Vice President Kamala Harris has lost the backing of the Uncommitted National Movement, a well-known anti-war group with strong ties to Michigan’s Palestinian American population.
This could prove to be a significant blow for Harris in the 2024 race. The group said it would not support Harris, citing her refusal to change her position on important foreign policy issues. The group has been lobbying Harris to visit with families impacted by American-backed bombs in Gaza and to take a more peace-oriented posture on American aid to Israel.
Originating from anti-war protests against US participation in Gaza, the Uncommitted National Movement has become a potent grassroots force, particularly among Michigan’s Arab and Muslim electorate.
To demand a meeting with Harris by September 15, the organization staged a historic sit-in at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago earlier this year. Their main demands were to secure a truce in Gaza and to stop US arms supplies to Israel.
However, the movement has publicly distanced itself from Harris as a result of the campaign’s inability to respond to these demands.
“Vice President Harris’s unwillingness to shift on unconditional weapons policy or to even make a clear campaign statement in support of upholding existing U.S. and international human rights law has made it impossible for us to endorse her,” the group stated in a statement made public after the deadline.
They continued by saying that although they are against a Trump administration, they find it difficult to back Harris in the next election due to their dissatisfaction with the way the Democratic leadership has handled the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Given that Michigan is a battleground state and Muslim voters there were crucial to Joe Biden’s win in 2020, this omission is especially noteworthy.
The Arab American community, which has a substantial Palestinian component among its members, has become more outspoken in its criticism of American support for Israel.
Many in the community view Harris’s silence on the matter as additional alienation because they are still angry about how the Biden administration handled the Gaza conflict in 2021.
One should not undervalue the group’s influence.
The organization helped organize more than 100,000 anti-war voters in Michigan during the Democratic primary, and it secured 30 delegates to the DNC. Their activism has spread across the country, rallying over 100,000 individuals in 35 states, especially through their “Not Another Bomb” campaign.
As a state that serves as a battlefield, Michigan has been crucial. Donald Trump won the state by a mere 10,704 votes, or less than 1%, in a very close election in 2016.
As a result of the upset, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan all flipped to the Republican side for the first time in decades, aiding Trump’s ascent to the presidency.
But Joe Biden was able to gain over 154,000 votes and win Michigan back for the Democrats in 2020. With 16 electoral votes, Michigan is an important state for both parties in the next elections.
This loss of support from a significant demographic could be problematic in swing areas where the Harris campaign is trying to fortify its base and mobilize supporters before the general election.
According to the group’s statement, 56% of Democrats are against providing military support to Israel. If Harris fails to address this issue, she could lose support from progressive and anti-war voters.
The most recent demonstrates a growing dissatisfaction among Palestinian Americans and anti-war activists with the Democratic Party’s foreign policy approach, particularly regarding Israel and Palestine.
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