Ahead of a campaign event in Detroit Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris met with a number of activists from the "uncommitted" movement in Michigan. The uncommitted movement withheld 100,000 votes from President Joe Biden in the democratic primary earlier this year, demanding he cut off self defense weapons for Israel, appease Hamas in the Gaza Strip and more broadly, Iran.
During her meeting, activists reportedly demanded she pause all arms transfers from the United States to Israel in order to earn their votes, a move that presents an existential threat to the only democracy in the Middle East. Harris' team says she will continue to listen to demands and concerns. From the New York Times:
The founders of the Uncommitted National Movement, the group that mobilized more than 100,000 people to withhold their votes from President Biden in this year’s Michigan primary over his support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, were among those invited to welcome Ms. Harris and her new running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, to Michigan in a photo line.
There, the founders, Abbas Alawieh and Layla Elabed, said they asked Ms. Harris for a meeting to discuss an arms embargo on Israel. After 10 months of war, Gazan health officials say nearly 40,000 people, many of them women and children, have been killed.
In a statement, a Harris campaign spokesman said only that “in this brief engagement,” the vice president “reaffirmed that her campaign will continue to engage with those communities.”
Harris' executive office staff are attempting to clarify what was discussed and her position on the issue.
.@VP has been clear: she will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. She does not support an arms embargo on Israel. She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law.
— Phil Gordon (@PhilGordon46) August 8, 2024
But of course, Harris isn't making any statements herself as she continues to hide from the press.
Can the first female vice president and potential president speak for herself or is she going to continue to allow men to speak for her? https://t.co/osg4EBBHmm
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) August 8, 2024