Minnesota delegates, voters shift concerns about Israel, Gaza from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris

When Vice President Kamala Harris presumably takes over the top spot on the Democratic ticket, she will inherit unrest and anger in her party over President Joe Biden’s position on the ongoing Israeli attack on Gaza.

Some of the 10 uncommitted Minnesota delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month say Harris can earn their support by calling for a cease-fire and ending aid to Israel. Jaylani Hussein, co-founder of the separate Abandon Biden movement among Muslim voters, took a firmer line, saying it’s already too late for Democrats to earn back their votes.

Though they seem unlikely to have the votes to block Harris from the nomination, the uncommitted delegates going to Chicago want to use their collective powers to push the party in their direction — whether that’s through language in the platform or protests in the streets.

“Saying the word cease-fire has become absolutely hollow at this moment,” said delegate Dan Engelhart, a 47-year-old union organizer who lives in Minneapolis. “It has to mean an arms embargo and no more funding going to any sort of death or starvation or disease.”

Even if they lack the numbers to slow down her nomination inside the party, the prospect that blocs of progressive voters could feel demotivated to turn out for Harris could make a difference in a close presidential election.

Still, Engelhart and others see glimmers of hope that Harris will abandon Biden’s support of Israel.

“Right now we have a president who is unwilling to make a decisive turn,” said Asma Mohammed, an uncommitted delegate.

Since the Hamas attack Oct. 7 on Israel and the forceful Israeli response, Harris has raised concerns about humanitarian conditions and civilian casualties in Gaza. She has declined to preside over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday, though she may meet with him privately.

“She does have a lot of power here,” Mohammed said. “She can change the course of policy on our relationship with Israel if she’s elected.”

Even without congressional support, the president could urge support for the International Court of Justice’s advisory ruling last week that Israel’s presence is illegal in the occupied territories of Palestine, Mohammed said.

Mohammed claims support across the country from up to 1 million voters, a number she said could be decisive in important states like Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

To Engelhart, Harris would exponentially increase grassroots excitement by changing course. “This isn’t about how I’m going to vote, it’s about can I go knock on doors,” Engelhart said. “I know what I’ll do on the ballot box, but I don’t know what I’ll do in terms of my volunteer energy.”

In 2002, Engelhart said he saw support swell for DFL Sen. Paul Wellstone’s re-election effort after the senator voted against authorizing the war in Iraq. “That’s the kind of courage we need from elected officials with an unjust war,” Engelhart said.

Samuel Doten, 30, who lives in Minneapolis and works at a mental health nonprofit supporting queer and transgender youth, said he wants to be “coconut-pilled like everyone” and get on the Harris bandwagon, but he needs to see her shed this baggage from the Biden administration.

“I’m hopeful Harris will see — and earn the support of people who couldn’t stand with Biden on this,” he said. “We gotta see something concrete, and specifically a cease-fire and weapons embargo and that’s what it would take for me.”

Sheigh Freeberg, 36, lives in Minneapolis and is the secretary-treasurer of Unite Local 17. He’s uncommitted, Jewish and hopes that Harris privately meets with Netanyahu and expresses the need to end what he called genocide in Gaza.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Freeberg said. “But for me to support a candidate, they have to be openly working toward a cease-fire.”

The delegates have differing plans for their time at the convention. Mohammed is planning to work on the platform, not participate in protests. “We are going to use everything in our disposal within the democratic process,” she said.

Engelhart said he’s going down a couple of days early and expects to meet up with other like-minded voters and potentially participate in protests.

Freeberg said he hopes uncommitted delegates are heard. “I’m open to all avenues that get the message across that the vast majority of Americans do not support this genocide,” he said.

Doten said of the uncommitted delegates: “Our whole presence is a protest.”

For Hussein, of Abandon Biden, his convention attendance hinges on the timing of the birth of his third child. If he’s able, he will attend.

Hussein is not a convention delegate but is the director of the Minnesota Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a nonprofit that does not participate in politics.

He called Biden’s departure from the race a victory, but said, “I don’t know if the policy has changed.” He said the situation in Gaza is genocide and that as vice president, Harris “played a role in that.”

Even after Biden stepped aside, Hussein said Muslim community members across the country conveyed to him their continued opposition to the Democratic ticket.

“We voted for Biden so we feel a sense of responsibility in what’s taking place today,” he said, adding that Trump’s return is a risk they’re willing to take after years of disappointment with Democrats dating to President Barack Obama.

Hussein said there’s nothing Harris could say to change minds at this point. “We have ingrained images in our minds of tax dollars obliterating children,” he said.

He said Muslims will vote for a third-party candidate and predicted Harris would lose Michigan, Arizona and Georgia. “Something has to happen between now and October beyond our wildest imagination for those numbers to change,” he said.

The Harris campaign didn’t provide comment.