At a press conference on Thursday morning the Uncommitted Movement announced that will not be endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s presidential election.
“Today, the Uncommitted National Movement announces that as we continue advocating for lifesaving policy change which ends the bombing of Gaza and ends U.S. support for the Israeli military’s war crimes, 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,” said the group in statement.
Despite their frustration with Harris, the group encouraged supporters “to register anti-Trump votes and vote up and down the ballot.” They also said they do not support third-party candidacies based on the United States’s undemocratic electoral college system.
“At this time, our movement 1) cannot endorse Vice President Harris; 2) opposes a Donald Trump presidency, whose agenda includes plans to accelerate the killing in Gaza while intensifying the suppression of anti-war organizing; and 3) is not recommending a third-party vote in the Presidential election, especially as third party votes in key swing states could help inadvertently deliver a Trump presidency given our country’s broken electoral college system,” the statement continued.
“For months, we have urged Vice President Harris to shift her Gaza policy so we could mobilize voters in key states to save lives and our democracy,” it says. “The DNC and the Vice President’s campaign fumbled even a small gesture to unite our party ahead of November by rejecting the simple request for a Palestinian American speaker. Now, the Vice President’s campaign is courting Dick Cheney while sidelining disillusioned anti-war voices, pushing them to consider third-party options or to sit this important election out.”
Representatives from the organization told reporters that they will continue to pressure the Biden administration on Gaza and build partnerships with other progressive activists.
Uncommitted members attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last month, but their request for a speaker was rejected. In response the group staged a sit-in and set a deadline of September 15th for Harris to meet with Palestinian Americans families who have lost loved ones as a result of Israel’s assault on Gaza.
She did not meet with them.
In recent weeks Harris has made it clear that she plans to continue the Biden administration’s policy of supplying Israel with military weapons.
When asked by CNN’s Dana Bash whether she would shift away from Biden on the issue, Harris said no. During the recent presidential debate Harris touted her ongoing support for Israel. The policy section of Harris’s campaign website declares that, “Vice President Harris will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and she will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.”
At an event hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists Harris was asked about her policy by the moderators.
“You’ve gotten a lot of credit for emphasizing the humanity of Palestinians,” said Politico‘s Eugene Daniels. “But what I often hear from folks is that there is no policy change that either you or President Biden said you would do. Is there a policy change as president that you would do in our helping of Israel in this war?”
“We need to get this deal done and we need to get it done immediately,” replied Harris. “And that is my position. And that is my policy.”
“But in the way that we send weapons and the way we interact as their ally, are there specific policy changes?,” followed up Harris.
Harris told Daniels she supported Biden’s decision to temporarily pause a single shipment of weapons to Israel, but quickly pivoted to the need for a ceasefire.
Hate crimes hearing
This week the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the rise in hate crimes.
There’s an important backstory here.
Republicans wanted the hearing to specifically be about domestic examples of antisemitism. This was never intended to include the antisemitism of far-right personalities or GOP candidates. It was clearly supposed to be another opportunity for lawmakers to rail against college students for protesting an ongoing genocide.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the panel’s Republicans sent a letter to Committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) explicitly expressing their vision.
“We are witnessing in real-time the radicalization and indoctrination of people across the country by terrorist organizations who wish to end America as we know it. This has been simmering below the surface for some time,” it claimed. “There are several university-sanctioned centers, curricula, and other events that are anti-Semitic and espouse radical terrorist-aligned beliefs. Recent events have emboldened these radicals to now show their true colors.”
Again, Durbin never intended to block members for speaking about antisemitism. He merely expanded the hearing to include all hate crimes. That meant a discussion about Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian sentiment as well.
These included the shooting three Palestinian-Americans in Vermont and the murder of six-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi in Illinois.
“Political leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, must condemn hate, wherever and whenever it is spewed, and avoid rhetoric that could incite violence. Because hate is inconsistent with who we are as Americans and the diversity that has always strengthened our nation,” said Durbin at the top of the hearing.
However, things predictably went off the rails a short time later.
When Arab American Institute executive director Maya Berry was questioned by the panel, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) repeatedly claimed that she supported Hezbollah, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran.
Berry said the fact Kennedy was asking the only Arab-American and Muslim witness such questions was proof that such a hearing was needed.
“You should hide your head in a bag,” Kennedy told Berry, to audible gasps throughout the room.
Double standard thought experiments can quickly become tedious, but it is definitely worth remembering that Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) was censured last November over her criticisms of Israel and her repeated calls for Palestinians to be freed.
At that point Israel had already killed nearly 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Now here we are almost a year later. Thousands more are dead and the U.S. government shows no signs of moving to stop the carnage.
22 Democrats joined the GOP effort to censure Tlaib, throwing their colleague under the bus in support of an apartheid state. It was Tlaib’s use of the phrase “From the river to the sea” that supposedly rankled many and a wider debate about the meaning of the phrase ensued across mainstream.
Is there anyone prepared to debate what the phrase, “You should hide your head in a bag” means? Kennedy will face no consequences for the remark because of who he targeted.
As Prem Thakker notes at Zeteo, Democrats on the panel did not push back on Republican behavior during the hearing, nor did they challenge any of their ridiculous assertions about campus activism.
“What’s surprising is the lack of participation from the Democratic side,” American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Executive Director Abed Ayoub told Thakker. “You know, where are they? Where were their talking points? Where were their positions? They were kind of just haphazardly making their comments and leaving.”
Ayoub said he walked out of the hearing while it was still happening and who can blame him?
Odds & Ends
🍑 ‘If I’m not being heard, what chance does anyone else have?’ Ruwa Romman on the aftermath of the DNC
🐘 Nearly 60% of Israelis say they’d vote for Trump
🇺🇸 Responsible Statecraft: 23 years of endless wars is enough
🧑⚖️ Zeteo: Republican Senator Targets Only Muslim Witness at Hate Crimes Hearing
🗣️ Jerusalem Post: Trump will address IAC summit next week, Harris and Biden also invited
🙅 Politico: ‘Uncommitted’ group won’t endorse Harris as she swings through Michigan
🏫 Common Dreams: Weapon Execs Sit on Boards of Universities, Institutions
🌏 Middle East Eye: A chronicle of chaos wrought by the US empire around the globe
🤐 Electronic Intifada: US students, faculty fight silencing of anti-genocide protests
📝 Jewish Insider: Schumer ‘trying to figure out the best path forward’ on Antisemitism Awareness Act
🐻 Jewish Currents: A Dangerous Alliance
🪧 From IfNotNow:
“Next week, dozens of Reform Jews will visit the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ)’s Religious Action Center (RAC) headquarters to invite top Reform leaders to join them for a lobbying day on Capitol Hill for an arms embargo that afternoon. The group includes Reform rabbis as well as the children of some of the most prominent clergy of the Reform Movement. Reform Judaism is by far the largest denomination of American Jews in the United States. This lobby day comes on the heels of a letter signed by 800+ Reform Jews calling for the Reform Movement to support an arms embargo on the Israeli military.”
⁉️ Mother Jones: Kamala Harris Was Asked Her Toughest Questions on Gaza Yet
🫸 Sahan Journal: Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupt University of Minnesota president’s inauguration
👎 The New Arab: Rashida Tlaib slams US bill to ban ‘made in Palestine’ labeling
🇵🇸 Cape Cod Times: Another man with Cape Cod ties sets self on fire by Israel consulate – this time in Boston
How is it even thinkable to vote for Harris? She is a fraud on so many levels. It would normally be a safe assumption that because of her ‘legal’ training and background, Harris might emerge from the shadow of the neo-liberal Dems and assert a more rational and independent path. Instead, along with he Dems and the Repubs, she has distanced herself from the rule of law fully embracing the white supremacy of empire.