The NAACP is urging President Biden to halt the sale of weapons to Israel, arguing that this move could strengthen his support among Black voters ahead of the election.
This appeal follows polls indicating Biden may lose Black voter support due to his stance on Israel amid the ongoing 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 considered the Israel-Hamas conflict “extremely important” in the context of the upcoming election.
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“The NAACP calls on President Biden to draw the red line and indefinitely end the shipment 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 claimed so many civilian lives, immediately stop.”
While acknowledging Israel’s right to defend itself following Hamas’s October 7 attack, which Israel claims resulted in about 1,200 deaths and over 250 hostages taken, the NAACP also urges Israel to adopt an offensive strategy that complies with international and humanitarian laws.
The Palestinian Health Authority reports over 36,000 Palestinian deaths from subsequent Israeli military actions, along with widespread hunger and displacement. The International Court of Justice has accused Israel of violating the genocide convention, allegations that Israel denies.
The NAACP also calls for Hamas to return the hostages and cease all terrorist activities.
The 115-year-old civil rights organization has been cautious in its public commentary on the conflict, though it did recently support college students’ right to protest. Now, the NAACP warns Biden that failing to leverage his influence with Israel to secure a permanent cease-fire in Gaza could result in frustration among Black voters at the polls.
A majority of Black voters want the U.S. to advocate for an immediate cease-fire and believe U.S. military aid to Israel should be conditional, according to a survey by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Advocates have warned Biden that Black voters feel a connection with Palestinians due to shared experiences of oppression, a sentiment NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson reiterated in an interview with Reuters.
The rising civilian death toll, Johnson said, is “horrifying” Black Americans, particularly the younger generation. “It’s raising a lot of questions around why our tax dollars are being used to harm civilians,” he added.
