Top Muslim-voter organization endorses Harris as Middle East conflict escalates

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the endorsement of one of the nation’s largest Muslim American voter mobilization groups, marking a significant boost to her campaign since many Muslim and Arab American organizations have opted to support third-party candidates or not endorse.

Emgage Action, the political arm of an 18-year-old Muslim American advocacy group, endorsed Harris’ presidential campaign on Wednesday, saying in a statement provided first to The Associated Press that the group “recognizes the responsibility to defeat” Donald Trump in November.

The group, based in Washington D.C., operates in eight states, with a significant presence in the key battlegrounds of Michigan and Pennsylvania. The organization will now focus its ongoing voter-outreach efforts on supporting Harris, in addition to down-ballot candidates.

“This endorsement is not agreement with Vice President Harris on all issues, but rather, an honest guidance to our voters regarding the difficult choice they confront at the ballot box,” said Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action, in a statement. “While we do not agree with all of Harris’ policies, particularly on the war on Gaza, we are approaching this election with both pragmatism and conviction.”

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The endorsement follows months of tension between Arab American and Muslim groups and Democratic leaders over the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Many of these groups, including leaders of the “Uncommitted” movement focused on protesting the war, have chosen not to endorse any candidate in the presidential race.

The conflict in the Middle East has escalated since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which killed approximately 1,200 people. Israel’s offensive in response has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel in recent days also has expanded its air campaign against Hezbollah, with strikes on Lebanon killing at least 560 people, including many women and children, making it the deadliest bombardment since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

In an interview ahead of Emgage Action’s formal announcement, Alzayat described the decision to back Harris as “excruciatingly difficult,” noting months of internal discussions and extensive meetings and outreach with Harris’ policy team and campaign.

Ultimately, the group found alignment with many of Harris’s domestic policies and is “hopeful” about her approach to the Middle East conflict if elected, Alzayat said.

“We owe it to our community, despite this pain, despite the emotions, that we are one organization that is looking at things in a sober, clear-eyed manner and just giving our voting guidance,” Alzayat said.

In Wednesday’s statement, Emgage Action endorsed Harris to prevent “a return to Islamophobic and other harmful policies under a Trump administration.”

Many in the Muslim community cite Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban,” which is how many Trump opponents refer to his ban on immigrants from several majority-Muslim countries, as a key reason for opposing his return to the White House.

Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Harris’ campaign manager, noted in a statement that the endorsement comes “at a time when there is great pain and loss in the Muslim and Arab American communities.”

Harris will continue working “to bring the war in Gaza to an end such that Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity, security, and self-determination,” she said.