‘Lose-lose’: These pro-Palestine Arizonans aren't buying Kamala Harris

As Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage Thursday night in Chandler, the flash of cell phone cameras and thousands of cheering supporters waving campaign signs greeted her. The rally at the Rawhide Event Center was her third appearance in Arizona since becoming the Democratic nominee for president in July, and the swing-state crowds generally have been adoring.

But not all of them.

About five minutes into Harris’ speech in Chandler, a voice interrupted from the venue floor. “Free, Free Palestine!” a woman screamed, waving a black, red and green Palestinian flag. Two security guards and a campaign staffer quickly escorted the woman out, and the crowd’s pro-Harris cheers drowned out her voice.

This has become something of a theme for Harris events, both in Arizona and elsewhere. It has been just more than a year since Hamas killed 1,200 people and abducted 254 more during a surprise raid on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. In response, Israel has decimated the Gaza Strip, blanketing it with bombs and gunfire and killing an estimated 41,000 people, including journalists, aid workers and thousands of Palestinian women and children. Nearly 98,000 more have been injured.

Israel has waged that war with ongoing backing from the United States, one of its closest allies. Though President Joe Biden has pushed unsuccessfully for a ceasefire agreement, his administration has not stopped supplying Israel with military aid. Far from halting the conflict, Israel has now widened it, beginning a ground offensive in Lebanon last month to take on the terror group Hezbollah.

The escalating conflict has left a swath of voters — many of them Muslim but also Americans of many other faiths — disillusioned with the Biden-Harris administration. Everywhere she’s been, Harris has been met with joy from Democratic voters thrilled to have a viable candidate to take on Republican former President Donald Trump. But she’s also repeatedly been confronted with pro-Palestine protesters.

When protesters interrupted Harris’ speech during an August campaign rally in Detroit, she shut them down with a catchphrase and an icy stare. “I am speaking now,” Harris said. “You know what, if you want Donald Trump to win, then say that, otherwise, I’m speaking.” The moment went viral, and while many Democratic supporters praised Harris, others were put off by her reaction.

During Harris’ first Arizona rally a few days later, a pro-Palestine protester interrupted her speech in a similar manner. This time, however, Harris responded differently. “We’re here because we love democracy, which includes respecting the voices that I think I am hearing. Now is the time to get a ceasefire deal,” she said, before returning to her speech.

The softened tone was notable, but it hasn’t stopped protesters from expressing their dissent at Harris’ events. A month ago, protesters interrupted a presidential debate watch party in Mesa hosted by Harris’ vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. They were quickly ejected. Just this week, a protest erupted during a Phoenix event with Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff.

A deal-breaker

Just as the ongoing war in Gaza may define Biden’s presidency, it has the potential to sway the race between Trump and Harris. Nearly 110,000 Muslims live in Arizona, a state Biden won by just more than 10,000 votes four years ago. Many of them feel their voices are not being heard.

Rowan Imran, a Palestinian community activist, says the Harris-Walz ticket has already lost her vote. “We can't support anyone who enables the killing of our people,” Imran said. “Our votes cannot be taken for granted any longer.” She’s not alone.

“(Harris) has to do some serious work on this issue if she wants to win a lot of these votes,” said Azza Abuseif, the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations of Arizona. “It has been a deal-breaker for many voters … and it's a situation that's going to define her legacy later on.”

Israel’s war in Gaza has led to a full-blown humanitarian crisis that has persisted for months and months. Protesters and activists have decried Israel’s war as a genocide against Palestinians, a conclusion shared by some at the United Nations.

Despite Israel’s tactics, the U.S. has sent $12.5 billion in military aid to its ally since Oct. 7, 2023. Efforts by the Biden-Harris administration to negotiate a ceasefire have been unproductive and unsuccessful.

“What's troubling is that we're not even seeing an actual acknowledgment about the genocide and how we're responsible for funding the Israeli army and sending the weapons,” Abuseif said. “There's no urgency. There's no action on a ceasefire and an arms embargo. That's the least we can do.”

Harris has tried to walk a tight line on the issue, asserting Israel’s right to defend itself while expressing dismay at the death toll in Gaza. Her statements have sometimes elided who is responsible for that death toll — in essence, Israel has the right to defend itself, and what’s happening in Gaza is bad — though Harris gradually has become a bit more forceful.

In her interview with 60 Minutes that aired Monday, Harris said, “I maintain Israel has a right to defend itself. We would. And how it does so matters. Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. This war has to end.” However, she did not say she’d withhold military aid to Israel to stop the conflict.

Many pro-Palestinian organizers in Arizona still plan on voting for the Democratic ticket, despite the Biden-Harris administration’s inaction on the issue. They see it as the lesser of two evils, as returning Trump to power would only make things worse.

Activist Sarah León was a part of Arizona’s uncommitted movement during the Presidential Preference Election, casting a protest vote for Marianne Williamson to signal her dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden’s efforts with Israel. León plans to vote for Harris but considers herself less than a supporter.

“Based on things that Trump has said, he is no fan or in support of Palestinians. He doesn't even recognize them as a real, legitimate state,” León said. “We have a better opportunity with Harris to move the needle, but we're going to have to be in this fight and in this work for a really long time.”

Many pro-Palestinian advocates are also part of other disenfranchised groups, which makes them less likely to vote differently, León said. “Trump is so damaging based on what he has said about other groups that are disenfranchised,” she said. “Navigating this really feels like a lose-lose for everybody.”

While Harris can still count on the votes of some pro-Palestinian activists, others have made it clear they won’t support her. On Thursday, nine anti-war activists in Arizona announced that they would not be endorsing Harris. “The coalition is calling on voters to support third-party candidates as a protest against the administration’s complicity and partnership in genocide,” the group wrote in a press release.

Among those activists is Imran. Her father lives in the occupied West Bank and has witnessed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict firsthand. Imran and others have tried to contact Harris’ staffers in Arizona to set up a meeting on the issue, but they “haven’t really gotten much of a response.”

“It's not our responsibility to make sure a candidate wins,” Imran said. “The responsibility is (on) the candidate to earn our votes and to stand for the values and principles that we believe in. If the Democrats want our support, they should be working to earn it.”

‘A powerful message’

Democrats aren’t working to earn it, these activists say, although Democrats may not feel they have to. Polls consistently show that most voters care about other issues closer to home, such as the economy and immigration.

Phoenix New Times spoke to several attendees of Harris’ rally in Chandler on Thursday, and many don’t view the Israel-Hamas War as a defining issue. Some weren’t particularly informed about the conflict at all.

Marcus Homan said he was “very concerned about human life” and said people were going through “things that we can’t imagine.” Yet he found the pro-Palestine protests during Harris’ events to be impolite. “In my upbringing, it is rude to interrupt somebody that is speaking,” he said.

Attendees Lauren Kalo and Elena Velez admitted they didn’t know much about the issue. It was important, they said, but they could see both sides.

“I do think there needs to be a ceasefire, 100%,” Velez said. She also said Israel, as a U.S. ally, has the right to defend itself. But, she asked, “Where’s that line?”

For many pro-Palestine activists, Israel crossed that line a long time ago, while the U.S. sat back and watched. They want Harris’ campaign to listen.

"The Harris-Walz campaign cannot afford to lose the support of those committed to human rights," said Jewish Voice for Peace activist Maggie Smith, one of the nine activists who declined to endorse Harris. Without a “clear policy shift,” she added in the press release, many will have to vote their consciences.

And that won’t be for Harris.

“If even a fraction of the pro-ceasefire voters mark a third-party candidate on their ballots,” Imran wrote in the release, “it will send a powerful message to the Harris-Walz campaign that we won’t support continued U.S. involvement in Israel’s war crimes."