‘I know the dangers of a Trump presidency’: Palestinian solidarity groups pressure Harris as election looms

In the days leading up to last month's Democratic national convention (DNC), some pro-Palestinian groups and individuals expressed cautious excitement about Kamala Harris's ascent to the candidacy. Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said that there was "a sense that there's an opening" with the vice-president, referring to a possible shift in US policy on Israel's war on Gaza, while others voiced more measured optimism.

However, following the convention, during which party officials refused to allow a Palestinian to speak on the main stage, and where Harris hawkishly affirmed her support for arming Israel, many of those groups' initial hope has turned into a belief that Harris will remain in line with Joe Biden's Israel policies. The result has been a splintering of sorts: some organizations are still attempting to push Harris toward a more anti-war stance; others have decided to support Harris through the election regardless, citing the risk of a Donald Trump presidency.

Muslim Women for Harris-Walz, a group that formed in early August in support of Harris, disbanded after the DNC, saying that it could not "in good conscience" continue to support the candidate. But a week later, the organization changed its position, writing in a statement: "With less than 70 days until the November election, we have to be honest with ourselves about what is at stake here for Muslim women."

In a statement to the Guardian, Muslim Women for Harris-Walz said that the group had received an outpouring of support from Muslim and Arab Americans who shared its desire for a change in Gaza policy, but who also urged the organization to not give up on the ticket.

"As Muslims, it is our duty to advocate for what is right and against what is wrong, and that often requires nuance and pragmatism. We continue to try and do the best that we can with what we have. We believe that Muslim Women for Harris-Walz has, and will continue to, play a positive role in these elections, including in our ability to advocate for the causes that matter to Muslim Americans."

But some Palestinian solidarity groups have disagreed with this approach. Tarek Khalil, a board member for the Chicago chapter of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), said he didn't understand Muslim Women for Harris-Walz's decision to backtrack and support the Democratic nominee.

"I don't know the logic behind that," Khalil said. "If the logic behind disbanding [initially] is 'You're part of this administration that's enabling this genocide and you're doing nothing about it,' that still remains true today."

Khalil added that he and others involved in the Palestine solidarity movement remain critical of Harris and the Democratic party at large, especially as the vice-president has not provided any policy shifts away from the Biden administration.

"We are against the policies of this administration," he said. "With Kamala Harris being the head of the ticket, we believe that because she has not provided any new agenda, any new vision, any new policy prescription, it's just a different person expressing the same views."

Khalil also condemned the Democratic party's platform as "utter hypocrisy", citing the various horrors that are taking place in Gaza with US support.

"The Democratic party platform talks about ending poverty and homelessness, healthcare as a human right and [having] more affordable housing," he said. "Those very values and policies are being destroyed in Gaza right now, with US taxpayer money and US-made weapons."

If Trump is re-elected, Khalil said that AMP had "nothing concrete" planned. "Our grassroots organizing, our advocacy work, our educational work, all of that would just have to stay at its pace and, if need be, intensify," Khalil said. "We'd stay the course."

The Muslim American and Arab American vote will play a crucial role in swing states during the upcoming election. In 2020, Joe Biden won Michigan, where 278,000 Arab Americans live, by just 154,000 votes. And in Georgia, where the Arab American population is at least 57,000, Biden won by 11,800 votes.

During this year's Democratic primaries, more than 700,000 voters across the nation cast uncommitted ballots or the equivalent to signal to Biden their dissatisfaction with his Middle East policy. Following a Michigan campaign where more than 100,000 voters marked their ballots "uncommitted" in February, the Uncommitted National Movement has since spread to two dozen states. The movement sent 30 uncommitted delegates to the DNC and has demanded that the US adopt an arms embargo and support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza in recent months.

Following the convention, a survey of nearly 1,200 Muslim American voters found that respondents were evenly split in their support of Harris and the Green party candidate, Jill Stein, at 29% each.

As a Muslim and Palestinian American organizer, Georgia-based Ghada Elnajjar said that two months away from election day she remains undecided on whether she'll cast a vote for Harris or Stein. While Elnajjar hoped that Harris would chart a new course on US's Gaza policy, she expressed disappointment that Harris's plans mirror Biden's. "Unless President-elect Harris distinguishes herself from the current administration's policy on Israel and Gaza," Elnajjar said, "then nothing really changes in terms of how I'm approaching my selection."

When DNC leaders didn't allow Ruwa Romman, the first Muslim woman elected to the Georgia house of representatives, to speak during the convention, it was "soul-crushing" for Elnajjar.

"It was a huge disappointment and a letdown for many voters," she said. "This was an opportunity for them to show that they want our votes."

Romman said that following the DNC she has seen "a retrenchment of efforts". People who had been ambivalent or even optimistic about Harris before the convention are now suggesting that they will not vote at the top of the ticket or that they will vote third party.

"These elections are determined by such tight margins in swing states," Romman said. "There's definitely a lot of anger [in] the community about what is happening. I'm really worried we're not going to be able to win Georgia."

On 10 September, the civil liberties organizations Cair-Georgia, Georgia Muslim Action Committee, Georgia Muslims and Allies for Peace, and Indian American Muslim Council launched a campaign called "No Votes for Genocide. No Peace, No Peach," to signal an ultimatum to the Harris-Walz campaign.

The groups say they will withhold support for the ticket in the coming election if the Biden-Harris administration does not adopt an arms embargo on Israel, halt arms shipments to Israel and publicly demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the West Bank by 10 October. "We are Georgia voters who oppose Donald Trump and his bigotry, and have a desire to fight far-right fascism at home and abroad," the group said in a press release. "At the same time, we will not tolerate the funding and enabling of a genocide."

Layla Elabed, an Uncommitted National Movement founder, sees the DNC's refusal to allow a Palestinian American to speak as a glaring mistake for the Democratic party and the Harris campaign. The US is complicit in its continued support of Israel, she said, which is only able to continue its siege on Gaza with US backing. "[Harris] continues to contradict herself by saying that she supports Israel's rights to defend themselves," Elabed said, "but also is working really hard for a ceasefire, but has no plans to stop or condition the fire that our government sends to Israel."

Harris's campaign told Uncommitted leaders that they met with Palestinian families in February. But Elabed said that another meeting is needed with Palestinian families and Uncommitted leaders now that more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October. The Harris campaign has not yet agreed to the request.

"If Vice-President Harris wants to signal to voters, not just Arab Americans or Muslim Americans, but to anti-war voters that she plans to work in good faith [toward] Palestinians deserving freedom and liberty and the right to self-determination," said Elabed, "then I think that it would be a misstep for her not to meet with Palestinian American families now or Uncommitted leaders."

As the Uncommitted National Movement continues to await a meeting with Harris, Elabed said that the group will continue to pressure the Biden administration and the Harris-Walz campaign to adopt an arms embargo and to support a permanent ceasefire. She said she didn't want Donald Trump to win the presidential election, but she believed that the Democratic party must also change course on Gaza policy in order to win the election.

"I 100% understand and know the dangers of a Donald Trump presidency," said Elabed. "That is why the uncommitted movement has worked so diligently about showing the Democratic party that they were going to be in trouble because of this disastrous Gaza policy under Biden. They might not have the support from their Democratic base in order to beat Trump in November."