TRUMP THE ANTI-PALESTINIAN…

Linda Dayan 

Let's remember: Under Trump, the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, announced that it no longer views Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal and the closure of the Palestinian Diplomatic Mission in Washington, and said that it would shield Israel from any ICC probes

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago last Friday.

At every moment, a person is making a choice: while waiting at a crosswalk, they can decide to jaywalk, or to start picking their nose, or to smile at the person waiting next to them, or to yodel. Some choices are easier than others, and some will have more productive consequences. But all choices are actively made.

For Americans, voting is a choice. It isn't mandatory, and if you're working long hours, lacking transportation or are an expat like I am, it can even be a hassle. But this year, it's a pretty powerful choice – as is deciding not to vote at all. The results of my decision, and that of the about 200 million eligible U.S. voters, will have a massive impact on the lives of Americans. And considering how tightly the fate of this region is tied to the United States' wants and whims, it'll have a big effect on Israelis and Palestinians as well.

There is a subset of the progressive movement that has held President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party accountable for the unconscionable destruction in Gaza. They see Biden's steadfast support of Israel and the U.S. weapons sales and military maneuvers for Jerusalem as aiding and abetting the war crimes that are playing out on our computer screens on a daily basis.

Their grievances are legitimate. If it were my family members livestreamed while burning alive in tent camps, I would never be able to forgive anyone in power who sanctioned it. But they still have a choice: vote for a candidate from that party whose statements on the Palestinians have been flawed, or vote for a candidate who, when he was in office, took active steps to embitter the lives of Palestinians.

Let's remember: Under President Donald Trump, the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved its embassy there, an act of recognition of Israeli sovereignty over an area the Palestinians claim for a future capital of its own. His administration announced that it no longer views Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal.

In 2018, it announced the closure of the Palestinian Diplomatic Mission in Washington, and said that it would shield Israel from any attempts at investigation in the International Criminal Court. Long before Israel outlawed it, the Trump administration ended funding for UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees – a large amount of the organization's budget. And lest we forget, he said that Israel should "finish the job" in Gaza.

With the tightness of the race and the way the U.S. electoral system is built, not voting is as consequential a choice as voting, and for progressives who would have otherwise voted for Kamala Harris, it is indistinguishable from a vote for Trump. So is a vote for Jill Stein, who has built her campaign on the back of the Palestinian plight, hoping to siphon votes from disillusioned would-be Democrats.

Americans who care about Palestine have a clear, binary choice: cast your vote for Kamala Harris, who wants the war to end, has called the loss of Gazan lives "unconscionable" but has not pledged to cut Israel off; or throw your support behind a man who, when given power, has done all he could to abase the Palestinian people and will do so again.