The “Uncommitted” Movement announced Thursday that it would not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for president.
“Vice President Harris’s unwillingness to shift on unconditional weapons policy or to even make a clear campaign statement in support of upholding existing U.S. and international human rights law has made it impossible for us to endorse her,” Uncommitted said in a statement released alongside a Thursday morning press conference.
Uncommitted leaders and other observers were initially optimistic that Harris’s nomination would lead to a policy shift toward Israel and Gaza, even if they were sober about Harris’s strong pro-Israel record. As Harris cemented Democratic support behind her nomination, her campaign picked up its efforts to conduct outreach to Arab and Muslim voters.
After President Joe Biden withdrew as the Democratic nominee, Harris’s aides were wary of the public criticism that the administration had neglected Arab and Muslim constituents by sending billions of dollars of weapons to Israel.
Uncommitted delegates and their supporters hoped that Harris would shift away from Biden’s unconditional support for Israel’s military. They also hoped that her willingness to call for a ceasefire before Biden and criticism of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meant she would take a harder stance against Israel’s........