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Anti-Israel Activists Organize ‘Vote Uncommitted’ Campaign in New Jersey Democratic Primary to Pressure Biden
Anti-Israel protesters demonstrate in front of Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck, New Jersey, US, on March 10, 2024. Photo: Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
Anti-Israel activists are encouraging New Jersey residents participating in the Democratic primary for this year’s US presidential election to vote “uncommitted” in support of “justice for Palestine” and a “permanent ceasefire” in Gaza, in lieu of voting for President Joe Biden.
The initiative, spearheaded by the group “Vote Uncommitted New Jersey,” aims to use political pressure to change the Biden administration’s approach to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The strategy to get voters to mark “uncommitted” on their ballots mirrors other efforts by anti-Israel groups to use the Democratic primary as an outlet to signal their disgust with Biden’s support for the Jewish state.
The campaign is part of a larger effort by anti-Israel activists to portray Israel’s military response to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel as a “genocide.”
“Voting ‘Uncommitted’ will let the Democratic Party and general public know what’s at stake and how many voters they’re losing over their unwavering position on the genocide in Gaza,” the group writes on its website. “This will pressure the Biden administration to reconsider their position and call for a ceasefire.”
The group adds that Biden’s “defeat is certain” in the upcoming election against presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump if he does not adopt an anti-Israel posture.
“Thousands of New Jerseyans have demanded an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people. Biden is on track to lose the election to Trump unless he chooses to listen to the working class of this country and change course. Defeat is certain if he fails to do so,” the group continues.
The organization is also demanding that Biden secure an “immediate and permanent ceasefire” along with “the immediate and unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid” in Gaza.
Wednesday is the first day when New Jersey voters can go to polling places across the state to cast early in-person ballots. They will be able to cast votes for the presidential race, one US Senate seat, and all 12 of the state’s seats in the US House of Representatives. Voters can also choose party candidates in local and county races.
More than 235,000 people have already voted in the state using mail-in ballots. According to an official sample ballot shared with The Algemeiner, the third option listed for voters in the presidential contest — under the names of Biden and progressive activist Terrisa Bukovinac — is “Uncommitted,” under which are the words: “Justice for Palestine, Permanent Ceasefire Now.”
“Vote Uncommitted New Jersey” does not mention or condemn Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack, which started the ongoing war in Gaza when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists invaded Israel, murdered 1,200 people, and kidnapped over 250 others as hostages. Nor does it mention the significant amount of aid that has flowed into Gaza. Between March and April alone, over 10,000 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza, according to data compiled by the United Nations. However, gangs and Hamas itself have reportedly ransacked aid trucks and stripped them of their goods, complicating relief efforts in the war-torn enclave.
Suraj Patel, an organizer with “Vote Uncommitted New Jersey” said in an interview that he believes supporting the Palestinian cause will help usher in a socialist economic system.
“From the beginning, we saw this as a campaign aligned with our socialist values,” Patel told the Democratic Socialists of America.
“What we are doing in New Jersey, deep community organizing, statewide collaboration, leadership development, I believe is the raw material for a real independent full-throated socialist party, with deep roots in labor, immigrant communities, and the multiracial working class, that can go toe to toe with the Democrats and the Republicans in our state,” he added.
In February, US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), an anti-Israel firebrand and the first Palestinian American woman in Congress, endorsed the “vote uncommitted” effort in Michigan and would not clarify whether she will support Biden’s reelection effort.
“We feel completely neglected and just unseen by our government. If you want us to be louder, then come here and vote uncommitted,” Tlaib said.
Primary day in New Jersey is set for next Tuesday.
The post Anti-Israel Activists Organize ‘Vote Uncommitted’ Campaign in New Jersey Democratic Primary to Pressure Biden first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.