“We want a meeting with Vice President Harris so we can talk to her to get a commitment for an arms embargo and a ceasefire.” That’s the demand of “uncommitted” delegates to the upcoming Democratic National Convention, who have pledged to withhold support for the Democratic presidential nominee over the Biden administration’s backing of Israel’s ongoing attack on the Gaza Strip. We’re joined by Asma Mohammed, a DNC-bound uncommitted delegate with Minnesota Uncommitted. She shares how pro-Palestine activism has shaped the 2024 presidential race, including Kamala Harris’s decision to tap Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate over Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, who recently likened pro-Palestine protesters to the KKK. Walz has also been “pretty clear in his support for Israel” but, unlike Shapiro and other politicians, has additionally demonstrated a “willingness to learn and to move,” says Mohammed, a Minnesota resident. Overall, she says, the choice of Walz has renewed hope for many in the uncommitted movement as “a reminder that Kamala Harris is different” than President Biden and may be more receptive to restraining Israel if elected.
I appreciate having a healthy skepticism and being critical of power.
That said, there are reasons to have hope about this subject:
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/14/kamala-harris-gaza-palestinians-00131633
I’ll be blunt – and I’m sorry to rain on anyone’s parade – but these reasons are all fluff:
As I said, being more sympathetic in public is meaningless if you don’t back it up with holding Israel accountable for its actions. This is virtually no different from how Biden handled things.
“Once the fighting ends”? When Israel feels it has destroyed enough of Gaza and decides to stop, you mean?
Netanyahu and his government of genocidal maniacs want neither peace nor a two-state solution. Netanyahu has explicitly stated this publicly. There is also broad support from the Israeli population in favor of the “war” in Gaza. Even if Netanyahu were removed from power tomorrow, there would still be a huge amount of resistance towards a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
Claiming to be aiming for two-state solution with Israel as it currently stands, without a concrete possibility of sanctions or an arms embargo, is a pipedream that is being used to enable the US to carry on supplying Israel with weapons. Until that supply of weapons is threatened, Israel will carry on doing exactly what it wants and any talk of peace and a ceasefire is little more than hot air.
Listen, I’m just looking for a reason to hold on to hope right now. Americans are brainwashed about foreign policy in such a thorough way that I can’t see a scenario where we have a strong response against Israel’s genocidal actions for quite some time. It’s sickening, so when I see someone who is critical of Biden in his own administration, I appreciate it.
I appreciate where you’re coming from – it would be a huge emotional relief to us all to see the killing in Gaza and the West Bank stop.
I just think there is a need to be realistic about the possibility of a meaningful shift when it comes to Palestine under a Harris presidency.
At this point, it’s fingers crossed that bibi will piss her off enough that she actually stops sending arms
in the best case scenario the ceasefire will come well before she takes office in January
showing more concern is a reasonable precursor to actionable changes, of which she is somewhat limited until she is actually in the presidency
Even so, it would take a significant amount of will and political capital to stand up to Israel, the Israel lobby in the US, the Pro-Israel members of the Democratic Party, and billionaire donors who have been funding her campaign. Kamala just doesn’t strike me as the type to take the risk.
Sure, but don’t pretend as though a promise means anything until actual action is taken.