Demoralized by the Biden administration鈥檚 handling of the , Palestinian American Samia Assed found in Vice President Kamala Harris鈥� ascension 鈥� and her running mate pick 鈥� 鈥渁 little ray of hope.鈥�
That hope, she said, shattered during last month鈥檚 , where a request for a was denied and listening to Harris left her feeling like the Democratic presidential nominee will continue the U.S. policies that have in the anti-war camp.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 breathe because I felt unseen and erased,鈥� said Assed, a community organizer in New Mexico.
Under different circumstances, Assed would have reveled in the of a woman of color as her party鈥檚 nominee. Instead, she agonizes over her ballot box options.
For months, many Palestinian Americans have been contending with the double whammy of the and and their own government鈥檚 support for Israel in the war. Alongside pro-Palestinian allies, they鈥檝e grieved, organized, lobbied and protested as the killings and destruction unfolded on their screens or touched their own families. Now, they also wrestle with tough, deeply personal voting decisions, including in battleground states.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very hard time for Palestinian youth and Palestinian Americans,鈥� Assed said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of pain.鈥�
Without a meaningful change, voting for Harris would feel for her 鈥渓ike a jab in the heart,鈥� she said. At the same time, Assed, a lifelong Democrat and feminist, would like to help block another Donald Trump presidency and remain engaged with the Democrats 鈥渢o hold them liable,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really a difficult place to be in.鈥�
She鈥檚 not alone.
In Georgia, the Gaza bloodshed has been haunting Ghada Elnajjar. She said the war claimed the lives of more than 100 members of her extended family in Gaza, where her parents were born.
She saw missed opportunities at the DNC to connect with voters like her. Besides the rejection of the request for a Palestinian speaker, Elnajjar found a disconnect between U.S. policies and Harris鈥� assertion that she and President Joe Biden were working to accomplish a and hostage deal.
鈥淲ithout stopping U.S. financial support and military support to Israel, this will not stop,鈥� said Elnajjar who in 2020 campaigned for Biden. 鈥淚鈥檓 a U.S. citizen. I鈥檓 a taxpayer ... and I feel betrayed and neglected.鈥�
She鈥檒l keep looking for policy changes, but, if necessary, remain 鈥渦ncommitted,鈥� potentially leaving the top of the ticket blank. Harris must earn her vote, she said.
Harris, in her DNC speech, said she and Biden were working to end the war such that "Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.鈥�
She said she 鈥渨ill always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself,鈥� while describing the suffering in Gaza as 鈥渉eartbreaking.鈥�
While her recent rhetoric on Palestinian suffering has been viewed as empathetic by some who had soured on Biden over the war, the lack of a concrete policy shift appears to have increasingly frustrated many of those who want the war to end. Activists demanding a permanent cease-fire have urged an embargo on U.S. weapons to Israel, whose military campaign in Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
The war was sparked by an Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took .
Layla Elabed, a Palestinian American and co-director of the Uncommitted National Movement, said the demand for a policy shift remains. Nationally, 鈥渦ncommitted鈥� has garnered hundreds of thousands of votes in Democratic primaries.
Elabed said Harris and her team have been invited to meet before Sept. 15 with 鈥渦ncommitted鈥� movement leaders from key swing states and with Palestinian families with relatives killed in Gaza. After that date, she said, 鈥渨e will need to make the decision if we can actually mobilize our base鈥� to vote for Harris.
Without a policy change, 鈥渨e can鈥檛 do an endorsement,鈥� and will, instead, continue talking about the 鈥渄angers鈥� of a Trump presidency, leaving voters to vote their conscience, she added.
Some other anti-war activists are taking it further, advocating for withholding votes from Harris in the absence of a change.
鈥淭here鈥檚 pressure to punish the Democratic Party,鈥� Elabed said. 鈥淥ur position is continue taking up space within the Democratic Party,鈥� and push for change from the inside.
Some of the tensions surfaced at an August rally in Michigan when anti-war protesters interrupted Harris. Initially, Harris said everybody鈥檚 voice matters. As the shouting continued, with demonstrators chanting that they 鈥渨on鈥檛 vote for genocide,鈥� she took a sharper tone.
鈥淚f you want Donald Trump to win, then say that,鈥� she said.
Nada Al-Hanooti, national deputy organizing director with the Muslim American advocacy group Emgage Action, rejects as unfair the argument by some that traditionally Democratic voters who withhold votes from Harris are in effect helping Trump. She said the burden should be on Harris and her party.
鈥淩ight now, it鈥檚 a struggle being a Palestinian American,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want a Trump presidency, but, at the same time, the Democratic Party needs to win our vote.鈥�
Though dismayed that no Palestinian speaker was allowed on the DNC stage, Al-Hanooti said she felt inspired by how 鈥渦ncommitted鈥� activists made Palestinians part of the conversation at the convention. Activists were given space there to hold a discussing the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.
鈥淲e in the community still need to continue to push Harris on conditioning aid, on a cease-fire,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he fight is not over.鈥�
She said she鈥檚 never known grief like that she has experienced over the past year. In the girls of Gaza, she sees her late grandmother who, at 10, was displaced from her home during the 1948 war surrounding Israel鈥檚 creation and lived in a Syrian refugee camp, dreaming of returning home.
鈥淚t just completely tears me apart,鈥� Al-Hanooti said.
She tries to channel her pain into putting pressure on elected officials and encouraging community members to vote, despite encountering what she said was increased apathy, with many feeling that their vote won鈥檛 matter. 鈥淥ur job at Emgage is simply right now to get our Muslim community to vote because our power is in the collective.鈥�
In 2020, Emgage 鈥� whose political action committee then endorsed Biden 鈥� and other groups worked to maximize Muslim American turnout, especially in battleground states. Muslims make up a small percentage of Americans overall, but activists hope that in states with notable Muslim populations, such as Michigan, energizing more of them makes a difference in close races 鈥� and demonstrates the community鈥檚 political power.
Some voters want to send a message.
鈥淥ur community has given our votes away cheaply,鈥� argued Omar Abuattieh, a pharmacy major at Rutgers University in New Jersey. 鈥淥nce we can start to understand our votes as a bargaining tool, we鈥檒l have more power.鈥�
For Abuattieh, whose mother was born in Gaza, that means planning to vote third party 鈥渢o demonstrate the power in numbers of a newly activated community that deserves future consultation.鈥�
A Pew Research Center survey in February found that U.S. Muslims are more sympathetic to the Palestinian people than many other Americans are and that only 6% of Muslim American adults believe the U.S. is striking the right balance between the Israelis and Palestinians. Nearly two-thirds of Muslim registered voters identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, according to the survey.
But U.S. Muslims, who are racially and ethnically diverse, are not monolithic in their political behavior; some have publicly supported Harris in this election cycle. In 2020, among Muslim voters, 64% supported Biden and 35% supported Trump, .
The Harris campaign said it has appointed two people for Muslim and Arab outreach.
Harris 鈥渨ill continue to meet with leaders from Palestinian, Muslim, Israeli and Jewish communities, as she has throughout her vice presidency,鈥� the campaign said in response to questions, without specifically commenting on the uncommitted movement鈥檚 request for a meeting before Sept. 15.
Harris is being scrutinized by those who say the Biden-Harris administration hasn鈥檛 done enough to pressure Israel to end the war and by Republicans looking to as insufficient in her support for Israel.
Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign's national press secretary, said Trump 鈥渨ill once again deliver peace through strength to rebuild and expand the peace coalition he built in his first term to create long-term safety and security for both the Israeli and Palestinian people.鈥�
Many Arab and Muslim Americans were angered by Trump鈥檚 ban, while in office, that affected travelers , which Biden rescinded.
In Michigan, Ali Ramlawi, who owns a restaurant in Ann Arbor, said Harris鈥� nomination initially gave him relief on various domestic issues, but the DNC left him disappointed on the Palestinian question.
Before the convention, he expected to vote Democratic, but now says he鈥檚 considering backing the Green Party for the top of the ticket or leaving that blank.
鈥淥ur vote shouldn鈥檛 be taken for granted,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 won鈥檛 vote for the lesser of two evils.鈥�
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Mariam Fam, The Associated Press
