“After extensive consultation, discussion, and deliberation, the American Muslim 2024 Election Task Force has decided to encourage American Muslims to vote for any presidential candidate of their choosing who supports a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and a US arms embargo on the Israeli government, such as candidates Dr Jill Stein, Dr Cornel West or Chase Oliver,” read the statement, obtained by Middle East Eye.

The statement was written by the American Muslim 2024 Election Task Force, an umbrella group formed this year that consists of a number of prominent Muslim organisations including the political arms of Americans for Justice in Palestine (AJP), Cair, and the US Council of Muslim Organizations.

“We cannot endorse Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy because of her refusal to even consider imposing the arms embargo on the Israeli government required by US laws and her failure to promise any other changes whatsoever to President Biden’s failed policy of steadfast financial, diplomatic and military support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” the statement read.

  • Cowbee [he/him]
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    342 months ago

    Sounds like Harris needs to try to win back disaffected Muslim-Americans turned away by her promise to continue genocide.

    • Philo
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      -42 months ago

      No, it sounds like disaffected people need to stop helping Trump win and start thinking.

      • Cowbee [he/him]
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        202 months ago

        Easy to say when you aren’t the target. It is the job of a politician to win over voters they are shedding.

        Your line of thinking is that over half of Muslim-American voters simply “aren’t thinking,” which borders on racist. Instead, think about why they are doing what they are doing, and how that can change.

        • @jaaake@lemmy.world
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          12 months ago

          Saying that people aren’t thinking isn’t how we should be having this discussion. The Israeli government, military, and many of its citizens are acting as a terrorist nation. Palestine should be a free country instead of one oppressed and murdered by its neighbors. These attacks should not be supported, funded, or supplied by any country, especially one that claims to value democracy (and yet continually acts against those values). The UN overwhelmingly supports all of the above. The US is wrong here. The US needs to change its stance.

          The US is political system is a two party system. It truly truly sucks that we do not have a ranked choice voting system. Currently, voting in national elections for a third party is only effectively denying a vote to one of the two major parties. (Local elections are a different story and the only way to possible route to national change of our two party system is to start locally.)

          Neither viable candidate has a good stance on Palestine. Of the two viable candidates, it should be obvious which one will have less negative impact on racial and religious minorities. It should also be obvious which candidate could possibly change their incorrect stance on Palestine once reaching office. I’m not saying there’s a large possibility, I’m saying ANY possibility.

          If all Americans were required to vote, and could only vote for one of the two major parties, which candidate do you think the vast majority of Muslim-Americans would vote for? In the world where you can choose to not vote, or support a candidate that literally has no chance of winning, all you’re doing is lowering the total number of votes for the candidate who closer aligns with your values. Yes, that’s the lesser of two evils. Yes, that does mean voting for someone who hasn’t taken a stance against the genocide currently happening. Yes, it feels awful to support someone that you don’t agree with on such an important topic. The alternative is worse.

          When protesting against our country’s stance on Israel and Palestine (which I will do until people are free from the river to the sea), I would much rather be protesting against someone with a shred of empathy rather than someone who is likely to engage the military to use deadly force and brutal repression against us who protest.

          • Cowbee [he/him]
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            112 months ago

            The Israeli government, military, and many of its citizens are acting as a terrorist nation. Palestine should be a free country instead of one oppressed and murdered by its neighbors. These attacks should not be supported, funded, or supplied by any country, especially one that claims to value democracy (and yet continually acts against those values). The UN overwhelmingly supports all of the above. The US is wrong here. The US needs to change its stance.

            Why does the US support Israel, and why has it for so long? The answer will show the course we need to take.

            The US is political system is a two party system. It truly truly sucks that we do not have a ranked choice voting system. Currently, voting in national elections for a third party is only effectively denying a vote to one of the two major parties. (Local elections are a different story and the only way to possible route to national change of our two party system is to start locally.)

            It does more than that, it signals where people are willing to vote.

            Neither viable candidate has a good stance on Palestine. Of the two viable candidates, it should be obvious which one will have less negative impact on racial and religious minorities. It should also be obvious which candidate could possibly change their incorrect stance on Palestine once reaching office. I’m not saying there’s a large possibility, I’m saying ANY possibility.

            Neither candidate has any possibility of changing unless they fear losing the election because of it. The genocide isn’t a moral choice, but economic.

            If all Americans were required to vote, and could only vote for one of the two major parties, which candidate do you think the vast majority of Muslim-Americans would vote for?

            If we lived in such a dictatorship, then I believe Muslim-Americans would join Leftists in organizing outside of the electoral system and help build up Dual Power.

            When protesting against our country’s stance on Israel and Palestine (which I will do until people are free from the river to the sea), I would much rather be protesting against someone with a shred of empathy rather than someone who is likely to engage the military to use deadly force and brutal repression against us who protest.

            Neither have a shred of empathy, and Tim Walz sent in the National Guard to disappear BLM protestors under Trump. Neither are good, both are evil, neither care.

            • @jaaake@lemmy.world
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              -22 months ago

              So what are you going to do about it, and why is that better than making a choice between one of the two candidates that will definitely be in office in less than 4 months?

              • Cowbee [he/him]
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                82 months ago

                Organize with my fellow leftists and continue to push for Revolution, which we know factually works, rather than trying to push for reform, which we know factually doesn’t work.

                I’ll probably end up voting for Claudia De La Crúz of PSL.

                • @jaaake@lemmy.world
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                  02 months ago

                  I’m all for revolution. It’s not going to happen at the scale needed before the upcoming presidential election. Depending on where you live, that vote is either going to do nothing, or make a revolution more likely to be stomped out by authoritarianism before it can reach the critical mass needed to enact change.

                  • Cowbee [he/him]
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                    92 months ago

                    Nope, it likely won’t happen before the election. However, I don’t see why you think the DNC wouldn’t collaborate with the GOP to stomp out Revolution equally, both serve the United States.

              • @CountryBreakfast@lemmygrad.ml
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                22 months ago

                What? Are you gonna fucking guilt me? You gonna send me to hell? You gonna tell your mom? There is nothing I have to do to qualify not voting for imperial agents.

      • davel [he/him]
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        202 months ago

        It sounds like the Democrats need to stop aiding and abetting genocide if they want their votes.

    • @jordanlund@lemmy.world
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      -52 months ago

      Problem: She’s not advocating for continued genocide:

      https://www.reuters.com/world/us/harris-face-black-journalists-questions-philadelphia-2024-09-17/

      Speaking in Philadelphia to the National Association of Black Journalists, she called for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants, a two-state solution and Middle East stability in a way that does not empower Iran.

      Repeatedly:

      https://www.npr.org/2024/08/23/g-s1-19232/kamala-harris-israel-gaza-dnc

      She and President Biden are still pushing for a cease-fire deal that sees the hostages released, the fighting in Gaza to end and so “Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self determination.”

      https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0lx2xgn55o

      Ms Harris said “far too many” civilians had been killed "yet again"and reiterated calls for a hostage deal and a ceasefire, echoing comments made by the White House.

      None of that is “pro-genocide”.

      • davel [he/him]
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        2 months ago

        No, Harris and the Biden administration are pretending to push for a ceasefire deal, and Harris is pretending to give a shit about Palestinian civilians. They could have stopped this at any time with a phone call; it’s been done before.

          • davel [he/him]
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            2 months ago

            You’re such a tiresome dumbass. Somehow I’m a “Russian account,” despite having been born, raised, and still living in the US.

            You’re just a annoying troll.

            $ curl -s 'https://lemmy.ml/api/v3/modlog?limit=50&other_person_id=8274625' \
            > | jq 'pick(.banned, .banned_from_community, .removed_posts, .removed_comments) | keys[] as $k | .[$k] | length' \
            > |  paste -s -d+ - | bc
            73
            
      • @GarbageShootAlt2@lemmy.ml
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        202 months ago

        The Biden admin has corrupted “ceasefire” to mean “pause in the fighting to get the hostages back”. Biden has made a big show of cursing out Bibi on the phone and other performative bullshit, but he has not strayed from Israel’s side even as they’ve betrayed him and promoted Trump. Harris is the same, giving lip service to human rights activists and bombs to genociders.

      • @zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        How do you achieve those things without a weapons embargo? Harris has said that there will never be an embargo.

        She hasn’t even given the vaguest clue as to what her plan is. She’s just “working on it”. “24/7”, she says, and yet she somehow still has time to go to rallies.

        To add insult to injury, the Democrats wouldn’t even allow a Palestinian-American to speak during their convention. They allowed a bunch of Republicans to speak, but not a single Palestinian-American Democrat.

        I heard the speech that the Palestinian-American rep wanted to give. There was nothing in it that should’ve upset the DNC. It didn’t even mention an embargo!

        If the Democrats keep spitting in your face, how long do you keep giving them your votes?

      • Cowbee [he/him]
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        172 months ago

        This is a continuation of Biden’s genocidal policies, not a new promise to end the genocide. The DNC is losing heavily in optics, so they are trying to fight optics with empty promises while maintaning unending support for Israel’s “Right to Defend Itself.” If you have any knowledge of Israel’s existence as a settler-colonial apartheid state, or why the US will always support it, then you know that Harris’s promises are hollow and empty, and signify continued genocide.

        Here’s a simple thought experiment: why has the US historically supported Israel, and how would that change?

          • Cowbee [he/him]
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            182 months ago

            Nothing. Harris won’t make it better either, both major candidates support genocide.

            • @davidagain@lemmy.world
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              -62 months ago

              Ah yes. BoTh SIDes are completely the same. You’re not even slightly offended by calls to “Finish them” from the republicans? Written on an Israeli bomb?

                  • @GarbageShootAlt2@lemmy.ml
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                    132 months ago

                    Harris: Literally supports the ongoing genocide and promises that she will keep arming the genocider, but says that she supports the victims (while doing nothing to support them

                    Trump: Voices explicit support for Israel’s ongoing genocide, the one Biden is bankrolling and Harris swears up and down she will support

                    Liberals pretending to care about human life: “Can’t you see the substantial practical difference here?”

              • Cowbee [he/him]
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                112 months ago

                Does it make the bomb stronger? If Harris cries when the next shipment goes, does it misfire?

          • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆M
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            182 months ago

            If you can’t understand how holding candidates accountable is important, then what else is there to tell you. This isn’t about Trump making anything better, it’s about withholding vote from a candidate that does not represent you.

      • @CountryBreakfast@lemmygrad.ml
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        22 months ago

        You fucking dipshit, the US is aiding and arming Israel and has been doing so for decades. Can you stop being such a stupid fucking naive child?

      • @vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        2 months ago

        Problem: She’s not advocating for continued genocide

        Have you seen the vassal state comment up thread? He thinks the US has absolute control over Israel and that the war in Gaza is an expression of Biden and Harris’ will.

        This is not a productive conversation.

        • Cowbee [he/him]
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          2 months ago

          Have you seen the vassal state comment up thread? He thinks the US has absolute control over Israel and that the war in Gaza is an expression of Biden and Harris’ will.

          Not quite.

          Israel is a vassal state. It requires US support to continue genocide. The US supports Israel because Israel serves as a Bulwark for Imperialism in the Middle East to help ensure US Interests are respected. The genocide in Gaza is specifically a result of the entire Zionist project of Settler-Colonialism. It isn’t an expression of Biden and Harris’ will, but of their undying loyalty to the economic interests of the US Empire.

          Consider reading To stop Marx, they made Zion. Zionism is Antisemetic, fascist, and predicated on genocide.

          • @zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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            92 months ago

            Zionism is Antisemetic, fascist, and predicated on genocide.

            An ethno-state is fascist? Who would’ve thought?

            As far as being antisemitic…if you love people, you don’t want to ship them off to some faraway country in the middle of the desert. It’s basically saying “Hey, we don’t want to deal with antisemitism in our country, so could you all just move to this other country instead? K thanx.”

            White supremacists and other racists love ethno-states. They think that every country should be like Israel. In fact, they want to turn the US into a country like Israel, except based around whiteness instead of Jewishness.

            • Cowbee [he/him]
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              132 months ago

              You can lead a liberal to analysis, but you can’t make them read, I suppose.