Uncommitted movement decries accusations that it was ‘bought’

Divisions within the “uncommitted” movement of Democrats protesting the Biden administration’s approach to the war in Gaza burst into view on Election Day, after a news outlet that takes a hard line against Israel revealed that the movement had taken more than $400,000 from a group aligned with the Democratic Party.

About 700,000 voters cast “uncommitted” ballots in Democratic primaries this spring. Since Vice President Kamala Harris took over as the candidate at the top of the ticket, the movement has been focused on lobbying her to support an arms embargo against Israel, something she rejects. 

In September, the Uncommitted National Movement declined to officially endorse Harris but advised its supporters to do nothing to help former President Donald Trump, including vote for a third party candidate. One of its co-founders, Abbas Alawieh, who was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, made clear last week he plans to vote for Harris, while the other, Layla Elabed, has said she is leaving the presidential line of her ballot blank.

Related

The report Monday in the Middle East Eye exposed further conflicts between the main movement and a dissident spinoff calling itself Uncommitted Grassroots. The offshoot was formed by members who saw the decision not to endorse a third-party candidate as a capitulation to the Democratic establishment. On its website it says the movement cannot be “bought” and advises supporters to vote for a third party candidate who backs a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and an arms embargo against Israel.

The article cited federal campaign filings showing that the Uncommitted National Movement had received donations totalling $430,000 between March and May from a political action committee called the Movement Voter Project, and that the PAC does not support recipients of its donations from endorsing third-party candidates.

“The Democrats, they can buy a few individuals here and there, but they cannot buy the people,” Nidal Jaboor, a member of the steering committee for Uncommitted Grassroots, told the Middle East Eye. “They will not buy us.”

Related

In a statement posted on X Monday, the Uncommitted National Movement called the article “unfounded and absurd.” It said Uncommitted was among 500 groups supported by the Movement Voter Project, and that the groups have “taken divergent paths on the election.”

“Uncommitted’s critics are now amplifying this baseless story,” the tweet said. “We are committed to engaging in principled, honest disagreements about strategy without engaging in misinformation, conspiracy or tearing each other apart.”

The statement continued: “Uncommitted leaders and delegates are voting in different ways, yet remain united in their mission to stop the endless flow of American weapons fueling Israel’s militarism.”

The public fight among Democrats critical of Harris came as both candidates vowed to end the war in Gaza, and tried to woo Jewish, Arab and Muslim voters with differing views toward Israel. Trump has tried, especially in the last days of the campaign, to court Arab American and Muslim voters with social posts promising peace in the Middle East, and by sending surrogates to meet with Arab American groups, despite the fact that he tried to ban immigration from Muslim majority countries when he was president, and has urged Israel to “finish the job” in Gaza.

One recent poll from the Council on American-Islamic Relations shows Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein, who garnered 1% of the vote nationally in 2016, running neck and neck with Harris among Muslim voters. Stein, who is Jewish, supports the arms embargo backed by the uncommitted movement, as well as  the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.

The post Uncommitted movement decries accusations that it was ‘bought’ appeared first on The Forward.



from The Forward https://ift.tt/mqTH1d9

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ahead of election, Jewish security groups are monitoring conspiracy theories, Jewish polling sites and foreign interference

( JTA ) — Conspiracy theories. Bomb threats. Anti-Israel protests. Street violence. Jews have been the targets of all these things this year, as reports of antisemitism have spiked during the Israel-Hamas war. Now, less than a week before Election Day, security analysts say those same factors could put Jews at risk during and after the voting — especially with the race so polarized and so close. “It used to be that you disagreed with the election results and you were upset about it, but you kept on going,” said Alex Friedfeld, an associate director at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. “But now when the stakes are set so high, that the other side winning is perceived to be a threat to your way of life, to your communities, to your loved ones, to your country, that’s when the threat, the risk of violence becomes higher.” During the last election cycle in 2020 — a season that saw unrest, particularly in the pro-Donald Trump Jan. 6 Capitol riot — analysts cautioned Jewis
Israel News Today

Vote ‘as a mensch’: New campaign to get out the Jewish vote

Image
A new social media campaign is encouraging Jewish voters in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn to “#DoItForTheShchuna,” using the Hebrew word for a religious neighborhood. Exactly 50 years ago, in the leadup to Election Day in Nov. 1974, the Lubavitcher Rebbe told his community in their native Yiddish: “ Men darf gain voten! ” Which means: “Everyone needs to go vote!” Some of those 1974 voters are part of the new campaign. The new project is the brainchild of Yaacov Behrman, the founder of the Jewish Future Alliance, a voter outreach organization. As a nonprofit, his group cannot endorse a particular candidate, but is instead hoping to increase the community’s political sway in future elections. “I’m looking at the long game,” Behrman said. By increasing the number of registered Jewish voters in Crown Heights, he’s increasing the likelihood that candidates running in upcoming elections, like the 2025 New York mayoral race, will take the issues of the community more seriously. “Thes
Israel News Today

This is not an endorsement for Kamala Harris — or Donald Trump

Image
When I started covering the 2004 presidential election for  The New York Times , the great political writer Adam Nagourney summed up the beat this way: Help readers understand how the candidate makes decisions. Don’t get too caught up in the speeches and policy positions, Adam advised, or too focused on fundraising and poll numbers. What matters is who the presidential wannabes surround themselves with, how they think. He pointed to 9/11 and the wars it spawned in Iraq and Afghanistan. These were the defining events of President George W. Bush’s first term, but (obviously) neither he nor his opponent uttered a single word about them during the campaign. Since we can never know what crisis any commander in chief will confront, the best we can do is glean insights from how they handled unexpected challenges before. It’s not only good guidance for journalists, but also a useful framework for voters approaching the ballot box. Who’s in the leader’s  inner circle ? How do they  react  un
Israel News Today