CAMPAIGN AIDE DENIES KAMALA IS OPEN TO DISCUSS ARMS EMBARGO AGAINST ISRAEL

Aide says Harris opposes Israel arms embargo, after far-left group claims she may not

US activists for Uncommitted, which aims to pressure the Democratic Party into adopting tougher stance against Israel, have claimed VP said she is open to discussing the idea

 

The Times of Israel

Aug 8, 2024

 

 

Kamala Harris met briefly with Layla Elabed (R) and Abbas Alawieh (L), the co-founders of the Uncommitted National Movement, for a photo shoot with the anti-Israel pair in Detroit on August 7, 2024

 

WASHINGTON — An aide for US Vice President Kamala Harris rejected a claim Thursday that she had agreed to discuss imposing an arms embargo on Israel during an exchange with pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activists who are pushing for changes to US policy toward its ally over the war in Gaza.

Before the Detroit rally, she met briefly in a photo line with the founders of the Uncommitted National Movement, which led a mass protest vote in the Democratic Party primaries over US President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in the war against Hamas.

The far-left group issued a press release afterward saying that during their brief conversation with Harris, the vice president expressed openness to discussing their call for an Israel arms embargo and directed her staff to be in touch with the two Uncommitted leaders.

Following the rally, the Uncommitted activists said Harris had indicated a willingness to hold a follow-up meeting to discuss their demand for an arms embargo against Israel.

The New York Times reported the press release at face value and without attribution, instantly sparking a storm.

Harris’s campaign subsequently issued a statement that made no mention of Harris’s willingness to consider an arms embargo.

“Since October 7, the vice president has prioritized engaging with Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian community members and others regarding the war in Gaza,” the statement said.

“In this brief engagement, she reaffirmed that her campaign will continue to engage with those communities. The vice president has been clear: she will always work to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. The vice president is focused on securing the ceasefire and hostage deal currently on the table.”

On Thursday morning, Harris’s national security adviser Phil Gordon issued a more definitive statement saying that Harris opposes an Israel arms embargo.

“Vice President Harris 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,” Gordon tweeted.

The two founders of the Uncommitted group, Layla Elabed and Abbas Alawieh, said they spoke briefly in the photo line with both Harris and newly minted running mate Tim Walz of Minnesota about their concerns about the US supplying weapons to Israel.

Alawieh said on Thursday that both he and Elabed asked for a meeting specifically to discuss the demand for an arms embargo on Israel, “and in both cases, Vice President Harris expressed an openness to following up.

He said he was very encouraged by his engagements with Harris’s office and hoped discussions would continue to be fruitful.

The war in Gaza erupted with the October 7 Hamas invasion and massacre in southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were slaughtered, most of them civilians, and 251 were seized as hostages.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has said that more than 39,000 people have been killed or are assumed dead in the Strip since the start of the fighting, although the figures cannot be verified and do not differentiate between combatants and civilians. Israel says it has killed some 15,000 combatants in battle and some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 attack.

The Uncommitted political group was organized to oppose Biden’s support for Israel amid the war, which seeks to destroy Hamas’s governing and military capabilities and which, according to the United Nations, has displaced nearly 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.

The impact of the war on civilians in Gaza has prompted calls for Washington to put conditions on the billions of dollars in military funding and other assistance it provides to Israel.

The US in May paused a shipment of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs due to concern over the impact they could have if used in the densely packed enclave, where Hamas hides among the civilian population.

The Uncommitted movement amassed sizable vote totals in presidential nominating contests in Michigan, Minnesota and Hawaii, and has won at least 25 delegates. Leaders have said they want to use their influence at this month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In a reminder of how divisive the issue has been for Democrats, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters briefly interrupted Harris’s speech in Detroit on Wednesday, chanting: “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide.”

The impact of the war on civilians in Gaza has prompted calls for Washington to put conditions on the billions of dollars in military funding and other assistance it provides to Israel.

The US in May paused a shipment of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs due to concern over the impact they could have if used in the densely packed enclave, where Hamas hides among the civilian population.

The Uncommitted movement amassed sizable vote totals in presidential nominating contests in Michigan, Minnesota and Hawaii, and has won at least 25 delegates. Leaders have said they want to use their influence at this month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In a reminder of how divisive the issue has been for Democrats, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters briefly interrupted Harris’s speech in Detroit on Wednesday, chanting: “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide.”