Pro-Palestinian "uncommitted" movement declines to endorse Harris

The "uncommitted" movement, a radical of pro-Palestinian, anti-war Democrats who led the propulsion to formed protestation votes against President Biden during the primaries, declined to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the White House, but besides said they would not promote supporters to enactment location oregon ballot for third-party candidates.

In a connection Thursday, the radical of 30 delegates emphasized they privation to artifact erstwhile President Donald Trump from winning, saying his docket "includes plans to accelerate the sidesplitting successful Gaza portion intensifying the suppression of anti-war organizing."

But they warned that votes for third-party candidates, specified arsenic longshot Green Party campaigner Jill Stein, could "inadvertently present a Trump presidency fixed our country's breached electoral assemblage system." Stein has been courting Muslim American voters who disagree with Harris' stance connected Gaza.

Organizers person been pushing Harris to enactment an embargo connected U.S. weapons being sent to Israel, a longtime American ally. They person besides called for a imperishable cease-fire successful Gaza, wherever much than 41,000 radical person been killed successful Israeli subject strikes since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas crossed Israel. For months, Harris has said she and the Biden medication are moving towards an statement betwixt Israel and Hamas to halt the fighting.

The uncommitted delegation held an overnight sit-in astatine the Democratic National Convention successful August to protestation the lack of a Palestinian-American speaker. After the convention, they requested a gathering with Harris by Sept. 15. While organizers said they had been successful interaction with the Harris campaign, their petition for a gathering was not granted. 

Uncommitted delegates protestation successful a sit-in extracurricular connected the last time of the Democratic National Convention astatine the United Center connected Aug. 22, 2024, successful Chicago. Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

In their connection Thursday, they encouraged their supporters to registry "anti-Trump votes" up and down the ballot. While the radical expressed frustrations with the deficiency of nonstop engagement with Harris, they said their determination is not a telephone for supporters to skip the apical of the ticket.

"Even leaders wrong our question volition beryllium voting antithetic ways," said Abbas Alawieh, an uncommitted delegate from Michigan. "Our guidance is wide that adjacent though Vice President Harris made it intolerable for america to endorse her campaign, we inactive admit precise intelligibly that there's a request to reason Donald Trump." 

"Voters successful immoderate ways volition person to ballot their conscience, and we are laying retired connected the array what is astatine involvement if we bash not artifact Trump," said Layla Elabed, the sister of Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib. Elabed said she does not program to ballot for Harris. 

During an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists this week, Harris reiterated her enactment for a cease-fire, arsenic good arsenic her presumption that Israel indispensable beryllium capable "to support itself." Pressed if she'd alteration thing astir American weapons being sent to Israel, Harris expressed enactment for a one-time intermission successful May connected a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs, but did not accidental whether she would change U.S. argumentation going forward.

In effect to the uncommitted movement's decision, a Harris run spokesperson said the vice president "is committed to enactment to gain each vote." In August, the Harris run sent run manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez to conscionable with Arab American and Jewish American communities successful Michigan.

"She volition proceed moving to bring the warfare successful Gaza to an extremity successful a mode wherever Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering successful Gaza ends, and the Palestinian radical tin recognize their close to dignity, security, state and self-determination," the run added. 

The uncommitted question started successful Michigan, a battleground authorities with a dense Arab-American population. The fig of Michigan superior voters who chose "uncommitted" (101,623) was much than Trump's borderline erstwhile helium won the authorities successful 2016, and adjacent to Mr. Biden's borderline of triumph successful 2020 (154,181).