August 20, 2024
More than 3,000 people marched around Philadelphia City Hall to the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Sunday calling for Vice President Kamala Harris to oppose sending arms to Israel ahead of the DNC. The demonstration comes less than a week after the U.S. approved a $20 billion arms sale to Israel. The sale includes more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, advanced missiles and explosives, however the contract will take years to fulfill and the earliest deliveries aren’t expected until at least 2026. Sam Kuttab, a Palestinian American, lost two family members in the war. He said politicians need to remember “we are citizens” and “our vote will count.” “I think the politicians are stuck in thinking that they have to stand with Israel no matter what, otherwise they won’t get support,” Kuttab said. “What they need to realize is there is support for them if they are standing on the point of justice.” Campaigns across Pennsylvania have been asking voters to not support Harris’ presidential bid until the Biden administration secures a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, or Harris publicly commits to an arms embargo on Israel if elected president. “We’re saying to our president-to-be, hopefully Harris, ‘Please, do not forget,’” Kuttab said. “This war has to stop, and more important, the occupation has to stop. We can’t have this going on anymore. Enough is enough.” Campaigns across Pennsylvania have been asking voters to not support Harris’ presidential bid until the Biden administration secures a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, or Harris publicly commits to an arms embargo on Israel if elected president. “We’re saying to our president-to-be, hopefully Harris, ‘Please, do not forget,’” Kuttab said. “This war has to stop, and more important, the occupation has to stop. We can’t have this going on anymore. Enough is enough.”