United States Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is considering three Palestinian rights advocates, including two Arab Americans, to be her running mate in the elections, her campaign has confirmed.
The candidates are Abed Ayoub, executive director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee; Amer Zahr, a Palestinian American activist; and Jacqueline Luqman, a journalist and activist.
All three have been vocal critics of Israel and the US’s unflinching support for the war on Gaza. Stein, a physician and activist, herself is a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights.
Having one of the three on the ballot could boost Stein’s chances of tapping into the mass of disaffected voters who have grown angry with the mainstream Democratic Party’s stance on Israel.
While Stein’s campaign is a long-shot bid, with US politics dominated by the Republican and Democrat parties, if she wins a significant share of the votes, her campaign may affect the result of the election.
Moreover, Stein’s supporters say they hope that her candidacy could broaden the conversation around Gaza and amplify voters’ concerns with US policy.
With a Palestine advocate on the ticket, Stein’s candidacy could also force Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, to further contend with the growing frustration with President Joe Biden’s unconditional backing of Israel.
Even with a small percentage of the votes, Stein’s campaign could make a major impression on the election in places like the swing state of Michigan – home to large Arab- and Muslim-American communities.
While foreign policy is not usually a major factor in US elections, the war on Gaza has increasingly become a decisive issue in the presidential race.
Arabs, Muslims, young people and progressives have expressed anger at Biden’s support for the war. And while it remains unclear how the issue will play out following the US president’s withdrawal from the race and endorsement of Harris, some communities have shown willingness to break with Democrats over Gaza.
Predominantly Arab neighborhoods in places like the Detroit suburb of Dearborn voted overwhelmingly for Biden against former President Donald Trump in 2020, helping him win Michigan.
But with the war in Gaza, support for Biden dropped sharply in Arab-American communities, according to public opinion polls.
The US administration has signed off on at least $14bn in additional military aid to Israel and Vetoed three United Nations Security Council proposals that would have called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The White House has said that Harris has been a “full partner” in shaping Gaza policy. Still, the vice president has expressed greater empathy for Palestinian suffering while still pledging “unwavering commitment” to Israel.
Harris, who is set to become the Democratic candidate to take on Trump in November after securing enough delegates to win the nomination, has not selected a running mate.
But Palestinian rights advocates are pushing against a rumored frontrunner for the position – Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who earlier this year compared Gaza solidarity protestors on college campuses to the Ku Klux Klan.
As Democrats rally around Harris, they have portrayed Trump as an existential threat to US democracy.
Democratic officials have also accused Stein of helping the former president by taking progressive votes despite not having a realistic chance of winning. Stein ran for president in 2012, 2016 and 2020 but never mounted a competitive campaign.
Source: Al Jazeera and other media outlets
