I frequently visit a Lebanese/Armenian family-owned international gourmet marketplace in downtown Houston. During my recent visit to this two-storey store with live jazz music, a Middle Eastern bakery, and shawarma counter, I picked up a pamphlet titled “Vote Against Genocide.”
Signed by more than 100 Muslim community members, including imams, the letter advocates a boycott of both Democratic and Republican parties due to the war against Palestine. It calls for a third-party vote in the presidential election, as both parties have failed the Palestinian people.
Despite the case made, I voted for Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Here is how I am justifying my vote to my Muslim ummah:
She is not President Biden
Most of us have seen the big hug President Biden gave to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu upon landing in Israel after the October 7 attacks by Hamas. The world witnessed where President Biden stood in the face of an onslaught against Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank (despite the fact that Hamas does not control the West Bank). Empty rhetoric of restraint came in from the US State Department, followed by nearly zero consequences for Israel.
However, blaming Vice President Harris for this failed foreign policy would be unjust, as if she speaks up against this, it would be insubordination. She has already called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine war and supports the standard two-state solution. Even if some voters are demanding for her to halt American military aid to Israel in the face of genocide, she cannot speak against the current President’s policy.
A vote for Green Party will not bring them into the White House
Dr Jill Stein, the Green Party’s Harvard-educated presidential nominee, has rightfully called the war in Gaza a genocide. She has vowed to end this conflict on day one of her presidency, as she believes the US has the power to shut this down with one phone call to Israel. Whereas I am truly thankful for the support she has placed for innocent Palestinians, this candidate is polling at 1%. Does anyone truly believe a vote for the Green Party will make a difference in US foreign policy?
If Kamala Harris wins the US presidency, we have a chance to influence US foreign policy towards Palestine
Trump will be a global nightmare
Ask yourself this: Will Donald Trump do anything better for the Palestinian people? His record proves a rock-solid alignment with Israel, and no support whatsoever for the Palestinians. He has called for a deportation of Palestinian students in the US who have taken part in anti-war protests, and even suggested that Gaza, where a wholescale destruction has taken place, would be a nice parcel of real estate. Who gets to live in that prime real estate, Mr Trump?
A path forward
If Kamala Harris wins the US presidency, we have a chance to influence US foreign policy towards Palestine. If enough Muslims and Arab-Americans (4.45 million and 3.7 million overlapping number, respectively) ally alongside those who actually care about human rights, we can successfully build on the existing pro-Palestine coalition.
Some Democratic Congress members already support a dignified life for the Palestinians (Bernie Sanders, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar, to name a few). If enough of us push the legislative and executive bodies of the US for further action, we can at least receive incremental success on this front.
This simply cannot take place if the Republican Party controls both branches of government. Therefore, the Democratic Party’s victory is our only viable chance to move forward on the Palestinian cause.
Tamim Choudhury is a Public Affairs Specialist at a Washington, DC-based international volunteering agency.
