freelansing in Seattle

I’ve had some “spirited” conversations with friends who are outraged by Israel’s murderous and criminal behavior in Gaza and the US support for it. I share that outrage and found myself agreeing with these friends about the morality of the situation. But we’ve strongly disagreed about the politics of it, especially about the politics of voting in this election. Morality is about what’s right; politics is about what’s possible.

I’ve found it’s a common sentiment among the pro-Palestinian activist community that the Biden/Harris administration has supported genocide in Gaza, and that constitutes a moral red line they cannot cross. That voting for Harris is a vote for genocide, because the Biden/Harris has not done the only moral thing, which is to cut off military aid to Israel until Israel stops its military campaign of death and destruction in Gaza. I agree that withholding support from Israel while it lays waste to Gaza is the only moral choice here.

The question is, how do we make the moral choice politically possible?

We must start by acknowledging the 75-year US political consensus around unequivocal support for Israel, no matter what it does. No country on the planet has done more to support Israel, including supporting some of its worst injustices toward Palestinians. Whenever Israeli actions have received widespread international condemnation in the UN, our government has been there to veto it. We’ve been Israel’s best friend. Except sometimes being a best friend means telling your friend when they’re behaving badly. The US government hasn’t been that kind of friend.

There are many reasons for this, but it all amounts to a political reality where questioning support for Israel in any way has become a third rail in US politics. Although public support for Palestinians is higher than ever, the political institutions of the country virtually guarantee that any president who opposes Israeli aid will be destroyed in the next election. And unfortunately for Gaza, the current round of Israeli bad behavior has come during an election year. Biden doing the only moral thing of cutting off Israeli aid would be political suicide and would virtually guarantee a Trump victory.

Can we all just take a step back and acknowledge that political reality? And the political reality that a Trump presidency would be so much worse for Gazans and all Palestinians than a Harris presidency?

I don’t want to sound like a Biden apologist, but the common view I’ve seen among pro-Palestinian activists that Biden is responsible for all of Netanyahu’s worst behavior is rooted in a very superficial analysis. It may not make the headlines, but the reality is that Biden has tried—diplomatically and mostly behind the scenes—to rein in Netanyahu’s actions every step of the way. The Atlantic recently had a long piece on the past year’s efforts that Biden has made to restrain the carnage in Gaza. Quite a lot that most people just don’t see. But Biden has little power to actually restrain Netanyahu, who now heads one of the most right-wing, anti-Palestinian governments in Israel’s history. Netanyahu knows Biden has no power over him other than to cut off all aid, which they both know is not politically possible in US politics right now. So Netanyahu gets free rein, and Biden seems powerless to do anything about it. Can we all just acknowledge the political reality that Biden has no good options here? This “Genocide Joe” stuff is just not fair. And indications are that Harris would be more sympathetic to Palestinians than Biden, and would have more political freedom to pursue a just path after the election.

What we know for certain is that Trump would be so much worse for Palestinians. Instead of trying to restrain Netanyahu in any way, he would give Netanyahu free rein to do whatever he wants. Trump has talked to Netanyahu recently, which is likely related to why Netanyahu continues to reject any ceasefire agreement proposed by Biden. Netanyahu is counting on getting a better “deal” from Trump.

What does this all mean for voting in this presidential election? If you truly care about the lives of Palestinians, what is the moral choice here? I have to agree with feminist writer Rebecca Solnit that a vote is a chess move, not a love letter. When voting it’s important to consider what choice will best advance your political objectives.

If you vote in a state like Washington, where I live, any protest vote you make won’t change the fact that Washington’s Electoral College votes are guaranteed to go to Harris. So if it makes you feel better to not vote for Harris, feel free to express that moral dissatisfaction by not voting for her.

But if you live in a swing state, please choose to vote Harris. It is the only wise, strategic, and moral choice.

Let’s be completely clear here. Nobody is going to change a 75-year history of unequivocal support for Israel by withholding a vote from Kamala Harris in this election. Only grassroots organizing can do that. US public sentiment is actually more pro-Palestinian right now than we’ve ever seen before. The only way to change US politics on the issue is to organize that support into political pressure and force our political leaders to do the right thing. Kamala Harris can be pressured into doing the right thing. Donald Trump cannot.

Please don’t be fooled into thinking that voting against Harris in swing states constitutes the moral choice here. It’s anything but. Any vote that enables the Netanyahu-loving fascist to win is immoral and does more harm than good to the Palestinian cause.