Staff Reports
A staggering blow to the Biden-Harris campaign emerges as Vice President Kamala Harris has officially lost the backing of the Uncommitted National Movement, an anti-war organization made up of disenchanted activists primarily from Michigan’s Palestinian American community. This grassroots group, which has made headlines for pressuring Harris to take a stand on U.S. military actions in Gaza, has decided to take its ball and go home, citing her refusal to budge on key foreign policy fronts.
The Uncommitted National Movement was born from opposition to U.S. involvement in Gaza and has gained considerable traction, particularly among Arab and Muslim voters in Michigan. They staged an impressive sit-in during the Democratic National Convention this year, showcasing their demands for a meeting with Harris regarding U.S. arms sales to Israel. When that request was ignored and their pressing concerns fell on deaf ears, the movement made the transparent decision to withdraw support, signaling serious trouble for a campaign seeking to appeal to all its constituencies.
At the conclusion of our historic sit-in at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Uncommitted National Movement leaders asked Vice President Harris to respond by September 15 to requests to meet with Palestinian American families in Michigan who lost loved ones to… pic.twitter.com/c9QE03gTpL
— Uncommitted National Movement 🌺 (@uncommittedmvmt) September 19, 2024
In their statement following this disappointing engagement, the group underlined that Harris’s rigid stance on military aid to Israel and her failure to address international human rights law made it impossible for them to offer any endorsement. While they express a lack of enthusiasm for a Trump presidency, their disenchantment with the Democrats’ handling of foreign policy, particularly in relation to Israel and Palestine, makes their support downright unattainable.
The implications of this public snub are grave, especially considering Michigan’s status as a battleground state. Muslim voters played an instrumental role in helping Joe Biden dance into the Oval Office in 2020. Discontent from the Arab American community regarding Biden’s administration, particularly regarding the 2021 Gaza conflict, coupled with Harris’s silence, indicates a growing rift that could spell doom for Democrats come election time.
This organization wields considerable influence. Previously, during the Democratic primaries, it mobilized over 100,000 anti-war voters in Michigan and successfully secured 30 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Their “Not Another Bomb” campaign, promoting peace, has spread far and wide, gaining thousands of supporters across numerous states. As the Harris campaign attempts to regain ground in this pivotal battleground state with its 16 electoral votes, the absence of support from such a vital demographic could likely lead to trouble.
The stakes are higher than ever as this loss of critical backing points to growing frustration among progressive and anti-war voters, representing a significant challenge for the Biden-Harris coalition. With a staggering 56 percent of Democrats reportedly opposing military aid to Israel, Harris’s failure to acknowledge this sentiment puts her at risk of losing vital support. In an election season as contentious as the next, her silence on foreign policy could prove to be a real Achilles’ heel.
