By CAIR
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement today in response to Vice President Kamala Harris’s call for an “immediate ceasefire” lasting six weeks by calling on the administration to match its change in rhetoric with a concrete change in policy. During this proposed ceasefire period, Harris said the U.S. aims “to build something more enduring to ensure Israel is secure.”
During her address in Selma, Alabama, commemorating Bloody Sunday’s anniversary, the Vice President highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. She emphasized issues such as the shortage of medical supplies and the tragic deaths of Palestinian children due to starvation and dehydration.
In a statement responding to Vice President Harri’s call for a temporary ceasefire, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We welcome Vice President Kamala Harris’ recognition of Palestinian suffering and her call for an immediate ceasefire, which many Americans have been demanding for months. However, pausing the genocide in Gaza for six weeks is not a solution nor is it a new policy from the Biden administration, which has previously called for six-week ‘humanitarian pauses.’ The genocide must permanently end. That is what the majority of Americans want.
“We need a change in not only rhetoric but policy. Anything less than the U.S. taking concrete steps to force the Netanyahu government to end its genocidal war crimes violence will appear to be a public relations rebrand aimed at deflecting criticism, particularly during sensitive times such as Ramadan and ongoing political primaries.
“We cannot allow political expediency to be prioritized over the lives of innocent Palestinian civilians caught in the crosshairs of Israel’s indiscriminate and genocidal use of U.S.-provided bombs. The Biden Administration must demonstrate genuine leadership to the American people by taking concrete steps to secure an immediate ceasefire and permanently ending U.S. support for this genocide.”
Last week, CAIR conducted an automated telephone exit poll of 527 Muslim voters who participated in Michigan’s presidential primary election showed that 94 percent of American Muslims who voted in the Democratic primary voted “uncommitted.” The poll also found that only 4.6 percent of Muslim Democratic primary voters reported voting to renominate President Biden as the Democratic party’s presidential nominee.
Moreover, the exit poll also found in the event of a snap election today, 40 percent of Muslim voters would prefer an unnamed “other candidate,” followed by 25 percent voting for third-party candidate Dr. Cornel West, then Republican presidential nominee frontrunner Donald Trump (13%), then incumbent President Joe Biden (8%), and them with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (8%) and Jill Stein (7%).
Based on CAIR’s exit poll and its interactions with Muslim voters, it appears that President Biden’s unconditional support for the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza is likely playing a decisive factor in impacting his previously tracked high electoral support within the Muslim community.
According to Michigan state primary poll results, 101,436 Democratic voters statewide voted “uncommitted” over electing to nominate President Joe Biden as the party’s presidential nominee.
While Vice President Harris made her speech on Saturday, CAIR condemned the latest Israeli massacre of Palestinian civilians, this time in the so-called “safe zone” of Rafah.
At least 11 people were killed when Israeli forces hit a tent in Rafah housing displaced Palestinians. That massacre comes as officials report that those who died in an Israeli massacre at a humanitarian aid convoy site were shot by Israeli forces and at least 10 Palestinian children have starved to death in the Israeli-imposed famine.
CAIR also condemned the alleged abuse of Palestinian women in Israeli custody. According to the Associated Press, the abuse included strip searches, beatings and humiliation.
