Democratic
presidential
nominee
and U.S.
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris
attends
a
campaign
rally,
in Erie,
Pennsylvania,
U.S.,
October
14,
2024.
REUTERS/Evelyn
Hockstein |
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Arab
American
PAC
rejects
both
Trump
and
Harris
over
their
support
for
Israel
By
Kanishka
Singh
3–4
minutes
WASHINGTON
- The
Arab
American
Political
Action
Committee
said on
Monday
it will
not
endorse
Democratic
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris
or
Republican
former
President
Donald
Trump
citing
what it
called
their
"blind
support"
for
Israel
in wars
in Gaza
and
Lebanon.
The Nov.
5 U.S.
elections
will
mark the
first
time
AAPAC
has
chosen
not to
endorse
a
candidate
since
the
group's
1998
inception.
It
usually
endorses
Democrats.
Polls
show the
race
between
Harris
and
Trump as
tight.
Arab and
Muslim
Americans
overwhelmingly
backed
President
Joe
Biden in
2020 but
have
been
vocal
opponents
of U.S.
support
for
Israel,
which
has
eroded
their
backing
of
Democrats.
Trump
has
historically
had low
approval
from
that
community
due to
past
statements
and his
policy
of a
travel
ban
targeting
Muslim-majority
nations
when he
was in
office.
Like
Harris
and
Biden,
Trump
has also
been a
vocal
supporter
of
Israel.
Analysts
said
Harris'
chances
could be
hurt if
Arab and
Muslim
Americans
did not
vote or
voted
for a
third
party.
Many
from
those
communities
have
lost
relatives
in Gaza
and
Lebanon
and have
urged
supporters
to not
vote for
Trump or
Harris.
Some
like
advocacy
group
Emgage
Action
have
backed
Harris,
citing
Trump as
a bigger
threat.
"Both
candidates
have
endorsed
genocide
in Gaza
and war
in
Lebanon,"
AAPAC
said in
a
statement.
"We
simply
cannot
give our
votes to
either
Democrat
Kamala
Harris
or
Republican
Donald
Trump,
who
blindly
support
the
criminal
Israeli
government."
Israel
has
denied
genocide
allegations
at the
World
Court
and said
it is
defending
itself
after an
Oct. 7,
2023,
attack
by
Palestinian
Hamas
militants
that it
estimated
killed
about
1,200
people
and in
which
around
250 were
taken
hostage.
Israel's
assault
on
Hamas-governed
Gaza has
killed
nearly
42,000
people,
the
local
health
ministry
said,
while
displacing
nearly
its
entire
population
and
causing
a hunger
crisis.
In
Lebanon,
where
Israel
said it
is
targeting
Iran-backed
Hezbollah
militants,
the
death
toll is
over
2,000,
the
Lebanese
government
said.
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