The NAACP is calling on President Biden to end arms sales to Israel, arguing that doing so will allow him to win the support of Black voters ahead of the election.
The push comes amid polls showing Biden could lose support from black voters for his support of Israel amid the violence in Gaza.
A March poll by In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda with PerryUndem, found that 24 percent of black voters identified the war between Israel and Hamas as “extremely important” before the election.
“The NAACP calls on President Biden to draw the red line and indefinitely end shipments of all weapons and artillery to the State of Israel and other states that supply weapons to Hamas and other terrorist organizations. » the civil rights organization said in a statement, first reported by Reuters.
“It is imperative that the violence that has cost so many civilian lives ends immediately. »
Although the NAACP has said Israel has the right to defend itself after the October 7 Hamas attacks that Israel says killed about 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, they also urge Israel to “engage in an offensive strategy aligned with international and humanitarian laws.” .”
According to the Palestinian Health Authority, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military offensives, and Palestinians face widespread hunger and displacement. The International Court of Justice has accused Israel of violating the Genocide Convention. Israel denies these allegations.
The NAACP also calls on Hamas to return the hostages and “end all terrorist activity.”
The 115-year-old civil rights organization has been reluctant to speak openly about the conflict, although it expressed some support for students’ right to protest last month.
Now the organization is warning Biden that if he doesn’t use his influence with Israel to help orchestrate a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, he risks instilling frustration among black voters at the polls.
A majority of black voters want to see the United States call for an immediate ceasefire, according to a report. investigation by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peaceand believe that American military aid to Israel should be conditional.
Supporters have warned Biden that black voters feel a sense of connection to Palestinians because of the oppression they have faced, a warning Johnson reiterated in an interview with Reuters.
The rising civilian death toll, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson told Reuters, is “horrifying” for black Americans, especially young black Americans.
“It raises a lot of questions about why our tax dollars are being used to harm civilians,” Johnson said.
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