With the struggles of Arab and Muslim people in sharp focus this year, we have a historic opportunity to exert political leverage over the U.S. presidential election. Some may understandably be reluctant to throw their support behind Kamala Harris out of sheer frustration and anger over the war on Gaza, and now Lebanon. But it must be clearly stated that electing Donald Trump would usher in a new era of racism and Islamaphobia in the U.S. while giving Benjamin Netanyahu a blank check to continue the war.
The killings are being investigated by the International Court of Justice as genocide. While living through this pain and dark moment in history, we must be clear-eyed about the choice in front of us. Only Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will become president. Our safety and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Palestine, Lebanon, and across the Middle East is on the line. We must join in protecting the world against the clear and present danger of a second Trump presidency.
Despite the immense pain and frustration our communities are experiencing, we have to support Kamala Harris to advance our anti-war goals and prevent even worse policies at home and abroad.
This year, Trump has increasingly demonized Arabs and Muslims through inflammatory rhetoric. He is now weaponizing our very identity, using "Palestinian" as a slur to mock and dismiss critics — including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — who dared to question Israel's unlimited right to bulldoze towns and cities and kill civilians. But it hardly needs to be said that Trump's antipathy toward Muslims is not new: his first term was a reign of white nationalism and Islamophobia.
The state-sanctioned discrimination of Trump's Muslim ban emboldened anti-Muslim rhetoric across the country, drove a sharp rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes, and stoked fear within our communities. Trump has committed to restoring and expanding the ban if elected to a second term. He proposed banning refugee resettlement. If elected, Trump’s Project 2025 agenda would dramatically roll back religious freedom and impose his dangerous Christian nationalist views on the rule of law.
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A second Trump administration could end basic civil rights protections for Muslim and Arab people in America. Trump has already promised to deport people who support Palestinian rights. His former ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, recently proposed that U.S. aid earmarked to help Palestinians should instead be redirected to fund Israel's annexation of the West Bank, ending Palestinian government on Palestinian land. Trump's open embrace of far-right donors who consider Israel untouchable, and powerful interest groups like AIPAC that hurl racist attacks, would mean catastrophic consequences if he wins.
And Trump's foreign policy in the Middle East was extremely harmful for people living in Arab and Muslim-majority countries. His decision to arbitrarily withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal was reckless. His support for the war in Yemen, without the consent of Congress, contributed to one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history. He slashed U.S. refugee admissions to historic lows, stranding families attempting to escape danger in places like Syria and Iraq.
With fundamental democratic values in danger around the world, supporting Jill Stein or "abandoning Harris" is a decision many of us will come to regret. We cannot afford to sit this election out or exercise our vote for someone who will not win. If we do, we are giving our power away and getting nothing in return. Every vote for a third party will help deliver the presidency to Trump. Voting for Kamala Harris is the only way to keep Trump from returning to the White House.
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Harris has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza and expressed support for a two-state solution in resolving the violence against Palestinians. In August, she endorsed the rights of the Palestinian people, stating that they had "dignity, security, freedom and self-determination." Will she need to do more if elected president? Absolutely.
Now, consider the alternative: A xenophobic Trump administration staffed with people who have vowed to lead mass deportation sweeps and make legal immigration almost impossible – openly aiming to exclude Muslims from the country and require Muslim Americans and their families to register as enemy aliens.
As a first-generation Arab and Muslim American, I understand that many of us are reluctant to support a candidate whose current administration is providing unconditional military support to a radical right-wing Israeli government. The question before us, however, is which candidate gives us the best path forward toward achieving our anti-war objectives while protecting our fundamental rights and freedoms. Given that the alternative this year is an angry, unhinged man who has been captured by the most appalling extremists in our society, the choice is clear: we must work to ensure Harris wins.
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