The grassroots pro-Palestine movement behind hundreds of thousands of protest votes in the Democratic primaries against President Joe Biden is now urging Vice President Kamala Harris to come out against sending more weapons to Israel now that she is likely going to take Biden’s spot as the Democrats’ presidential nominee.
“For months, we’ve warned that Biden’s support for Israel’s assault on Gaza would hurt his electability,” the Uncommitted National Movement wrote in a statement shortly after Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris on Sunday. “Now, it’s crucial for Vice President Harris to take a clear stance against weapons for Israel’s war and occupation against Palestinians.”
The Uncommitted movement made waves during the Democratic primaries, earning several dozen delegates nationwide after over half a million voters selected “uncommitted” rather than voting for Biden. The movement, first organized in Michigan, was aimed at sending the Biden administration a message that Biden was losing the support of a huge swath of voters due to his unwavering support for Israel as it has slaughtered tens of thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of Palestinians in Gaza.
Now, with Harris taking over Biden’s campaign, some activists say Democrats have a chance at winning back voters who have lost trust in Biden and the Democratic party.
“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,” the Uncommitted movement’s statement said. They added that supplying Israel with weapons “makes a mockery” of Democrats’ supposed pledge to defeat fascism.
Jewish Voice for Peace also called on Democrats to immediately change course on Gaza now that Biden is out.
“Biden’s unwavering support for this genocide has been morally unacceptable, politically unpopular, and played a significant role in making him unelectable by breaking down the coalition of support that helped him defeat Donald Trump in 2020,” the group wrote in a statement. “The Democratic nominee must immediately change course by calling for an arms embargo on the Israeli government.”
Harris has stood by the Biden administration as it has unconditionally backed Israel’s genocide, which many advocates for Palestinian liberation say leaves a permanent stain on her legacy.
She has previously spoken at events for pro-Israel lobbyists, condemned an Obama-era resolution calling for Israel to stop building illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, and insisted that the United Nations should not have a role regarding Israel and Palestine. She has also repeatedly praised the U.S.’s relationship with Israel in public statements, calling Israel a “beautiful home to democracy and justice” in 2016.
Harris is “responsible, as is the entirety of the Democratic party — and the Republican party — for butchering Gaza. You cannot gaslight us into believing otherwise,” said Palestinian American storyteller Jenan Matari on Instagram.
Notably, while many Democrats and progressive lawmakers endorsed Harris after the announcement on Sunday, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) — Congress’s loudest advocate for Palestinian rights, the only Palestinian American in Congress and a booster of the Uncommitted campaign — has not done so as of Monday.
However, some have suggested that pressure from Democratic-leaning voters ahead of the 2024 election could force Harris to break from Biden on Israel and Palestine. Commentators have noted that Biden is uniquely cruel when it comes to Palestine, and that basic steps to withhold military and financial support for the genocide could represent a major break in the U.S.’s approach so far.
Those who resigned from major positions in the Biden administration have said that it’s hard to imagine that Harris’s approach to the genocide will be worse than Biden’s, Politico reported on Sunday.
“Harris must listen to the majority of American voters and use all of the administration’s leverage — including by halting offensive weapons transfers — to push for a lasting ceasefire and hostage exchange,” said Lily Greenberg Call, who became the first Jewish Biden appointee to resign over the administration’s Gaza policy in May. “I’ve worked for Kamala, and I know she’ll do the right thing.”
“Frankly, it’s hard to imagine any Democrat have a worse approach to the genocide than Biden given his complete resistance to any shift over the last 10 months,” said former Education Department policy adviser Tariq Habash, who resigned in January.
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