Tim Walz to Muslim voters in push before election: ‘Our hearts are broken’

Melissa Hellmann
Thu, October 3, 2024 

Tim Walz, delivers remarks at an election campaign event in Superior, Wisconsin.Photograph: Erica Dischino/Reuters


In a final push to engage Muslim voters ahead of the election, Tim Walz called for the end of the war in Gaza and pledged that, if elected, the Harris administration would work “side by side” with Muslim Americans.

The Democratic vice-presidential candidate joined Muslim advocacy group Emgage Action’s Million Muslim Votes: A Way Forward virtual summit the day after the vice-presidential debate.

During his speech, Kamala Harris’s running mate acknowledged a collective grief among Muslim and Arab American communities due to Israel’s war on Gaza, where more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October. “Our hearts are broken,” Walz said.

“The scale of death and destruction in Gaza is staggering and devastating. Tens of thousands of innocent civilians killed, families fleeing for safety over and over again. We all know on here, this war must end and it must end now. The vice-president’s working everyday to ensure that, to make sure Israel is secure, the hostages are home, the suffering in Gaza ends now. And the Palestinian people realize the right to dignity, freedom and self determination.”

In the online meeting, the governor of Minnesota also highlighted his connection to the Muslim community in his state.

“Here in Minnesota, I’ve got the privilege to represent an incredible and vibrant Muslim community,” Walz said as light streamed through a large window behind him. He shared that he and his wife, Gwen, held the first iftar, the fast-breaking evening meal during Ramadan, at the Minnesota governor’s residence in 2019. And last year, Walz also passed interest-free down payment assistance for first-generation homebuyers to increase homeownership among Muslim Americans.

The virtual event came shortly after Emgage Action endorsed Harris and Walz. It was not an easy decision for the organization to make, said Nada Al-Hanooti, Emgage Action’s national organizing deputy director, while adding that a third-party vote was tantamount to a vote for Donald Trump: “We don’t have time to punish the Democratic party.”

Emgage Action also endorsed Harris and Walz to help advance their anti-war objectives, said the group’s CEO, Wa’el Alzayat. “Our endorsement is a clear-eyed guidance to our voters on election day, when either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will be elected to become commander in chief,” said Alzayat. “This endorsement is not acquiescence to the status quo. On the contrary, we believe that the most effective way to advance our anti-war goals is to block Trump’s fascism and push for the change we want to see.”

In a tight run-up to the election, Muslim and Arab American voters will play a critical role in its outcome. During the last presidential election, Joe Biden won Michigan, home to 278,000 Arab Americans, by 154,000 votes. A survey of 1,200 Muslim American voters after the Democratic national convention found that respondents supported Harris and Jill Stein equally at 29% each, according to the Muslim civil rights group Council on American-Islamic Relations.

During the summit on Thursday, politicians and Muslim American leaders also warned of the dangers of a second Donald Trump presidency. During a June debate with Biden, Trump urged him to let Israel “finish the job” in its war on Gaza.

“We also have to recognize in this election, Donald Trump has made it clear where he stands with his anti-Muslim bigotry, with his threats to a Muslim ban,” Walz continued in his speech. “Vice-President Harris and I are committed that this White House will stand up to it, will continue to condemn in all forms anti-Islam, anti Arab sentiments being led by Donald Trump. But more importantly, a commitment that Muslims will be engaged in this administration and serve side by side.”

Keith Ellison, the Minnesota attorney general, the first Muslim American to be elected to Congress in 2006, also spoke at Thursday’s event, affirming his support for Harris and Walz, “because I believe this is the best way to stop the violence in Gaza and in Lebanon”, Ellison said. “Politics, friends, is really not about picking the person who’s already 100% on what you believe is right. So often, politics is about getting the person in office who you believe you can push. I know we cannot push Trump.”

Along with Ellison, several Muslim leaders have endorsed Harris and Walz in recent months, including the Black Muslim Leadership Council and the US representative Ilhan Omar. The group Muslim Women for Harris-Walz disbanded when the DNC denied a Palestinian American speaker, but later reaffirmed their support for the Democratic candidate.

The push to court Muslim voters 32 days before the election comes after months of criticism from Arab and Muslim American communities that the Democratic candidates – first Biden and then Harris – have failed to effectively engage them. Two weeks ago the Uncommitted National Movement, which mobilized more than 700,000 citizens to vote “uncommitted” or its equivalent in Democratic primaries throughout the nation, declined to endorse the Harris-Walz ticket. The Uncommitted National Movement said that Harris failed to meet a 15 September deadline to meet with Palestinian families and engage in discussions about a ceasefire deal.

Still, Thursday’s event served as a call to action for Emgage Action: “The Muslim American community must turn out in record numbers,” said Alzayat. “We are asking Muslim voters to also consider the human impact of a second Trump presidency, not just on us here in the United States … On the very people abroad we seek to help.”


Tim Walz makes direct appeal to conflicted Muslim voters

Alex Seitz-Wald
Thu, October 3, 2024 

Tim Walz in York, Pa., on Wednesday.


Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz addressed a Democratic Muslim voter group Thursday night as the Harris campaign works to engage a group of voters who threaten to defect in large numbers over the Biden administration’s handling of the deteriorating situation in the Middle East.

The virtual event, organized by Emgage Action, which endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris last week, was the most direct pitch yet to conflicted Muslim and Arab voters from her or Walz.

The appearance, which coincided with the launch of a group called Arab Americans for Harris-Walz, comes after Harris' top national security adviser met with Arab and Muslim community leaders.

Separately, administration officials had a series of meetings in Washington with Lebanese American leaders about evacuating U.S. citizens from southern Lebanon, where at least one American was killed this week during Israel’s military campaign there.

Some speakers on Thursday's call with Walz made it clear that their support for Harris comes with reservations, with one prominent Muslim Democrat saying voting for her was the “least bad thing.”

Walz, the governor of Minnesota, who is generally well-regarded among his state’s large Muslim population, vowed that a Harris-Walz administration would always have an open door, even if there's disagreement.

“As-Salaam-Alaikum,” Walz said on the call, using the Arabic greeting, before he turned to the war on many Arab and Muslim voters’ minds.

“I know the pain of this community is deep. Our hearts are broken,” he said of Israel’s war in Gaza and its recent attacks on Lebanon. “This war must end, and it must end now. The vice president’s working every day to ensure that, to make sure Israel secures itself, the hostages are home, the suffering in Gaza ends now, and the Palestinian people realize the right to dignity, freedom and self-determination.”

Walz warned about former President Donald Trump’s so-called Muslim ban and pledged that a Harris-Walz administration would combat Islamophobia and make a “commitment that Muslims will be engaged in this administration and serve side by side.”

Arab and Muslim voters have overwhelmingly voted for Democrats in recent elections. But President Joe Biden’s support for Israel and the perceived lack of outreach and policy concessions from the Harris campaign have led many Muslim and Arab voters to say they’re not sure they can support Harris in November.

Low turnout or support from the demographic could have an impact in battleground states with large Muslim and Arab populations, especially Michigan, which is seen as a must-win for Harris.

At the Democratic National Convention in August, party officials denied a request from anti-war delegates elected on the Uncommitted slate to have a Palestinian American speak about the suffering in Gaza, leaving activists fuming. Some Muslim activists and elected officials they say are disappointed to have heard little from the Harris campaign since then.

During the campaign, some disaffected Muslim and Arab voters have flocked to third-party candidates like Jill Stein and Cornel West, both of whom picked Muslim running mates and have courted pro-Palestinian voters. Others say they will stay home on Election Day. A smaller number have endorsed Trump to punish Democrats, including the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan — the first U.S. city to elect an all-Muslim government.

“We understand that some Muslim voters, any voter, may feel a moral dilemma voting for [Harris]. I do. My family does,” said Wa’el Alzayat, the CEO of Emgage Action. “But a vote for a third-party candidate is the road to victory for Donald Trump.”

Emgage’s national organizing director, Mohamed Gula, said he understood that some on the call might be offended by the group's decision to support Harris.

“We knew when we made the decision that we made that it would not be a popular decision,” he said. “There were days where we questioned [it] — and even up to today, we’re still struggling with it, with every conversation we have, with every text, with every door, with every call, with everything.”

But all the speakers said that despite their conflicted feelings, Trump would be worse for Palestinians and all the other issues Democrats care about.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who was the first Muslim elected to Congress, drew a distinction between Harris and Biden that Harris has been reluctant to draw herself.

“Kamala Harris is not the president of the United States. She cannot decide for President Biden” he said, noting her limited powers under the Constitution.

Harris has made some comments seen as more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than Biden has, but so far she has declined to show any distance from him on policy.

“We have to convince our friends and relatives that the best chance for peace is with Harris-Walz,” Ellison said, adding that Harris is a good listener who is "able to change her mind."

“We have to do what is the least bad thing or the best thing for our community," he said as he concluded his remarks.

Former Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich. — who said this may be the first time in his career that he has done a public event during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year — offered to give his cellphone number to anyone who needs convincing to vote for Harris.

“We cannot assume that she’s going to be great on this,” he said of Harris' Middle East policy. “So we’re going to have to fight for justice for Palestine, but we have solid ground to stand on if we’re fighting for it with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the White House, and we’re just in quicksand if Donald Trump [wins].”

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a progressive who has criticized the Biden White House’s handling of Israel, was more pointed.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Donald Trump will give carte blanche to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” Khanna said. “The Palestinian people will be a complete afterthought.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

Tim Walz appeals to Muslim voters in final push before election

Ashley Soriano
Sat, October 5, 2024 


Tim Walz appeals to Muslim voters in final push before election


(NewsNation) — Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz called for an end to the war in Gaza in his final push to appeal to Muslim voters before the November election.

Walz, currently the governor of Minnesota, was the headline speaker at the “Milion Muslim Votes 2024 Summit: Finding the Way Forward” on Thursday. Emgage Action, a Muslim-American advocacy group, hosted the webinar.

In a three-minute speech, Walz expressed his support for the Muslim and Arab communities amid the Middle East warfare, calling the destruction in Gaza “staggering and devastating.”

“This war must end and it must end now,” Walz said. “The Vice President is working every day to make sure of that.”

How war in Gaza could affect votes in swing states

U.S. support of Israel’s war in Gaza could prove to be a significant driver of how swing state voters show up at the polls this November.

Frustrated by President Joe Biden’s support of Israel, some voters opposing his policy pushed back against the president when he was running as the Democratic nominee.

However, with Vice President Kamala Harris taking over the Democratic Party, some political experts say she could have an opportunity to smooth over those voters.

Voters who disapprove of the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict in Gaza may be the much-needed margin Harris and Walz need. Walz said the deaths and destruction are on his and Harris’ minds daily.

“Our hearts are broken,” Walz said.

DHS warns of risks around Oct. 7, November election in annual threat assessment

The organization’s CEO, Wa’el Alzayat, called Walz “a champion of American working families.”

“We know he’ll do all he can to make sure the next administration serves all of us,” Alzayat said.

Emgage Action posted to X, formerly Twitter, promoting the summit — the organization’s first post on the platform since February 2020 when they endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president.



Walz touted his running mate’s efforts in uplifting the Muslim American community, pointing to Harris’ meeting with the mother of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy who was stabbed to death last October.

“We unequivocally condemn hate and Islamophobia and stand with the Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim American communities. The Biden-Harris Administration will continue working to protect our communities against hate and senseless violence,” Harris wrote in an Oct. 16, 2023, news release from the White House.

Walz has also recognized Muslim holidays throughout his tenure as Minnesota’s governor, hosting Iftar with his wife Gwen at the governor’s residence in 2019. Iftar is the meal eaten after sunset during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. In his appearance at Emgage Action’s summit, Walz said he was proud to have hosted the first-ever Iftar at the governor’s residence.



Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for this year’s presidential election, did not escape a mention by Walz, who called his past rhetoric “anti-Muslim bigotry.”

“It means the world to us for your endorsement because we stand side-by-side on those principles. As the Vice President says, ‘When we fight we win,’ and we’re glad to be in this fight alongside Emgage,” Walz said in his closing statement.

Walz’s remarks from his home in Minnesota, wherein he took no questions, came nearly one year after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Other elected officials, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17), participated in the summit.

NewsNation’s Safia Samee Ali contributed to this report.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Walz promises Muslims an equal role in Harris administration

Stephanie Kelly
Thu, October 3, 2024



By Stephanie Kelly

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tim Walz, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris's running mate, on Thursday promised Muslim Americans an equal role in their administration should they win the election, as Democrats scramble to win back Muslim backing that has eroded over U.S. support for Israel.

Vice President Harris and Walz, the governor of Minnesota, are trying to woo Muslim voters furious over President Joe Biden's administration's staunch backing of Israel during its year-old war in Gaza against Hamas.

Harris has pledged continued support for Israel while emphasizing her push for a ceasefire, words Walz echoed on Thursday, while promising a role for Muslims.

"Vice President Harris and I are committed that this White House... will continue to condemn in all forms anti-Islam, anti-Arab sentiments being led by Donald Trump, but more importantly, a commitment that Muslims will be engaged in this administration and serve side by side," Walz said during an online meeting organized by Emgage Action, a Muslim American advocacy group that recently endorsed Harris.

The Nov. 5 election between Harris and Republican Trump is expected to be tight, especially in battleground states like Michigan, home to a large Muslim American population. The U.S. continues to back Israel as it targets Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Though Emgage has endorsed Harris, other Muslim groups have urged supporters not to back her in the election, especially after Democrats rejected requests for a Palestinian speaker at the party convention in August.

Harris has offered no substantive policy differences on Israel from Biden, who stepped aside as presidential candidate in July.

Trump has said he would reinstate a "travel ban" he imposed as president restricting the entry into the United States of people from a list of largely Muslim-dominant countries. Biden rolled back the ban shortly after taking office in 2021.

"The scale of death and destruction in Gaza is staggering and devastating," Walz said. Harris is working to ensure "the suffering in Gaza ends now, and the Palestinian people realize the right to dignity, freedom and self determination."

The Israeli military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, Palestinian health authorities say. Israel was responding to an incursion by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7, 2023, which Israel says killed around 1,200 people and abducted about 250 hostages.

Gaza has suffered a humanitarian crisis with nearly all its 2 million people displaced and widespread hunger in the enclave.

Other speakers at the event included Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen from Maryland and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who both suggested that Harris could represent a shift from Biden's approach in the Middle East.

"I know she is a listener. She is able to change her mind," Ellison said, adding Harris was not born in the 1940s, as Biden and Trump were.

"I'm not promising you a rose garden" if Harris is elected, Ellison said. "But we'll be pushing on a door that's not locked."

It was unclear whether Walz, the first speaker, remained on the Zoom call to listen to other remarks. He took no questions.

While other Muslim groups have not supported Republican candidate Donald Trump, some are backing Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Heather Timmons and William Mallard)


Georgia's Muslim voters withdraw support from Harris, trump over Middle East stance

Eric Mock
Fri, October 4, 2024 


ATLANTA - A growing group of Muslim voters in Georgia say they won’t support Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump in the upcoming election, citing both candidates' vocal support of Israel in the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

In Georgia, where every vote is expected to count, the decision could significantly impact both campaigns. According to a recent poll by the Arab American Institute, Muslim voters in the nationa are almost evenly split between Harris and Trump. Losing support from this key group could prove costly for both.

Kristen Truitt, a Muslim American voter in Atlanta, has historically voted for Democrats but says he’s now breaking ranks over the party’s stance on Israel. "Just to give unlimited funds and access to Israel, I think that is totally ridiculous," Truitt said.

He’s part of a nationwide movement of Muslim voters who have decided not to vote for either major party candidate, citing frustration over U.S. support of Israel’s war in Gaza, which is now expanding into Lebanon. "What we're trying to say is we should really do away with the logic of voting for the quote unquote, lesser of two evils," said Kareem Rosshandler, Georgia co-chair of the "Abandon Harris" campaign.

Rosshandler's group is encouraging Muslim voters to go third-party, aiming to send a message to both Republicans and Democrats. "I think the main one is to say that the Muslim community in the United States won't be taken for granted," he added.

However, experts say the loss of Muslim voters may not affect both parties equally. "That would essentially have a greater adverse impact on the Harris-Waltz ticket than it would on Trump-Vance," said Alicia Hughes, assistant professor of law at Emory University and a voting expert. "Trump historically has not been able to count on those votes."

Rosshandler claims his group has already secured commitments from more than 10,000 Muslim voters to support third-party candidates. Yet Hughes warns that taking a stronger stance on Israel might not be a winning strategy for either side. "There's a great possibility that you would lose more from the change than you would actually gain," she said.

Both the Trump and Harris campaigns have been contacted for comment but have yet to respond.