Robin Abcarian: Many could vote against Kamala Harris over the war in Gaza. Here’s why that’s a mistake

Does anyone really believe that thwarting Vice President Kamala Harris’ quest for the presidency would be good for Palestinians?

Sure, it might feel good for a moment to “punish” Harris for the Biden administration’s unqualified support of Israel. The Israeli armed forces have inflicted untold misery on the civilian population of Gaza in retaliation for the grotesque Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.

But sitting out this election – or, worse, casting a ballot for a third-party candidate such as the Green Party’s Jill Stein – will do nothing but help former President Donald Trump retake the White House. As my dear mother used to say, that’s like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Many Muslim Americans are understandably distraught about U.S. policy in the Middle East. In the critical battleground state of Michigan, home to the largest Arab American population in the country, they make up a powerful voting bloc. According to Emgage, a group aimed at boosting the Muslim American vote, Michigan has more than 200,000 registered Muslim voters.

In 2020, Joe Biden’s margin of victory in Michigan was 154,000 votes, and the counties with the largest Arab American populations went decisively Democratic. In recent polls, between 15% and 18% of Muslim Americans say they support Trump, similar to his share of the vote in 2020. However, support for Democrats has plummeted: Only 12% say they support Harris, while between 30% and 40% say they will vote for a third-party candidate such as Stein.

“That could swing the election,” Emgage Chief Executive Wa’el Alzayat told me Monday. “I think in their hearts, a lot of folks know that the logical thing to do is vote for Kamala Harris. But there is such visceral anger and disappointment in this Democratic administration. They are still pumping someone like [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu with billions in weapons. How could we not punish them?”

But Alzayat, who spent a decade in the State Department as a Middle East policy expert, cautioned: “You want to make sure you don’t end up punishing yourself and the people you are trying to help.”

To that end, Emgage has endorsed Harris. “Endorsement doesn’t mean approval or acquiescence,” the group noted. “We are pledging to do all that we can to ensure that the next administration listens to our communities and takes our calls for peace, justice and safety seriously. We have always been clear-eyed about the danger Trump’s brand of authoritarianism represents for Muslim Americans, America, and the world.”

Harris has called for a cease-fire in Gaza and supports a two-state solution in the region. But many Arab Americans and Democrats want her to go further by conditioning American aid to Israel on an end to indiscriminate bombing, a guarantee that Israel will not occupy Gaza in the long term and peace talks centered on a two-state solution.

When it comes to the Israel-Hamas war, Trump is trying to have it both ways. He shows fealty to Netanyahu and says Jews who don’t vote for him hate their religion, hate Israel and “should have their head examined.” Meanwhile, to Arab Americans, he touts himself as someone who opposes the war and would quickly bring it to an end.

But Trump has disparaged Muslims for years. He enacted his racist ban on immigration from mostly Muslim countries almost as soon as he was sworn into office in 2017. (Biden overturned it as soon as he took office in 2021.) He has vowed to deport Palestinian students studying in the U.S. for taking part in antiwar protests. And I guarantee you that he does not care what happens to Gazans.

As recently as the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, he mused that Gaza, home to 2 million devastated Palestinians, is an attractive piece of real estate. “You know, as a developer, it could be the most beautiful place,” Trump told the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “It could be better than Monaco.”

On Saturday, in an act of pure chutzpah, Trump invited Muslim leaders to join him onstage at a campaign rally in Novi, Michigan, a small city about half an hour from Dearborn, America’s first majority Arab city.

“We, as Muslims, stand with President Trump because he promises peace … not war,” Imam Belal Alzuhairi said. “We are supporting Donald Trump because he promised to end war in the Middle East and Ukraine.”

Does the imam really understand how Trump proposes to end Israel’s war on Hamas as well as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine? When he boasts that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine on his watch, what he means is that he would have handed the country over to the Russian autocrat on a silver platter, no invasion necessary.

This is not a man of peace. This is a man of appeasement.

“Do what you have to do,” Trump told Netanyahu as they discussed Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza and with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

After the Michigan rally, Trump flew to New York, where he headlined a disastrous Madison Square Garden hate fest. Onstage, a comedian called Puerto Rico a floating island of “garbage,” and Trump’s disgraced consigliere Rudy Giuliani declared that Palestinians “are taught to kill us at 2 years old. They won’t let a Palestinian in Jordan. They won’t let a Palestinian in Egypt. And Harris wants to bring them to you.”

What more does any American voter need to know about which candidate would be better for the Palestinians?