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Rashida Tlaib Refuses to Endorse Kamala Harris for President Due to Gaza Policy
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses attendees as she takes part in a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, US, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) refused to issue an explicit endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Thursday, instead encouraging voters to throw their support behind candidates who support a ceasefire in Gaza.
While speaking on a panel at the Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, DC, an event sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Tlaib expressed dismay over Harris’s unwillingness to adopt policies advocated by the pro-Palestinian movement. The Michigan congresswoman suggested that the Harris campaign was taking a “risk” in angering voters by continuing to support Israel’s defensive military operations against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
Tlaib told moderator Mehdi Hasan, a progressive journalist and prominent critic of Israel, that some of her constituents in Michigan did not want to cast a ballot for Harris, the incumbent US vice president, because they “don’t want blood on my hands.”
“I tell them, ‘OK, but there’s other people on this ballot that support a ceasefire. There’s other people on this ballot that can protect our community,’” Tlaib said.
“I always ask, consistently, the Harris campaign and everybody, you hear us loud and clear. Don’t risk it. Don’t risk it. Why are we afraid of [Republican presidential nominee Donald] Trump becoming president more than our own party, when the majority of us are saying, ‘We’ve got your back Harris. We’ve got you?’” Tlaib continued.
Hasan then asked Tlaib if she planned on endorsing Harris’s presidential bid. Tlaib would not confirm whether she supports the Democratic nominee, smirking and turning in her seat away from the moderator.
The entire conference room burst into laughter.
Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American state representative from Georgia, questioned whether the Harris campaign would “want” an endorsement from the Arab American community. The lawmaker stated that she “wanted to give” her endorsement to Harris at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), but was rejected by the party establishment.
Anti-Israel activists mounted a last-minute, high-pressure campaign to secure Romman a spot on the DNC stage. Their efforts ultimately failed, as the DNC refused to platform a Palestinian American during the event. Though the DNC has not issued an official justification for allegedly snubbing Romman, many observers speculated that the party feared she would use her stage time to lob unsubstantiated accusations of “genocide” against the Jewish state.
Tlaib has not publicly endorsed Harris in the 2024 presidential race. The Michigan congresswoman also did not issue an endorsement during US President Joe Biden’s now-shuttered re-election campaign.
Earlier this year, Tlaib helped spearhead the “Uncommitted” movement in Michigan — an initiative which encouraged voters to withhold their support for the Democratic nominee until they adopted anti-Israel policies. Tlaib argued that the initiative was necessary because Arab Americans have supposedly felt “neglected” and “unseen” by the federal government.
The “Uncommitted” movement has urged Harris to throw her support behind a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo against Israel. The Harris campaign has repeatedly stated that she as president would remain committed to Israel’s defense and refused to back an arms embargo.
Tlaib, the only Palestinian American woman in Congress, has often accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza and of orchestrating a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” and erecting an “apartheid” regime in the West Bank.
In the months following the Hamas terrorist group’s Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1,200 people throughout southern Israel, Tlaib has grown more vocal in her condemnations of the Jewish state. Tlaib received heavy condemnation after she initially hesitated to condemn the Oct. 7 massacre and voted against legislation which would have banned participants in the terrorist attacks from entering the United States. The House voted to censure Tlaib in November 2023 over her rhetoric on the Israel-Hamas war.
In February, Tlaib was the only voting member of the House to refuse to back a resolution condemning the Oct. 7 mass rapes of Israeli women. In May, she stoked outrage after attending an anti-Israel, terrorist-connected conference in Michigan.
The post Rashida Tlaib Refuses to Endorse Kamala Harris for President Due to Gaza Policy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Revokes Palestinian Officials’ Visas Ahead of UN Meeting, State Dept Says
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas looks on as he visits the Istishari Cancer Center in Ramallah, in the West Bank, May 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman
The US is denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, the State Department said on Friday.
The department did not name the officials targeted. It was unclear whether Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is planning to travel to New York to deliver an address to the late September gathering, was included in the restrictions.
The Palestinians’ ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters that they were checking exactly what the US move means “and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly.”
Abbas’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US restrictions follow the imposition of US sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization in July, even as other Western powers move toward recognition of Palestinian statehood.
In a statement, the State Department said that “it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace.”
Officials with the Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in much of the West Bank, reject that they’ve undermined peace prospects.
Under the 1947 UN “headquarters agreement,” the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, terrorism, and foreign policy reasons.
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN would not be included in the restrictions. It did not elaborate.
Close US allies Canada, Britain, Australia, and France in recent weeks announced or signaled their intention to recognize a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly meeting.
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Turkey Bars Israeli Ships From Its Ports, Restricts Airspace
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference following the inaugural meeting of the Balkans Peace Platform, a Turkish-led initiative aimed at fostering dialogue and cooperation across the Western Balkans, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Murad Seze
Turkey has decided to bar Israeli vessels from using its ports, forbid Turkish ships from using Israeli ports, and impose restrictions on planes entering Turkish airspace, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday.
He provided few details in comments to parliament which appeared to summarize steps that Turkey has already taken against Israel over the war in Gaza or has started to implement.
Turkey has fiercely criticized Israel’s offensive in Gaza and accuses it of committing genocide in the Palestinian enclave, a charge that Israel denies. Ankara has halted all trade with Israel, called for international measures against it, and urged world powers to stop supporting Israel.
Sources told Reuters last week that Turkish port authorities had also started informally requiring shipping agents to provide letters declaring that vessels are not linked to Israel and not carrying military or hazardous cargo bound for the country.
A source had also said that Turkish-flagged ships would be prohibited from calling at Israeli ports.
“We have totally cut our trade with Israel, we have closed off our ports to Israeli ships and we are not allowing Turkish vessels to go to Israel’s ports,” Fidan told an extraordinary parliamentary session on Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
“We are not allowing container ships carrying weapons and ammunition to Israel to enter our ports, and airplanes to go into our airspace,” he added, without giving details.
Fidan also said Turkey had presidential approval to carry out air drops of aid to Gaza.
“Our planes are ready, once Jordan gives its approval, we will be in a position to go,” he told lawmakers.
The Israeli government did not immediately comment on his remarks.
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UK Blocks Israeli Officials From Its Biggest Defense Show
Visitors look at ammunition on display at the Defense and Security Equipment International trade show in this file photo in London, Britain, Sept. 12, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Britain has barred Israeli officials from its biggest defense trade show over its escalation of the war against Hamas in Gaza, its latest effort to pressure a historically close ally over the conflict.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government said in July it would recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel took steps to relieve suffering in the enclave and met other conditions, enraging the Israeli government.
Israel’s Ministry of Defense said that as a result of the trade fair ban it would not run its national pavilion as it has done previously at London’s Defense & Security Equipment International (DSEI) event.
Israeli defense companies, such as Elbit Systems, Rafael, IAI, and Uvision, will still be able to attend.
Britain’s move had echoes of a dispute at the Paris Air Show three months ago, when France blocked off with black partitions the stands of Israeli defense companies after they refused to remove attack weapons from display, sparking a furious response from Israel.
A British government spokesperson said on Friday that the Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza was wrong.
“As a result, we can confirm that no Israeli government delegation will be invited to attend DSEI UK 2025.”
“There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” the spokesperson added.
Israel said Britain’s decision was a “regrettable act of discrimination” and “introduces political considerations wholly inappropriate for a professional defense industry exhibition.”
The four-day show, due to open on Sept. 9, features national delegations and private companies, who showcase military kit and weapons at London’s Excel center. The event takes place every other year.
DSEI is organized by a private company, Clarion Defense and Security, but with backing from the British government and the military.