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‘Uncommitted’ Group Won’t Endorse Kamala Harris, Muslim Voters Also Look Elsewhere Over Gaza Despite Overtures
US Vice President Kamala Harris. Photo: Erin Schaff/Pool via REUTERS
A prominent anti-Israel political group announced that it will not endorse Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 US election despite Harris’s extensive outreach to the Arab American community.
In a statement released on Thursday, the “Uncommitted National Movement” criticized the Harris campaign for not agreeing to meet with Palestinian American families to discuss the possibility of implementing an arms blockade on Israel and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza if elected to office in November. The group claimed that its decision not to issue an endorsement of Harris came after months of pleading with the Democratic nominee and current US vice president to adopt anti-Israel positions on her policy platform.
“For months, we have urged Vice President Harris to shift her Gaza policy so we could mobilize voters in key states to save lives and our democracy,” the group wrote.
The group also griped about the Democratic National Convention’s (DNC) refusal in August to allow a Palestinian American to speak from the event main stage.
“The DNC and the vice president’s campaign fumbled even a small gesture to unite our party ahead of November by rejecting the simple request for a Palestinian American speaker. Now, the vice president’s campaign is courting Dick Cheney while sidelining disillusioned anti-war voices,” Uncommitted wrote.
Despite refusing to throw its support behind the Democratic nominee, the group also warned about the dangers of electing former US President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee, back into the White House, suggesting that he will intensify the so-called “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza. The organization also asserted that Trump will persecute “pro-Palestinian activism in the US.” The movement also urged its supporters to refrain from voting for a third party candidate, arguing that it would assist Trump in his quest to regain the Oval Office.
“We must block Donald Trump, which is why we urge Uncommitted voters to vote against him and avoid third-party candidates that could inadvertently boost his chances, as Trump openly boasts that third parties will help his candidacy,” the group wrote.
The Uncommitted movement’s decision to formally withhold support from Harris came on the heels of US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian American woman in Congress, publicly refusing to endorse the Democratic nominee while speaking to a crowd at the Congressional Black Caucus annual convention last week. During the event, Tlaib claimed that her constituents “don’t want blood on my hands” and believe Harris will continue the policies that have allowed the war in Gaza to persist.
Recent polling suggests that Muslim American voters are increasingly flirting with the possibility of casting a ballot for Green Party candidate Jill Stein over Harris, in part due to frustration over US policy toward Israel and Gaza. A new poll from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) revealed that 40 percent of Muslim voters in Michigan plan on voting for Stein. Harris trailed Trump with Muslim voters in Michigan, 18 percent to 12 percent, the poll found.
Stein, a far-left political figure, has aggressively courted the Arab American vote since launching her campaign. During public appearances, she frequently dons the keffiyeh — a traditional Arab headdress that, since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October, has become a sign of support for the Palestinian cause — and refers to the conflict as a “genocide.” Stein has also claimed that Hamas’s Oct. 7 slaughter of 1,200 people throughout southern Israel was justified as an act of so-called “self defense.”
In lieu of supporting a candidate for the upcoming presidential election, the Uncommitted movement encouraged the public to engage in “anti-war organizing.”
The refusal of the prominent pro-Palestinian group to endorse Harris was the latest blow to the Democratic nominee’s efforts to court Arab American voters. On Tuesday, the Harris campaign unveiled a set of new digital ads targeting the heavily Arab American town of Dearborn, Michigan. The ads included clips of Harris expressing sympathy with the suffering civilians in Gaza and vowing to “not be silent.”
The DNC, where Harris officially became the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, hosted a panel on “Palestinian Human Rights” for the first time in history, in which activists accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Though Harris has voiced support for the Jewish state’s right to existence and self defense, she has also expressed sympathy for far-left narratives that brand Israel as “genocidal.” The vice president has additionally often criticized Israel’s war effort against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
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IDF: 80 Targets Hit in Tehran as Strikes on Iran Enter 50th Hour
An Iranian flag is pictured near in a missile during a military drill, with the participation of Iran’s Air Defense units, Iran October 19, 2020. Photo: WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/Files
i24 News – The Israeli military continues its intense operations against Iran, with senior IDF officials offering new details during a morning briefing on Sunday.
According to the IDF, more than 80 targets in Tehran alone have been struck over the past 50 hours of military activity, with a particular focus on missile production and nuclear infrastructure.
An IDF official emphasized the sharp difference between Israel’s targeting strategy and that of Iran and its regional proxies.
“Iran and Yemen are deliberately targeting civilian areas as part of their strategy. In contrast, we are focusing only on military and nuclear facilities,” the official said.
The official revealed that prior to the current conflict, Iran was preparing to significantly expand its ballistic missile capabilities, with plans to produce up to 8,000 ballistic missiles in the near future. The Israeli strikes aim to cripple this production capacity before it could pose a larger threat.
Among the sites targeted are two dual-use facilities, including one in the Bandar Abbas zone. The IDF described its ongoing campaign as “missile hunting,” designed to systematically degrade Iran’s missile launch and production capabilities.
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Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other; Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict
Fire of Israeli attack on Sharan Oil depot is seen following the Israeli strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores and raising fears of a wider conflict, as US President Donald Trump said it could be ended easily while warning Tehran not to strike any US targets.
Israeli rescue teams combed through rubble of residential buildings destroyed by Iranian missiles, using sniffer dogs and heavy excavators to look for survivors after at least 10 people, including children, were killed, raising the two-day toll to 13.
Sirens rang out across Israel after 4 p.m. on Sunday in the first such daylight alert, and fresh explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv.
In Iran, images from the capital showed the night sky lit up by a huge blaze at a fuel depot after Israel began strikes against Iran’s oil and gas sector – raising the stakes for the global economy and the functioning of the Iranian state.
Iran has not given a full death toll but said 78 people were killed on Friday and scores more have died since, including in a single attack that killed 60 on Saturday, half of them children, in a 14-storey apartment block flattened in Tehran.
Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion” with a surprise attack on Friday morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will continue to escalate in coming days. Iran has vowed to “open the gates of hell” in retaliation.
The Israeli military warned Iranians living near weapons facilities to evacuate.
“Iran will pay a heavy price for the murder of civilians, women and children,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said from a balcony overlooking blown-out apartments in the town of Bat Yam where six people were killed.
An official said Israel still had a long list of targets in Iran and declined to say how long the offensive would continue. Those attacked on Saturday evening included two “dual-use” fuel sites that supported military and nuclear operations, he said.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s responses will grow “more decisive and severe” if Israel’s hostile actions continue.
TRUMP WARNS IRAN NOT TO ATTACK
Israeli skies have been streaked with barrages of Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptor rockets. Some 22 of Iran’s 270 ballistic missiles fired over the past two nights breached Israel’s anti-missile shield, Israeli authorities say.
With worries growing of a regional conflagration and oil prices having shot up, Trump has lauded Israel’s offensive while denying Iranian allegations that the US has taken part in it. He warned Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include US targets.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” he said in a message on Truth Social. “However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict.”
Early on Sunday Trump said the sides will have peace “soon,” adding many unspecified meetings were taking place.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but Western countries say could be used to make a bomb.
The latest round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, due to be held on Sunday, was scrapped after Tehran said it would not negotiate while under Israeli attack.
OIL PRICE: TENSE WAIT FOR MARKETS TO OPEN
Oil prices already shot up by 9 percent on Friday before Israel had struck any Iranian oil and gas targets. Financial markets are holding their breath to see whether prices surge further when trading resumes on Monday after the weekend, with potentially punishing consequences for the global economy, or settle down on hopes that Gulf exports will escape relatively unscathed.
Since Saturday, Israel has hit the oil depot in Tehran and facilities at Iran’s huge South Fars gas field, the world’s largest, which produces gas for domestic consumption.
But so far Israel has spared targets associated with Iran’s oil exports, while Tehran has yet to follow through on hinted threats to hinder shipping from the Gulf. Traders say oil buyers have loaded up on long-term contracts for protection in case of supply disruption, but uncertainty could drive wild price swings.
Iran said the situation at the burning Shahran oil depot in the capital was under control. It told citizens to seek shelter in mosques, schools and subways.
Israel’s military said its aircraft hit 80 targets overnight including the headquarters of Iran’s defense ministry and also its nuclear project. Iranian media showed pictures of rescue workers combing through damaged buildings with flashlights.
In Israel, the second night of Iranian attacks began shortly after 11 p.m. on Saturday (2000 GMT), when air raid sirens blared in Jerusalem and Haifa, sending around a million people into bomb shelters.
Another barrage followed hours later, with explosions echoing through Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as missiles streaked across the skies and interceptors were deployed.
At one time, Iran could have expected military support from proxy forces in Gaza, Lebanon and Iraq. However, 20 months of war against the Hamas militia in Gaza and last year’s conflict with Lebanon’s Hezbollah have decimated Tehran’s strongest regional proxies, reducing its options for retaliation.
The Israeli military official said Israel had targeted the chief of staff of Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, who fired a missile towards Israel.
Israel has said its operation could last weeks. Netanyahu has openly urged Iran’s people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers.
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Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meet in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, condemning the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressing concern about the risks of escalation, the Kremlin said.
“Vladimir Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
Trump, for his part, described events in the Middle East as “very alarming,” according to Ushakov. But the two leaders said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran’s nuclear program, Ushakov said.
On Ukraine, Putin told the US leader that Russia was ready to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians after June 22, according to state news agency RIA.
Trump reiterated his interest in a speedy resolution to the conflict, the Kremlin aide said.
Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.
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