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The Uncommitted Movement of pro-Palestinian Democrats is withdrawing its endorsement from Vice President Kamala Harris after she rejected his latest request, the group announced Thursday, as it made clear its opposition to former President Donald Trump and the third-party candidates who might inadvertently help. elect him.
“Vice President Harris’s unwillingness to change his unconditional gun policy or even make a clear campaign statement in support of defending existing US and international human rights law has made impossible for us to approve,” the group said in a statement shared with NBC News before its release.
The group said Harris gave the cold shoulder and “snorted” by refusing even the “small gesture” of allowing a Palestinian American speaker at last month’s Democratic National Convention.
“Now, the Vice President’s campaign is courting Dick Cheney while leaving disillusioned anti-war voices, pushing them to consider third-party options or make this an important election,” the group said.
Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The group said the issue of utmost importance to pro-Palestinian voters remains Trump, “whose agenda includes plans to accelerate the killing in Gaza while intensifying the suppression of the anti-war organization.”
“We must block Donald Trump, which is why we urge Uncommitted voters to vote against him and avoid third-party candidates who could inadvertently increase his chances, since Trump openly boasts that third parties are helping his candidacy “, the group said.
Green Party candidate Jill Stein and third-left party candidate Cornel West have focused heavily on recruiting voters sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, each choosing a Muslim American running mate and speaking last week in a meeting of disaffected Arab Americans in Dearborn, Michigan. .
His work seems to be paying off, according to him interest group surveys indicating that Stein and West do much better among Muslim and Arab Americans than they do among Americans in general.
The Uncommitted Movement appeared as a result of the dissatisfaction of Democratic voters for this year’s Democratic presidential primaries. President Joe Biden was essentially unopposed, so voters seeking to register their displeasure with their support for Israel’s bombing of Gaza after the October 7 terrorist attacks chose the “no commitments” option ” on the vote, instead.
More than 700,000 voters ended up selecting “non-aligned,” sending 30 non-aligned delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Crowded among the nearly 4,000 delegates at the convention, the noncommittal bloc was too small to push for any changes in the party’s platform or rules, but it was big enough to force organizers to take their presence seriously — and even its potential to disrupt the party. procedures
However, the delegates strongly preferred Harris to Biden, believing her to be more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and persuasive, so they did not disrupt the convention, even after organizers told them there would be no room in the schedule for a Palestinian American speaker.
Instead, non-aligned delegates staged a sit-in outside the convention hall and set a new deadline of September 15 for Harris to meet with Palestinian American families in Michigan who had lost loved ones in Gaza.
This request was also rejected, according to the group, leading to the issuance of the non-approval of Harris.
Throughout, the delegates insisted they are loyal Democrats who despise Trump. They said they needed something to take home to their community to show they had Harris’ ear. But that loyalty also meant that the Harris campaign likely understood that it had the upper hand in any negotiations with delegates, who would not do anything to help Trump.
And now, while not endorsing Harris, the movement still seems to be steering its supporters to her by saying Trump and third-party candidates are off the table, encouraging them to come back and “register anti-Trump votes.”
“Pro-war forces like AIPAC may want to kick us out of the Democratic Party,” the group said, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group. “But we’re here to stay.”