The Delicate Dance Between Kamala Harris And Pro-Palestinian Activists
HuffPost
Why the Uncommitted movement did not get any policy concessions and chose not to endorse the vice president.
Not long after Kamala Harris took over the Democratic campaign from President Joe Biden, she made her first stop in Michigan at the top of the ticket and began a one-step-forward, two-steps-back dance with the Uncommitted movement. The dance seemingly ended Thursday, when the group announced it would not be endorsing Harris’ presidential run.
Before a rally Aug. 7 in Detroit, the campaign included two leaders from the pro-Palestinian Uncommitted movement in a photo line with Harris. It was a big opportunity for the group, which convinced hundreds of thousands of Democratic primary voters to vote “uncommitted” rather than support Biden earlier in the year.
Like other critics of Israel’s U.S.-backed offensive in Gaza, Uncommitted wanted the Democratic Party to use American leverage over right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push him to end the conflict, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, more than 1,700 Israelis and risked a broader war. Unlike Biden, a self-proclaimed Zionist with a history of sending and expanding U.S. military support for Israel largely regardless of its conduct, Harris might agree with them that a change in U.S. policy was the only way to end the war, they hoped.
“I’m a DNC delegate and I appreciate your leadership,” Abbas Alawieh, the group’s co-founder and a former chief of staff to Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), said he told her. “We want to support you, Vice President Harris, and our voters need to see you turn a new page on Gaza policy that includes embracing an arms embargo to save lives. Can we meet to discuss this urgent need for an arms embargo?”
In the same news release, the group said Harris “shared her sympathies and expressed an openness to a meeting with Uncommitted leaders to discuss an arms embargo.” Harris’ campaign had a different version of events, one where Harris simply “reaffirmed that her campaign will continue to engage” Muslim and Arab leaders.
“Today, I continue to be stunned by my greatest good fortune," said the niece of President Donald Trump.
Trump was the only president whose display in the gallery, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.
The network's data chief said Americans "vigorously disagree" with Trump as he ramps up his feud with the Fed chair.
The people of Illinois are being intimidated and terrorized by the Trump administration’s “coordinated campaign of violence” in the state, Gov. JB Pritzker says.
The homeland security secretary has attempted to frame an ICE officer's shooting of Renee Nicole Good as an act of self-defense.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to reduce the senator's pay and rank in an act of retaliation, a new lawsuit alleges.
Stocks of credit card companies are dropping after President Donald Trump threatened moves that could eat into their profits.
"If the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer," warned Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
The U.S. shouldn't use other countries as a “pretext” to pursue its interests in the semiautonomous region of Denmark, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
“There is no true cure for the grief borne from the taking of one’s father.”
The onetime Trump White House chief strategist has, however, called “bulls**t” on the report by Axios.
Maxim Naumov's parents, who competed for Russia in two Olympics, were among 67 who died in a commercial plane crash last Jan. 29 in Washington, D.C.
It's unclear exactly why the president posted the picture online.