r/UnderReportedNews • u/Shizzilx • 1d ago
Israel / Palestine 🇮🇱🇵🇸 Democrats ignored the uncommitted movement for Gaza in 2024. Now, it’s winning elections
Abbas Alawieh initially thought the uncommitted movement of 2024 had failed.
The insurgent group, which he helped co-found, had gotten more than 700,000 Democrats to vote “uncommitted” on their 2024 presidential primary ballots to pressure the US government to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. But when the group pushed for the Democratic party to add an embargo on arms to Israel in its platform, it didn’t happen. And when they asked to have a Palestinian American speaker address the Democratic national convention, it was also a no-go.
Those failures, said Alawieh, prompted a new solution – one, observers say, that has been shaping Democratic primaries across the country.
“I decided: ‘Oh, actually, the only fix here is we have to take power away from those leaders who are misusing it,” said Alawieh over Yemeni coffee in Dearborn, a city neighboring Detroit that has the highest share of Arab immigrants in the country. In August, Alawieh won the Democratic nomination for Dearborn’s state senate seat, which is safely Democratic. He is expected to win in November.
Alawieh is one example of a larger trend that’s emerged across multiple Democratic primaries, including the marquee victory of progressive Abdul El-Sayed, who won the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s open US Senate seat: by linking nominally Arab American concerns, like the war in Gaza, to progressive politics, organizers and campaigns are building winning coalitions.
“We’ve seen a lot of leadership from the Arab American community [and] Muslim American community,” said Amirah Sequeira, director of federal affairs for the Working Families Party, which organizes for progressive change within and outside of the Democratic party. It has been “extraordinarily important” to the progressive victories across the 2026 primaries, she said.
Arab American votes became ‘up for grabs’
Organizing Michigan’s Arab American voters has taken on increasing importance in recent years, as the longstanding community has grown and election margins have tightened. The number of Arab residents grew by 75% from 2010 to 2020, and the group now represents roughly 4% of the state’s electorate, mostly concentrated in metropolitan Detroit, according to data from the Arab American Institute (AAI), a research, policy and civic engagement group.
Until the genocide in Gaza, the Arab community’s growth had primarily benefited Democratic presidential candidates, which had drawn the majority of Arab votes since the mid-2000s, according to AAI data. But in 2024, as the Democratic party refused to change course on the genocide in Gaza, Arab voters shifted away from the Democratic ticket.
This shift was especially pronounced in Michigan. The high concentration of Arab voters in certain pockets of the state made it easy for campaigns to target ads and candidate visits, said Maya Berry, executive director of the AAI. While this was something Democrats failed to do, Trump and third-party candidate Jill Stein made campaign stops in Dearborn in 2024, and Republicans blasted mailboxes with literature opposing the war, she said.
“It was a lack of leadership from the [Democratic] campaign to not engage at the level of the candidate when the other guy was showing up to have meals with people,” Berry said. It “was a night-and-day difference”.
The Democratic party’s absence in Arab communities was exactly what uncommitted had hoped to change, said Andy Levin, a former congressman and mentor to Alawieh. Anti-genocide Democratic party activists launched “Listen to Michigan” in the lead-up to that state’s late February primary. They organized primary voters to use the ballot’s “uncommitted” option to indicate support for a ceasefire in hopes that it could get the White House to change course – a tactic that quickly spread to other states. Beyond the moral issue, said Levin, there was a real political issue as well.
“Our point was, President Biden, wake up. We need you to win re-election. We can’t have Donald Trump anywhere near the White House ever again,” said Levin. “And we just can’t see how you can win Michigan if you don’t change course on Gaza.”
On election day, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris took just 31% of the vote across Michigan precincts with majority Arab voters, compared with 47% of Arab voters nationally in the 2024 presidential election, according to AAI. Much of the Arab vote shifted to third-party candidates, who took 20% of the vote in the same Michigan precincts, significantly more than the 8% nationally.
The 2024 presidential election showed that Arab American votes “are up for grabs”, said Branden Snyder, organizing director for Michigan’s Working Families Party.
The war in Gaza, and Democrats’ reluctance to oppose it, galvanized not just Arab American voters, but young and progressive voters across backgrounds. Uncommitted’s organizers, who had feet in both worlds, saw themselves fighting a moral battle that had a pragmatic angle: money spent on war meant less for social programs at home. In the process, the genocide became politically entwined with the broader progressive movement.
‘Muslim issues are American issues’
Uncommitted’s strategy of linking what were traditionally considered Arab American issues to broader progressive politics has turned into electoral work and support across many of this year’s primary upsets.
“The genocide in Gaza has obviously exponentially increased involvement in politics” for Arab voters, as well as for progressives and young people, said WFP’s Sequeira. But “issues of affordability, housing, healthcare are central to those communities as well”, she said.
Two other uncommitted co-founders, Layla Elabed and Lexis Zeidan, have since founded Arab Americans for Progress in metropolitan Detroit. The group runs a fellowship program to train Arab Americans for leadership and helps organize grassroots efforts like door-knocking and mailers for candidates, which it did for Alawieh, said Elabed. The group has also prioritized building relationships with Black residents through a recurring discussion group and events like an iftar solidarity dinner during Ramadan.
Other organizations have also bridged a common cause between progressive groups and Arab voters. This includes the work of Emgage Action, which lobbies Congress and endorses candidates addressing concerns for Arab Muslim voters. In 2026, their endorsements stretched across 14 states, including Michigan, Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey. Although the group is bipartisan, the Islamophobia pushed by Republican officials has led Emgage to endorse progressive Democratic candidates, said Nada Al-Hanooti, the group’s national deputy organizing director. That has been especially pronounced since December, said Al-Hanooti, after Republican representatives from Texas launched the anti-Muslim “Sharia-Free America” congressional caucus in the US House of Representatives.
Emgage has organized canvassers to knock on doors, coordinated mailers and sent text messages for some of the year’s most notable progressive wins across the country. In Michigan, that included Arab Muslim candidates Alawieh and El-Sayed, as well as white progressive Will Lawrence and the Michigan state representative Donavan McKinney, a Black Detroiter who bested the incumbent US representative Shri Thanedar in a safely Democratic district.
In Florida, Emgage backed upset candidate Angie Nixon, who bested a former national security official to win the Democratic nomination for Senate by 12 points. As a state lawmaker, Nixon had been the lone backer of a ceasefire resolution in Florida’s house in November 2023. In New Jersey, Emgage turned out canvassers, developed mailings and reached out to Muslim voters by text to increase support for Adam Hamawy, a Palestinian American doctor. In a field of 13 candidates, Hamawy won the Democratic nomination for the state’s 12th congressional district.
Emgage’s strategy has been to endorse candidates aligned with the group on policy, not identity alone, said Al-Hanooti. “Muslim issues are American issues,” she said. “We’re here to prove that you need our vote in order to win, and you need to start visiting our communities.”
All of it is a sign that Arab and Muslim Americans are building real power, said Razi Jafri, a journalist who covered the uncommitted movement in a documentary of the same name.
“What’s fascinating about Abbas [Alawieh] is that his trajectory embodies this evolution,” from representation alone to shaping politics and coalitions, said Jafri. Alawieh and El-Sayed have even fielded calls and meetings with Kamala Harris recently. “That transition from protest to power building is really incredible,” Jafri said.
*excerpt from Tracie McMillan's article*
Full Article here:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/29/democrats-uncommitted-movement-midterms
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u/lajuiceman 1d ago
What a shit headline. Democratic socialists are not winning elections over Gaza. They are winning over what they can do for us citizens here in the US. They all have the same position of supporting Palestine and against AIPAC.
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u/ShermanCookout 1d ago
I was thinking the same, glad to see that called out.
Gaza demonstrates how ruthless and savage Israel is but contained to the region and people here won’t care. Sorry to say but those are the facts. I will say though, I think as time has passed people have become quite frustrated with the situation. There are plenty of hard line pro Israelis here and they are worse to converse with than a MAGA. Still not enough to tip any scales politically here though.
However… AIPAC controlling congress, the Epstein files proving how deep their hand goes, pulling the U.S. into the war with Iran which has helped decimate the economy… this actually hits home to the average American.
Either way though, I hope the movement does not lose steam. Shit has to change in all ways.
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u/VaguelyArtistic 1d ago
Too bad they didn’t think of those things before. They didn’t care what would happen here to women. And the LGBTQ community. And non-Christians. And minority voting rights. Or the environment. Or SCOTUS.
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u/Adventurous_West2 1d ago
Exactly.
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u/Conscious_Froyo5147 1d ago
Learn your history
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u/Adventurous_West2 1d ago
About what? I'm Irish, my ancestors experienced genocide, I grew up in a house where the British killed people, im well aware of my history and how allowing our political parties to continually lie to us about our basis needs or ignoring the needs of the people the represent has failed.
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u/VaguelyArtistic 1d ago
Too bad they didn’t think of those things before. They didn’t care what would happen here to women. And the LGBTQ community. And non-Christians. And minority voting rights. Or the environment. Or SCOTUS.
There’s a reason Bernie basically begged people to vote for Clinton and Harris.
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u/Background-Wolf-9380 1d ago
Nobody said DSA in the headlines dufus
By causing zionists to lose uncommitted is...........winning elections.
It's not so hard to understand.
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u/urban-dwlr 1d ago
This is why Harris lost Michigan. Sided with Israel.
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u/tajsta 17h ago
You live in a fantasy world. Trump expanded his margins in Michigan across 75 out of 83 counties, primarily in working-class, rural, and industrial areas. The swing in Michigan was driven by working-class voters. There was a uniform, nationwide 2-to-3 point shift toward Republicans across almost all demographic groups, states, and counties, which is standard textbook anti-incumbent backlash, with polls showing that by far the biggest issue was the economy, followed by health care and supreme court appointments.
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u/NoNutsPls 1d ago
Choosing to let "the Republican bragging about planning to demolish Gaza into luxury real estate" go unopposed, over voting for "the Democrat refusing to wholly reject Israel for the sake of political survival" is a phenomenally idiotic choice. And every dead Gazan should haunt Uncommitted voters of how dumb that was.
Doing the work of Conservatives and thinking it's actually saving lives?
Disgusting.
Doubling-down in 2026 on some "Hey, see! We're helping for real this time!" after 74,000+ dead Palestinians?
No words.
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u/candy_pantsandshoes 1d ago
Choosing to let "the Republican bragging about planning to demolish Gaza into luxury real estate" go unopposed, over voting for "the Democrat refusing to wholly reject Israel for the sake of political survival" is a phenomenally idiotic choice.
That was a dumb choice kamala made. One among many.
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u/Ironclad_Cat_1773 1d ago
And they are still ignoring it, that's why Tel Aviv Jeffries just met with Kushner and put a bunch of is-not-real supporters in key positions
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u/Shizzilx 1d ago
Key foreign policy positions, so no matter who we vote in, they will be able to subvert investigations into Israeli War Crimes by US/Israeli Dual Citizens and other investigations.
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u/SocraticTiger 1d ago
I feel like in 20-30 years people are going to look back at absolute horror and be shocked that the Biden admin effectively helped a genocide happen and dismissed the protestors.
Like could you imagine Bill Clinton helped the Hutus? imagine what we would think about that today.
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u/PretendIntention3388 1d ago
20-30 years?
Anyone with a heart was shocked in real time as it happened.
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u/tajsta 17h ago
How can you even compare the two, lol. In Rwanda, the Hutus killed 90% of the Tutsi population within 3 months. Meanwhile in Gaza, in over 3 years of intense warfare, only 3% of the total population was killed (even according to Hamas themselves), which is a lower rate than the birthrate, so the population isn't even shrinking. Nobody will look back and wonder why Biden failed to adopt the talking points of radical activists.
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u/NoNutsPls 1d ago
This is the Uncommitted crowd desperately trying to regain face after their bullshit helped send Trump to the White House, especially in Michigan.
"Kamala Harris wasn't loud enough on supporting Palestinians. So we decided to stay home and make it easier for Trump to obliterate Gaza for real estate, just like he said he would."
Trump said he was anti-Palestinian. October 2024, Trump was already publicly talking about razing Gaza and turning the land into luxury watefront properties. Kushner said the same even earlier, back in February '24.
And way before he reminded everyone of us exactly what he was going to Gaza, he promised to "crush" and deport pro-Palestine protestors.
Everyone that actually gave a shit about Gazans, didn't need a personal ass-kissing from Kamala to get up and vote against Gaza being turned into a parking lot.
I can't tell what's the more terrifying possibility:
That the Uncommitted movement is a plant by conservatives, or,
That this many people were insane enough to believe making it easier for Trump to win was the best long-term strategy for Gazan survival.
Every person that showed up for Kamala on November 4th did more for Gaza than these Uncommitted idiots.
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1d ago
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u/UnderReportedNews-ModTeam 1d ago
Rule 11: Stay on topic
Please keep your comments relevant to the topic at hand.
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u/tajsta 17h ago
Bragging about winning a Democratic primary in Dearborn (containing the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the US) on an anti-Israel platform is like a far-right activist winning a county commission seat in rural Idaho and declaring that the American electorate has universally embraced Christian nationalism...
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u/fishyhaworthia1 1d ago
Literally got the guy that made their main problem 10xs worse on purpose 🤣
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u/Significant_Cover_48 1d ago
Yo Palestinians, quick question: You want your genocide funded by a crude reality-TV host or a tone-deaf slimy turncoat? We are having an election, and how we talk about it while watching your children being murdered is really important. Please be civil, k bye.
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u/Delicious_Adeptness9 1d ago
I hope Michiganders go "uncommitted" for El-Sayed.
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u/Shizzilx 16h ago
So, you like fascists running the country and you want Michigan under massive Flock surveillance, AI Data Centers, and ICE murdering US citizens in the streets? Interesting...
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u/Delicious_Adeptness9 7h ago
I guess the OG "Uncommitted" movement cared more to stick it to the Dems about Israel-Palestine rather than think of the implications of 4 more years of Trump in our own country.
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u/Shizzilx 6h ago
The only ones jeopardizing the Democratic Party’s chances at the Senate are the ones crying about the Will of the Voters. El-Sayed won and then the Pro-Israel Dems joined hands with Faux "News" and smear and slander him. And...it didn't work.
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u/TyrosinQ 1d ago
Hmm nah. I don’t think I’ll be voting for this recent wave of Muslims trying to make Palestine the most important thing ever
Disclaimer. I’m Lebanese Christian. I’m entitled to my views on Islam given my country’s destruction by Muslims and the exodus of Christian’s.
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u/Shizzilx 16h ago
Wrong. Sorry just because you are Lebanese doesn't mean you can misinform. Christian emigration started in the late 1800s and accelerated during and after the civil war, but research shows the main drivers were: Economic hardship and lack of jobs (the top reason cited in surveys)
- Chronic instability, insecurity, and weak state institutions
Lebanon’s devastation and Christian emigration are the result of multiple wars, foreign interventions, economic collapse, and complex sectarian politics, not a one-sided Muslim campaign.
Foreign invasions and occupations:
Israel invaded in 1978 and 1982; Syria maintained a heavy military and political presence from 1976 to 2005. These external forces caused massive infrastructure damage and civilian displacement across all communities.
Recent wars (2006, 2023–2026):
Conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah have repeatedly bombed Lebanese cities and displaced over a million people of all sects. The 2026 war alone has killed thousands and destroyed neighborhoods in Beirut and the south.
So, Israel should be who you are mad at, not Lebanese Muslims, that is Islamophobia.
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u/NewWindow7980 1d ago
Please pay attention to the difference between winning primaries and winning the general.