The founders of the Uncommitted National Movement, a group that mobilized more than 100,000 people to withhold their vote for President Biden in the Michigan primary because of his support for Israel, have claimed that Kamala Harris has “expressed an openness” to meeting with them to discuss the arms embargo against the Jewish state.
“Yesterday, I had the opportunity to chat briefly with Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz for a photo op,” founder Leila Elavet said. He said in a video posted to X on Thursday..
“I said, ‘Michigan voters want a way to support you right now, but we can’t do that without policy changes that will save the lives of people in Gaza right now… Would you be willing to meet with us to discuss an arms embargo?'”
Leaders of the National Unfettered Movement were among those invited to greet Harris and Walz with a photo op when they arrived in Michigan on Wednesday.
Elavet later said the Democratic presidential candidate had agreed to meet with the group.
“She said, let’s meet with you. And my understanding is that when she agreed to meet with me, she wasn’t agreeing to an arms embargo, she was agreeing to discuss an arms embargo, to discuss policies that will save lives now in Gaza, and to get us to a place where we can hopefully support Vice President Harris,” Elavet explained.
Abbas Alawiyeh, another founder of the Unfettered Movement, echoed Elabed’s account of Harris agreeing to the meeting, claiming that Democratic leaders were sympathetic to her call for an arms embargo.
“Behind the scenes before I met with Vice President Harris, we spoke to party leader after leader and we said, ‘Listen, if it’s your family living under a bomb, you would want our candidate to have policies that stop these bombs from killing your family,'” Alawiye said in the video.
“The party leaders that we spoke to understood this. Vice President Harris clearly understood the gravity of the situation and we were encouraged that she was willing to get involved,” he said.
The stunning revelation came after Ms Harris was accused of passing on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, as a running mate because she did not want to antagonise the progressive, anti-Israel left.
Her claim that she is open to negotiating an arms embargo sparked immediate outrage among Israel’s supporters, who say it is just further evidence that she is caving to the radical anti-Israel mob.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) interpreted the news as Harris appeasing pro-Hamas undercurrents within her party.
“Kamala Harris is a supporter of Hamas. She has been very clear in her support of Hamas at a time when Jewish people are being relentlessly attacked by Hamas terrorists,” she told the Post.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) also blasted the Democratic presidential candidate.
“Kamala Harris won’t talk to the press, but she will talk to pro-Hamas militants and signal she’s open to a total arms embargo on Israel,” Cotton said. Lamented X.
“It would be a disgrace for Israel to impose an arms embargo on Hamas-supporting activists,” said former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Joined the chorus of anger online.
“Kamala Harris’s extreme policies will encourage more terrorist attacks against our allies.”
But Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-New York) denied the allegations.
“The ever-delusional ‘Irresponsible’ movement is imagining help that doesn’t exist,” Torres told the Post.
“The Vice President’s team has made clear that she opposes an arms embargo, which would pose an existential threat to the world’s only Jewish state at a time when Israel faces threats on seven fronts from Iran and its proxies.”
Harris’ national security adviser, Phil Gordon, also asserted that Harris will “always ensure that Israel can defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.”
“She does not support an arms embargo on Israel. She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and uphold international humanitarian law.” Gordon wrote in a statement Thursday.However, he did not explicitly deny that he was at least willing to discuss an embargo.
Harris spoke to a crowd of about 15,000 people at an airplane hangar in Detroit on Wednesday, where she was interrupted by anti-Israel protesters.
“Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide! We will not vote for genocide,” chanted one protester from an anti-Israel University of Michigan student group.
“Look, if you want Donald Trump to win, say so. If you don’t, I’ll say it,” Harris retorted.
