If Democrats want to win, they must stop denigrating Palestinian voters

Despite what many people say, the genocide is not a “single problem” or isolated phenomenon. It is a devastating series of events that are fundamentally changing the way we see the world. If the Democrats lose the upcoming presidential election, it will not be the fault of the Palestinians and Palestinian Americans who have been begging and pleading with our elected officials for months to stop killing our families.

The resistance of ordinary Americans to this genocide has been used to justify an authoritarian assault on our civil liberties and freedoms, most notably freedom of speech and assembly. Democrats warn about Project 2025 and rave about impending “fascism,” but the truth is that a fascist crackdown on the Palestine movement is already underway, especially if you are a person of color. In recent months, I have watched my friends on college campuses across the country be arrested, expelled, and suspended for supporting Palestinian liberation. Across the country, Palestinians are being forced to raise tens of thousands of dollars through social media and grassroots campaigns so their relatives have a chance to reach safety through the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border—all to escape violence funded by American taxpayer money.

As hate crimes against Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians have increased across the country, Democrats have remained largely silent. Protest chants are a cause for outrage, but when it comes to attacks on Columbia students with dangerous chemicals or the hit-and-run accident of a Muslim Stanford student, there is little to no pushback from Democrats. Democrats were among those cheering and clapping for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his speech to Congress last month as if they were at a Taylor Swift concert rather than a speech by an internationally condemned war criminal.

Given Biden and Harris’s track record on Palestine policy so far, the assumption that we should simply expect Kamala Harris to do better on Palestine policy, or that we should simply expect Democrats to do the right thing, is ridiculous.

Harris cannot expect to win over Arab, Muslim and Palestinian voters if she takes the same stance on Palestine as Biden – or if her supporters treat Gaza as an expendable issue that has nothing to do with their lives.

Palestinian Americans are being reported to the FBI by supporters of Kamala Harris simply for opposing the Biden-Harris administration’s approach to Palestine. Tim Walz, Harris’s running mate, is being hailed as the personal savior of Palestinians despite refusing to meet with his own Palestinian constituents. To date, Harris’ campaign has no detailed policy stance on Palestine and no plans for an arms embargo on Israel. All we get is a donation link, Charli XCX memes, and the candidate talking down to Palestinians who dare to protest against her.

Many people have responded to the Harris-Gaza controversy by saying that foreign policy is not their priority and that they are focused on domestic issues. But whether most Americans want to accept it or not, foreign policy Is Domestic policy. Aside from the fact that presidents have much more power in foreign policy than in domestic policy, every single tax dollar spent on bombs and weapons for Gaza is money that could have been spent on the American people, on health care, on education, on investing in our communities. And the mass arrests we’re seeing across the country – thousands of college and graduate students across the country – in response to anti-Gaza solidarity camps on college campuses – happened under a Democratic president.

Harris has made some seemingly sympathetic statements about Palestine. But the people of Gaza don’t need sympathy. They need an end to the bombing and the opening of the Rafah crossing. Palestinians need help quickly, and they need the vital infrastructure to get water treatment plants and hospitals repaired immediately. Palestinians must no longer be forced to pay exorbitant fees by the Egyptian government just so their loved ones can flee to safety. They need a massive influx of medical personnel and supplies inside Gaza to repair a health system that is in shambles.

Ignoring these urgent needs will prolong the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza while alienating Arab, Muslim and Palestinian voters in the United States. To continue to disregard these constituencies is to alienate some of the most loyal and consistent Democratic voters, who are likely to vote for a third party or stay home altogether. Bullying and patronizing Palestinians is not a successful campaign strategy.

To even consider voting for Kamala Harris, I would need to see a significant change in her administration’s stance on Palestine. It is imperative that voters continue to apply sustained pressure on the Democratic Party. Mere platitudes and performative gestures are not enough. Those who say I am too tough or that I should just conform cannot rise above criticism or criticism. If Kamala Harris truly wants to win the presidential election, she will realize that the death and destruction we are witnessing in Gaza must end.