As the presidential election looms very close, the prospect of a Trump victory is rightly terrifying millions of us. Given this fear, Palestinians and our co-strugglers are being criticized and vote-shamed for persisting in our rejection of Kamala Harris, as we are told that Palestine cannot be the single determining issue as we consider the future of this country. Yet I know I am not speaking only for myself when I say it is not a simple ask to vote for the presidential candidate who has repeatedly refused to address the genocide she is funding in her capacity as vice president, repeatedly refused to listen to the concerns of Arab Americans, and continues to pander debunked accusations of “the pattern of systematic gang rapes of Israeli women by Hamas militants.”
Yes, Palestine is the absolute first concern on my mind, as well it should be, when Israel is engaging in a genocide of the Palestinian people. Even if Palestine were just a “single issue” in this election, I cannot imagine dismissing it for the sake of other issues. Because genocide isn’t exactly a negligible issue, and yes, the United States is facilitating it. But also because Palestine doesn’t represent just a “single issue” in this election.
First, Palestine may be two continents away, but it is very much an American issue, as Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people is funded and facilitated by the United States. A report by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs documents how the U.S. has spent 22.76 billion dollars in military aid to Israel since October 7, 2023. This astronomical figure translates into a host of domestic issues within the U.S., from the crisis of homelessness to the reality that, in this supposedly “developed” country, most Americans are one medical bill away from bankruptcy. As such, this genocide matters and should be centered in U.S. politics.
So while, yes, there are other genocides going on right now in other parts of the world, none are directly enabled to the same degree by our tax dollars and cheered on by our politicians, across the political spectrum.
But it doesn’t stop there. Beyond being an issue for those who care about Palestine, and those of us who take accountability for living under the government facilitating the killing, the genocide in Palestine also encompasses so many other facets that should concern anyone who seeks to prioritize justice, and act morally and ethically.
Although me and many others are being criticized for supposedly prioritizing Palestine, it is impossible for me to think of it this way. Because when I am prioritizing Palestine, I am also prioritizing the struggle against sexual violence. I am also prioritizing education. And I am also prioritizing the environment. If fact, there a countless illustrations that demonstrate why Palestine is not a “single issue.” Here are just a few.
Many Harris fans see her as a feminist, because she’s a woman, and supports reproductive freedom–to a certain degree. A yard sign in my neighborhood reads “Vote as if your daughter’s future depends on it.” Obviously, the daughters whose lives are better off with Harris than they would be with Trump are a select few. The argument that I shouldn’t think of Palestinian women when voting for a U.S. president is not valid when the U.S. president is funding the genocide of Palestinian women, including entire Palestinian lineages, and of course, many Palestinian daughters.
There is nothing feminist about genocide. It is only racism that allows people to deny its magnitude because the dead are not white.
Furthermore, it is unconscionable for Harris to continue to pander to accusations of Palestinian sexual violence that have been proven to be manufactured lies. In doing so, she is no different from Trump himself. Months after these rape accusations were debunked, she spoke at a screening of Screams without Words, the movie based on the infamous New York Times article that was among the first to circulate the lies. The accusations against Hamas echo accusations Harris should be familiar with from American history close to her own ancestry, namely the racist accusations of sexual violence against black men for violating the purity of the white race. These false accusations then led to lynchings, and the accusations of Hamas fighters gang raping Israeli women are exactly that: trumped up lies, relying on old racist tropes, intended to rally support for genocide. Harris is weaponizing feminism to exterminate the most vulnerable.
Beyond feminism, as if it can be separated from other social justice issues, we could look at disability rights. In November 2023, 15% of the population in North Gaza had one or more disability. That figure has no doubt increased significantly by now. When it stood at 15%, the people with disabilities made up 70% of the casualties, because these individuals with disabilities have mobility issues, they cannot walk, let alone run, they cannot see, and they cannot hear.
And shall we speak of the flaunting of international law? Harris issued a statement calling Israel’s assassination of Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah a “measure of justice.” That assassination flattened four buildings, killing hundreds of civilians, all in violation of international law. Yet in that very same, brief statement, she mentions the importance of “protecting civilians.” I guess she, like Netanyahu, cannot view any Arab, Muslim, or Palestinian, as a “civilian.”
And what about freedom of speech? Has anyone who claims our concerns around Palestine are just a “single issue” noticed the violence of repression and the muzzle of censorship here, in the U.S., under the present administration? We don’t need to fear that Trump as president will equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism, this administration already does that. We don’t need to fear that our social media posts critical of our government will disappear under Trump, they are disappearing now.
No, I will not be shamed into voting for a presidential candidate who fully backs genocide, with all the means available to her: military, political, and financial.
I will not heed the cautious warning “yes, we know she is funding genocide, but she is the lesser evil.” If ever there was a time to break away from the American duopoly, it is now.
If Harris loses, it is not because some of us voted for a third-party candidate. It is because of Harris’s unconditional support for Israel as it engages in a genocide we are all fully aware of. And if you consider support for Harris as supporting a “lesser evil” it is only because you believe the people being exterminated are lesser.
If we must vote shame, I will shame the Harris voters who fancy themselves progressive, yet do not draw a red line at genocide.