According to a new report, top Democrat officials, including Kamala Harris’ campaign officials and even Harris herself, have been engaging with and courting the radical anti-Israel “uncommitted movement”.
The Associated Press revealed that top Democrats have spent weeks meeting with “uncommitted” voters and their allies, including a previously unreported secret meeting between Kamala Harris and the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan.
The meeting between Harris and the activists was part of an effort to respond to criticism in key swing states like Michigan, which has a significant Arab American population.
According to the AP, weeks of communication between pro-Palestinian Arab activists and the Harris campaign have resulted in progress, but their core demands remain unmet. The activists want Harris to endorse an arms embargo against Israel and a permanent ceasefire. Harris has supported a ceasefire but rejected an arms embargo.
During a campaign trip to Michigan, Harris herself met with Abdullah Hammoud, mayor of Dearborn, the city with the largest number of Arab Americans in the U.S.
Also, campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez on Thursday held separate one-on-one meetings with leaders in the Arab American community and “uncommitted” movement in metro Detroit, according to AP.
As reported by the AP:
Top Democrats have spent weeks meeting with “uncommitted” voters and their allies — including a previously unreported sit-down between Vice President Kamala Harris and the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan — in an effort to respond to criticism in key swing states like Michigan, which has a significant Arab American population.
Weeks of meetings and calls between pro-Palestinian activists and the Harris campaign have yielded progress in some areas, but their core policy demands remain unmet. The activists want Harris to endorse an arms embargo to Israel and a permanent cease-fire. Harris has supported Biden’s negotiations for a cease-fire but rejected an arms embargo.
As political convention comes to Chicago, residents, leaders and activists vie for the spotlight
Rima Mohammad, one of Michigan’s two “uncommitted” delegates, said she sees the convention as a chance to share their movement’s concerns with the party leadership.
“It is a way for protesters outside to be able to share their frustration with the party,” she said.
Questions remain about the leverage “uncommitted” voters hold now that Biden has stepped aside and Harris has taken his place. Democrats have seen a significant surge in enthusiasm for Harris’ campaign and concerns about voter apathy in key areas, such as Detroit’s large Black population, appear to have diminished.
But Harris and her team have still made communication with Arab American leaders a priority.
During a campaign trip to Michigan last week, Harris met with Abdullah Hammoud, the 34-year-old mayor of Dearborn, a Detroit suburb that has the largest number of Arab Americans of any city in the United States. The meeting was disclosed by a person who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The person familiar with the meeting did not provide specific details but said the focus was on Harris’ potential policy, if elected, on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Hammoud declined to comment.
“Vice President Harris supports the deals currently on the table for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and for the release of hostages,” her campaign said in a statement. “She will continue to meet with leaders from Palestinian, Muslim, Israeli and Jewish communities, as she has throughout her vice presidency.”
According to a source familiar with convention planning, two panel discussions will take place during the convention in Chicago: one addressing Arab and Palestinian issues with leaders from the “Uncommitted” movement, and another focused on Jewish American issues, including the rise in antisemitism and hate speech.
Campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez on Thursday held separate one-on-one meetings with leaders in the Arab American community and “uncommitted” movement in metro Detroit.
“They are listening and we are talking,” said Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, who met with Chavez Rodriguez. “But none of us can garner votes in the community without public statements from Harris. She doesn’t need us; she can win over votes by saying and doing the right thing.”
According to Siblani, Chavez Rodriguez agreed that “the killing has to stop.” In response, Siblani said he pressed: “How? There is no plan.”
Lavora Barnes, the Democratic chair in Michigan, said the party would “continue working toward our goal of coming together to defeat Donald Trump and Republicans up and down the ballot.”
“We are committed to continuing these conversations with community leaders, activists and organizations because we want to ensure that everyone in the Michigan Democratic Party has a seat at the table,” Barnes said in a statement.
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