Kafia Haile wants the U.S. government to issue an arms embargo against Israel to end what she calls its American taxpayer-funded mass killing of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The 44-year-old Spelman College alum and her humanitarian allies in the Atlanta Multifaith Coalition for Palestine, which includes local Black Muslims, haven’t ruled out protesting during Vice President Kamala Harris’ next local campaign stop to help achieve their goal.
Former President Barack Obama and rock star Bruce Springsteen are scheduled to join Harris at an Atlanta campaign rally on Thursday at an undisclosed location.
The Atlanta metro area is home to a majority of the estimated 150,000 Muslims living in Georgia, according to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). They and their pro-Palestinian allies, including many young college students, could play a decisive role in November’s presidential election in a state where the last White House contest was decided by less than 12,000 votes.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have continued protesting at Harris campaign rallies in recent days and weeks after supporting a Democratic primary protest vote against President Joe Biden earlier this year.
They disagree with Biden continuing to send billions in military aid to Israel. The Middle East nation has used those weapons and resources to kill at least 42,000 men, women, and children in Gaza.
Many Gaza supporters thought Harris would be more sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians after her call for a ceasefire in March, but some changed their view after Harris’ criticism of pro-Palestinian protesters in Washington, D.C., in July and her alleged pro-Israeli government remarks during the Democratic National Convention one month later.
Capital B Atlanta has reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.
“We are going to constantly call for an arms embargo,” Haile told Capital B Atlanta during a Tuesday morning press conference inside the Gold Dome in response to a question about potential Harris protests. “We will make that demand everywhere that it needs to be heard,” she added.
Local Black Muslim leaders tell Capital B Atlanta that a strategic political divide has emerged among Atlantans who are deeply concerned about the Gaza humanitarian crisis.
Some say Harris hasn’t done enough to stop the “genocide” in Gaza, but they’re voting for her anyway because she gives them the best chance to negotiate a permanent ceasefire and end the mass killing of Palestinian civilians, including many small children, who have been bombarded with U.S. taxpayer-funded bombs and bullets provided by the Biden administration following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Among them is Imam Nadim Ali, leader of the Community Masjid of Atlanta.
“I feel as though Vice President Harris has basically been saying the right things in regards to wanting a cease fire,” Ali said on Tuesday. “That’s my personal position.”
Others want Harris to commit to forcing a permanent ceasefire by threatening to cut off U.S. military aid to Israel before they commit to voting for her. Some plan to vote for a third-party candidate because they can’t stomach supporting the Biden-Harris administration due to its handling of the war in Gaza.
Morehouse College alum Edward Ahmad Mitchell serves as a board member for CAIR Action, the lobbying arm of CAIR. He says CAIR Action has advised its supporters to vote for one of the third-party candidates who are in favor of an Israeli arms embargo. That list of candidates includes Cornel West, an independent; Green Party candidate Jill Stein; and Claudia De la Cruz with the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
“We have not and are not endorsing any of them,” Mitchell said of CAIR Action and the third-party candidates. “We’re not endorsing any person. We’re endorsing an idea.”
Georgia Green Party Secretary Hugo Esco attended Tuesday’s press conference. He said the party has had greater success courting Black Muslims in Georgia recently due to many people’s anger with Democrats and Biden over Gaza.
He said some have even signed up for the Abandon Harris campaign, which seeks to mobilize supporters for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
“Muslims are abandoning the Harris campaign in droves,” Esco told Capital B Atlanta on Tuesday. “Some analysts are telling us that Muslims are never coming back to the Democratic Party.”
Georgia Muslims for Trump?
A small segment of Georgia’s Muslim population is even willing to vote for former President Donald Trump just to spite Democrats for what’s already happened to Muslims in the Middle East, according to Georgia resident Nabeel Alauddin, a development manager for Muslim Youth of North America.
Alauddin said he’s talked to Muslims who say their views on “preserving religious freedom” align with Republicans’ — even if many expect Trump will be less sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than Harris. Trump is the author of the Muslim travel ban who told Israeli leaders earlier this year to “finish what they started” in Gaza and “get it over with fast.”
“I don’t want people to vote for Trump, but some people appreciate that, if they’re going to be taken advantage of, that the person’s honest when they take advantage of them,” Alauddin told Capital B Atlanta on Tuesday.
Esco suggested Georgia’s Muslim population could make or break Harris’ campaign efforts in Georgia. The latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll of likely Georgia voters conducted between Oct. 7-16 showed Trump leading Harris 47% to 43%.
Eleven percent of Democrats surveyed told pollsters they remain undecided, according to the AJC. Some voiced support for Stein with the Green Party.
“The polls are telling us that the Harris campaign cannot win without the Muslim vote,” Esco said.
