WASHINGTON, Oct 2 (Askume) – Vice President Kamala Harris and senior advisers to Harris’ presidential campaign met with American Muslim and Arab leaders on Wednesday.Israel trying to get back US support for Lebanon
Harris’s national security adviser Phil Gordon told community leaders in a virtual meeting that the administration supports a Gaza ceasefire, Lebanese diplomacy and stability in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the vice president’s office said.
Ali Daguer, a Lebanese-American lawyer and community leader, said the steps taken by Harris’ office did not go far enough. “It’s too little, too late,” said Daguer, who did not attend the meeting.
Democrat Harris will face former Republican President Donald Trump on November 5. According to surveys, the competition for the presidency is tough.
President Joe Biden won a majority of Muslim and Arab votes in 2020, but their support for Democrats has plummeted in the nearly year since Israel began fighting Hamas in Gaza. Activists say Biden and Harris have done nothing to stop Israeli military action in the Palestinian territories.
Palestinian health officials say Israeli military strikes in Gaza have killed more than 41,000 Palestinians . Israel is responding to an October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas gunmen that it said killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Gaza is mired in a humanitarian crisis, with nearly 2 million people displaced and starvation spreading across the region.
The nearly year-long cross-border fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah has killed more than 1,900 people and wounded 9,000, with most of the deaths occurring in the last two weeks, according to Lebanese government figures.
American Muslim advocacy group Emgage recently endorsed Harris, while others urged supporters to stay away from her . Analysts said that although they did not support Trump, their decision not to vote or vote for a third-party candidate could hurt Harris.
US support for Israel has sparked mass protests, particularly in hotly contested swing states like Michigan that could decide the election . Harris has no substantive policy differences on Israel with Biden, who withdrew from the presidential candidacy in July .
