocide and a recently resurfaced op-ed he once wrote containing a deluge of brazenly racist statements about Palestinians and Arabs.
Though it’s unclear whether or not Shapiro’s extremist Zionist views were instrumental in Harris’s decision, the choosing of Walz over Shapiro was seen as somewhat of a win by some pro-Palestine advocates, although Walz has a history of siding with Israel but a less strong stance than Shapiro’s. Some cited Walz’s sympathetic view of the “uncommitted” movement earlier this year, which stood in sharp contrast to Shapiro’s likening of pro-Palestine protesters to the Ku Klux Klan.
“Our movements made clear that Governor Josh Shapiro would have been an unacceptable pick for many reasons, including his aggressive stance against Palestinian rights activists,” said Jewish Voice for Peace Action. “Grassroots power is changing the story, and these hawkish positions are now at odds with the majority of Democratic voters and have become a political liability.”
But Walz still raises some red flags for backers of Palestinian rights, including an allyship with AIPAC and pro-Israel votes he made when he was a House representative.
“No candidate is perfect, and Walz is no exception. We are concerned by his past attendance of AIPAC conferences and his votes for billions of dollars in unconditional weapons funding for the Israeli military when he was in Congress. On the other hand, we are encouraged by his unequivocal defense of the Uncommitted Movement,” said IfNotNow.
“As U.S. Jews whose safety relies on a thriving democracy, we implore Gov. Walz to stand with us — not with [Donald] Trump, [Benjamin] Netanyahu, and the rest of the forces of slaughter, fascism, and apartheid — by rejecting AIPAC and supporting an arms embargo,” the group continued.