FLINT, Mich. — Vice President Kamala Harris met with leaders from the Muslim and Arab American community ahead of her campaign rally here on Friday, a campaign official said.
During the meeting, Harris heard leaders' perspectives on the election, as well as the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, the official said.
The vice president "expressed her concern over the scale of suffering in Gaza" and "expressed concern about civilian casualties and displacement" in Lebanon, the official said.
"The vice president discussed her efforts to end the war in Gaza, such that: Israel is secure, hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, self-determination," the official said, echoing a sentiment that Harris has previously expressed when discussing the war.
The Israel-Hamas war is threatening to spill into a larger regional conflict as Israel launched strikes in Lebanon that killed the leader of Hezbollah, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., and Iran fired missiles at Israel. The war has ignited criticism from some progressives in the U.S. over the Biden administration’s relationship with Israel.
Harris has emphasized that she stands by Israel’s right to defend itself after the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7. At the same time, she has said that Gaza’s “scale of suffering is heartbreaking.”
Harris' meeting comes a day after her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, met virtually with Emgage Action, a Muslim political organizing group.
The CEO of Emgage Action, Wa'el Alzayat, who also attended Friday's meeting with Harris, released a statement saying that the group "called on Vice President Harris to do everything in her power, should she win, to end the war and reset US policy in the region."
"Emgage Action also reiterated the organization and the Muslim community's disappointment in the handling of the crisis that has endangered the wellbeing of our communities at home and is now widening to a broader regional war," Alzayat's statement continued.
He added that his group asked Harris "to impress upon President Biden the urgency of bringing an immediate end to the violence."
Emgage endorsed Harris in September, despite saying that "the vice president still has a ways to go" on certain issues.
On Wednesday, Phil Gordon, a national security adviser for the vice president, met virtually with Muslim, Arab and Palestinian leaders from across the country, according to a source familiar with the planning.
Gordon underscored Biden administration’s efforts to bring the war in Gaza to an end through a cease-fire and hostage release deal, which he said would relieve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the source said. He also expressed concern for civilians in Lebanon.
Also, on Tuesday the campaign launched its “Arab Americans for Harris-Walz” coalition group.
The Biden administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war led some Muslim voters and groups to declare that they would "abandon Biden" ahead of his decision to drop out of the race, and the pro-Palestinian Uncommitted Movement has refused to endorse Harris.
