Some voters from key battleground states like North Carolina, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania say they want to see a public commitment from Vice President Kamala Harris on taking action on Israel’s war in Gaza before they decide to vote for her.
Halah Ahmad: “Nothing feels good about this election,” the Palestinian-American from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, told CNN, describing the regular feeling of “shock and horror” she feels as she sees footage of people killed and places destroyed in Gaza.
Ahmad said she can’t guarantee her vote and support to leaders until she is guaranteed an arms embargo or an end to hostilities in Gaza. “I feel most accountable to life — that most basic sanctity of life — in this election,” she said. “The only way to operate is to operate from the place of ‘doing what I can’ and if there’s some hope, I have to act on that,” she added.
She said she takes “the risk” of a possible Trump presidency “very seriously,” but argued that there is “no viable alternative to genocide on the Democratic ticket” either.
Ahmad remains undecided on whether to vote at all, “or I may vote third party, or maybe Harris will do what’s right.” If Harris loses the election, she said she would hold the vice president and the Democratic Party responsible for her loss.
Reem Abuelhaj: The Philadelphia resident said she plans to go to the polls and vote down ballot, but “will not vote for Vice President Harris unless, at any point between now and November 5, she publicly commits to impose an arms embargo on Israel or permanent ceasefire achieved in Gaza.”
“I’m a voter of conscience, and a candidate who is staunchly promoting a policy of unconditionally arming and funding Israel to carry on its genocide in Gaza and escalation in the West Bank and the war in Lebanon is a red line for me,” she said.
She told CNN the issue is “deeply personal” to her. The Palestinian-American says she knows people who have lost family members in Gaza over the last year and can’t vote for someone who is part of an administration she sees as responsible.
At a CNN town hall, Harris said she believed that people who care about Gaza also care about reproductive freedom and grocery prices among other things, and may want to vote for her based on those issues.
Meghan Watts: A resident of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, said that to have those issues “weaponized” against her “speaks to how disconnected she feels from what people are really concerned about.”
“It shouldn’t be a choice where we have to either accept genocide in exchange for lower groceries or in exchange for rent to be lowered,” the PhD student said. “It’s an egregious choice to be forced on us.”
She said she won’t vote on the presidency even though she fears a second Trump term would embolden his “fascist/neo-Nazi” supporters “to enact violence against marginalized communities.”
The candidates’ stances: Harris gave a forceful and notable speech about the situation in Gaza in July and echoed President Joe Biden’s repeated comments about the “ironclad support” and “unwavering commitment” to Israel, as well as the need to get the Israeli hostages back from Hamas captivity. The country has a right to defend itself, she said, while noting, “how it does so, matters.” She called out the plight of the people in Gaza, as well as the need to free the Israeli hostages and secure a ceasefire deal, in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in August. Read more about Harris’ stance on the war here.
In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel, Trump criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his handling of the war, claiming to Fox News at the time the prime minister and the country overall were “unprepared.” Many Israelis presume that Trump would give Netanyahu a longer leash to use greater force in Gaza. Trump has said that Israel must “finish what they started,” “get it over with fast,” and that the US must “let Israel finish the job.” Read about Trump’s stances on foreign policy here.
The post was updated with more comments from the interviewees and reporting on the candidates’ stances.
Correction: This post has been updated to reflect how Reem Abuelhaj described her thoughts on Harris’ support of funding Israel.
