In the primary they voted 'uncommitted.' Group won't support Harris in November, either

Leaders of the Uncommitted National Movement calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza announced the group's decision not to endorse Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris while emphasizing their opposition to former President Donald Trump and third-party candidates who could help deliver the presidency to him.

"Vice President Harris' refusal to shift on the key issues like Palestinian human rights put us here," Layla Elabed — one of the founders of the movement — told reporters during a virtual news briefing Thursday.

The announcement comes after uncommitted delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago staged a sit-in protesting the denial of their request for a Palestinian American speaker. Uncommitted leaders said Harris then failed to satisfy their subsequent demand to meet with them and Palestinian American families in Michigan who know those killed in Gaza by Sept. 15. The group also said it gave Harris until then to provide a future date that would work for her schedule if she couldn't meet that deadline.

Harris campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt in a statement said the vice president has met with — and will continue to meet with — Palestinian leaders as well as those from Muslim, Israeli and Jewish communities. "The Vice President believes making your voice heard and participating in our democracy is fundamental to who we are as Americans. Vice President Harris supports the deals currently on the table for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and for the release of hostages," Hitt said.

Since launching her presidential campaign, Harris has repeatedly said Israel has a right to defend itself in response to the Oct. 7 attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel while saying too many innocent Palestinians have died. Since the war broke out, more than 40,000 Palestinians have died, according to the Gaza health authorities. In a CNN interview last month, Harris said she would not shift course on President Joe Biden's arms policies which have included U.S. weapons transfers to Israel.

"Vice President Harris' unwillingness to shift on unconditional weapons policy or to even make a clear statement in support of upholding existing U.S. and international human rights law has made it impossible to endorse her," said Abbas Alawieh, another founder of the Uncommitted National Movement.

Leaders of the movement said it wouldn't be appropriate to tell those personally impacted by the war how to vote and said they have reached different decisions themselves about how they personally plan to cast their ballots this fall.

Elabed grew emotional when asked how she planned to vote. As a Palestinian-American mother raising children in the U.S. with family in the West Bank, she said "every time I'm asked that question, it's like I'm being asked that question at a funeral." She said she plans to skip the top of the ticket while supporting Democrats further down the ballot.

Alawieh shared that he reached a different personal decision. "I believe my vote is not a love letter. I believe my vote is a chess move," he said, explaining his decision to vote for Harris. "She has made clear she does not share my antiwar values on this issue, but I am concerned with Donald Trump's very specific plans to suppress pro-Palestinian human rights organizing."

Republican National Committee Spokesperson Anna Kelly issued a statement defending Trump's record. "President Trump delivered historic peace in the Middle East while Kamala Harris has brought chaos and war around the world. Harris' fractured support within her own party is one of many reasons why President Trump will win on November 5," she said.

Lexis Zeidan — another uncommitted leader — said Harris' campaign is "courting people like Dick Cheney while sidelining these disillusioned antiwar voices and even pushing them to consider third-party votes or to sit this incredibly important election out."

When Cheney announced his support for Harris, her campaign chair said in a statement that Harris is proud to have his backing. Alawieh called Cheney the "posterchild for endless wars" and described the Harris campaign's embrace of the former vice president's support as a sign the campaign believes it can pick up more votes on the right. "I sure hope they're not wrong about that," he said.

The uncommitted campaign used the presidential primary to protest Biden's handling of Israeli military counterassaults in Gaza.

In Michigan's February presidential primary, more than 100,000 Democratic voters cast their ballot for uncommitted after cease-fire activists launched a campaign urging voters to bubble in an option their eyes usually glaze over.

The last-minute campaign launched a few weeks before the primary election, and Alawieh said the Uncommitted National Movement told the Harris campaign they could repeat their mobilization efforts on behalf of Harris if she earned the group's endorsement.

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Biden lost to the uncommitted vote in a trio of Wayne County cities home to large Arab American and Muslim populations: Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck. Uncommitted also received high levels of support near college campuses in Washtenaw County. Leaders of the uncommitted movement have previously said their aim was to signal to Democrats that the Biden administration's Gaza policies could cost the party the White House this fall.

After Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris to replace him at the top of the ticket, the uncommitted campaign continued to push for a shift in U.S. foreign policy, calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and an embargo on U.S. arms to Israel.

It remains unclear how many Democrats who support those demands intend to support Harris, but some have told the Free Press they don't plan to back her unless they see a major shift in her foreign policy stance toward Israel. Polling averages show Harris and Trump in a very tight race in Michigan. The state is one of a handful of battlegrounds that could decide the election.

Contact Clara Hendrickson at [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X @clarajanehen.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Uncommitted movement says Kamala Harris doesn't have their support