No Ceasefire No Vote campaign in Pa. pressures Harris, Dems on Gaza

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A Pennsylvania group is asking voters to refuse support for Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s elections until the Biden administration brings about a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, or Harris publicly commits to an arms embargo on Israel if she becomes president.

Reem Abuelhaj, spokesperson for No Ceasefire No Vote, said the grassroot campaign is focused on Pennsylvania now, although organizers are in conversation with groups across the country.

“We know another Trump presidency would be disastrous for our communities. We’re taking action because we believe Vice President Harris cannot and will not win while she’s actively supporting a genocide,” she said. “So we are [making visible] the number of voters who cannot vote for a candidate who is actively supporting genocide. And we’re giving the Harris campaign the opportunity to change course, and secure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and secure a victory in November.”

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict started on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. More than 1,200 Israelis have been killed, with more than 100 Israelis still believed to be held hostage by Hamas.

No Ceasefire No Vote PA builds on Uncommitted PA, one of several campaigns nationwide that encouraged Democratic voters to write in “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary to show their disapproval of the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Gaza war. That campaign yielded more than 60,000 write-in votes for the presidential candidate in Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary in April — double the number of write-in votes for the presidential candidate in the Pa. Democratic primary in 2020.

A Gallup poll released in March showed 55% of Americans disapprove of Israeli actions in Gaza. The same poll showed 75% of Democrats and 60% of Independents disapprove of Israeli military action in Gaza. Among Republicans, a majority approve of Israeli military action in Gaza, at 64%, while 30% disapprove.

Chris Borick, professor of political science at Muhlenberg College and director of the college’s Institute of Public Opinion, said voters concerned about the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the Israel-Gaza war could prove to be a critical margin in a state where Biden bested Trump by a little over 80,000 votes in 2020.

“This issue, of course, has the potential to bring voters out, keep voters at home, switch votes,” he said. “And thus it, like many other issues, and in a state like Pennsylvania that is so crucial to the electoral success of both parties, and I think particularly Democrats, it could be impactful.”

An “underrated” impact of voters dissatisfied with Harris’ and Democrats’ stance on the Israel-Gaza war could also come in the form of diminished organizing power, Borick said.

“Often, progressive voters that feel very passionate might do a lot of the legwork and spend a lot of the time helping to organize,” he said. “And if at the end, they say, ‘Well, you know, I can’t vote for Trump, I’ll take the lesser of two evils,’ that’s a win, but not necessarily a complete win that you would get if those individuals were also highly engaged in the race.”

Borick said Harris has an opportunity to win over some voters who have been critical of the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict.

“The attention and the navigation of the issue by the vice president in her campaign I think is going to be a really significant part of the campaign moving forward,” he said.

On Thursday, less than a week after President Joe Biden announced he was not seeking reelection and the Democratic Party’s support solidified around Harris, the vice president met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Harris said that it was a “frank and constructive meeting.” She said she has an “unwavering commitment” to Israel and its right to defend itself, and also expressed to Netanyahu her “serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza.”

“The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third, or fourth time,” Harris said. “We can not look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent.”

Harris, who said she is committed to a two-state solution, urged Netanyahu to work towards a ceasefire deal to end the war.

“Let’s bring the hostages home and let’s provide much needed relief to the Palestinian people,” she said.

Harris’ Pennsylvania campaign representatives referred to the vice president’s Thursday remarks when asked for comment.

Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump met with Netanyahu on Friday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

Trump told reporters Harris’ Thursday remarks were “disrespectful to Israel.”