A group of young pro-Palestine activists who heckled US presidential candidate Kamala Harris earlier this week, due to concerns she wouldn’t pursue meaningful policy changes towards Israel if she won the race for the White House, have started a campaign to disrupt her election rallies across the country.

“I would encourage everyone in wherever city they come from, to make sure that where Kamala shows up, she must recognise and address the genocide that she’s complicit in, and that she will not go without this being recognised and disrupted,” Eaman Ali, an activist who took part in the initial disruption, told MEE.

Hakim said it came as no surprise that the vice-president had leaned on the bogey of a second Trump term to deter them from protesting for a change of US policy against the war on Gaza.

"That’s all they said. “Trump is like this. Trump is like that; that’s their whole platform. I wasn’t surprised at all when her only answer [to us] was: “Oh, you want Trump to win”,” Hakim said, ridiculing the notion that any of them wanted Trump to become president.

"If they’re constantly putting forth this rhetoric that, “We are not Trump”, then they need to understand that we don’t expect them to be Trump. “You cannot just say you are not Trump. You have to actually be better, and you have to actually address the issue that we are putting forward. And it’s especially crucial if they’re doing that in Michigan.”

“Until a permanent ceasefire and arms embargo on Israel are achieved, it is a moral obligation for all people of conscience to disrupt the war machine that is fuelling this genocide,” Munir said.

  • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Spend less time pressuring possible candidates, and maybe more time pressuring actual office holders who have the actual ability to pursue actual policy on the topic?

    • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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      3 months ago

      In fairness, they did that too, with Biden. I also sent messages to all my congresspeople back when they were voting on aid for Israel (not that it did anything). Putting pressure on Harris at this point to pull her towards the side of humanity in her forming Israel policy does seem like some level of sensible thing to do.

      I absolutely think that the level of pressure the activist left has been putting on the Democrats has been producing an impact, which is absolutely a good thing. Pretty much the only part I disagree with is the attempt to solidify some sort of linkage as if the Democrats like what is happening in the Middle East right now or have explicit policies in favor of it, that aren’t posited on pure political survival in our misled and largely war-criminal-friendly electorate.

      • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Yes we’ve had a number of Palestine supporting congress people primaried and thrown out of office by much more Israel supporting candidates. In my state even. It’s absolutely had an impact. These are the actual people who could really do something about the situation in israel. And we’re actively making it worse.

        Contrast with all the bitching and moaning about Biden for the last half year. Having absolutely zero traction. If anything causing biden to dig in even more. Only after that spectacular debate fail. And all the high level Democrats coming to him and really pleading with him to step aside. Did he finally do it. So yeah they were very effective 👍 Respectfully, can we maybe cut back on the winning just a little bit? My state level government does not need any more elected Republicans. And we definitely don’t need any more the national level.

        If you want to pressure these candidates. Primary them. Hell I would give anything just to see more non-republicans running at my state and local level. Let alone Democrats primarying each other. All this attacking of the only candidate we’re going to be getting. Will likely only end up depressing enthusiasm and response for them. Making it likely for others to win.

        I know that we are the left. And shooting ourselves in the foot is one of our greatest pastimes. But it’s getting really really hard. Because we’ve got so little foot left. And we only had a left foot to begin with.

        • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          I know that we are the left. And shooting ourselves in the foot is one of our greatest pastimes. But it’s getting really really hard. Because we’ve got so little foot left. And we only had a left foot to begin with.

          have you seen or read about what is going on over there?

          way more than a bullet in a foot we are talking about

          talking mass casualty no business for its existence kind of weaponry like on Ratchet and Clank

          imagine your kids getting killed or family getting charred as all fuck and all anyone could say to you was

          “Well we not even able to voice opposition to our leaders because that would shoot ourselves in the foot BY GOD! MURICA!”

      • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        And what powers of office does she have to do anything? You need to Lobby congress. But you’re not about helping anyone in Palestine hear about virtue signaling.

          • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Because people generally like a guy and it reflects well on Paris to pick him. Literally the vice president’s only abilities is to break ties in the senate generally