The Uncommitted Movement of pro-Palestinian Democrats is withholding its endorsement from Vice President Kamala Harris after she rebuffed its latest request, the group announced Thursday, while also making 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 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 said in a news release shared with NBC News ahead of its release.
The group said Harris had given it the cold shoulder and “fumbled” 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 sidelining disillusioned anti-war voices, pushing them to consider third-party options or to sit this important election out,” the group said.
Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The group said the matter of utmost importance to pro-Palestinian voters is stopping Trump, “whose agenda includes plans to accelerate the killing in Gaza while intensifying the suppression of anti-war organizing.”
“We must block Donald Trump, which is why we urge Uncommitted voters to vote against him and avoid third-party candidates that could inadvertently boost his chances, as Trump openly boasts that third parties will help his candidacy,” the group said.
Green Party nominee Jill Stein and left-wing third-party candidate Cornel West have both focused heavily on recruiting voters sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, each selecting a Muslim American running mate and speaking last week at a gathering of disaffected Arab Americans in Dearborn, Michigan.
Their work appears to be paying off, according to interest group polls that indicate Stein and West performing much better among Muslim and Arab Americans than they are among Americans overall.
The Uncommitted Movement emerged as a result of Democratic voters’ expressing dissatisfaction with this year’s Democratic presidential primaries. President Joe Biden was running essentially unopposed, so voters looking to register their displeasure with his support for Israel’s bombardment of Gaza after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks selected the “uncommitted” option on ballots, instead.
More than 700,000 voters ended up selecting “uncommitted,” sending 30 uncommitted delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Drowned out amid the nearly 4,000 delegates at the convention, the uncommitted bloc was too small to push any changes in the party’s platform or rules, but it was large enough to force organizers to take their presence seriously — as well as their potential to disrupt the proceedings.
Still, the delegates strongly preferred Harris over Biden, believing she was more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and persuadable, so they did not disrupt the convention, even after organizers told them there would be no room on the schedule for a Palestinian American speaker.
Instead, uncommitted delegates staged a sit-in outside the convention hall and set a new deadline of Sept. 15 for Harris to meet with Palestinian American families in Michigan who had lost loved ones in Gaza.
That request was rebuffed, as well, according to the group, leading it to issue of the non-endorsement of Harris.
All along, the delegates have 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 Harris’ campaign most likely understood that it had the upper hand in any negotiations with the delegates, who were loath to do anything that might help Trump.
And now, while it is not endorsing Harris, the movement also seems to be steering its supporters to her by saying Trump and third-party candidates are off the table, encouraging them to turn out and “register anti-Trump votes.”
“Pro-war forces like AIPAC may want to drive 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.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
