Vote pledge

I pledge to not vote for any candidate running for office on the Democratic ticket who accepted funding from AIPAC, and who does not at minimum publicly and overtly work to end the Israeli assault on Palestinians. As someone who has voted for Democrats in past elections, and who is concerned with Israel’s escalation of its decades-long siege on Gaza—its repeated violations of human rights, and transgressions of international law—I cannot in good conscious support any candidates, especially top party leaders, who use their positions to enable the unconscionable violence we see daily—and I ask other voters, especially Democrats in swing states, to withhold and condition their votes too.

Many will wish to frame this expression of moral consciousness as support for Trump and the Republican Party, but we the signatories emphatically reject that framing. Over decades both major parties have steadily eroded any semblance of democratic or representative control of government, and have been openly hostile to those who wish to challenge the two-party duopoly that is more accountable to corporations and a military-industrial complex than it is to its constituents. It is because of Democrat and Republican party machines that voters find themselves unable to advance their economic, political, and moral interests, and are instead flung from one crisis to another across election cycles that require them to compromise themselves, and it is precisely because of this that we reject the framing of withholding our support for a compromised system as support for another part of that system.

The days of calling for a ceasefire as the minimum requirement are far behind us. The U.S. and Democratic Party leadership supported Israel in the complete destruction of Gaza and the slaughter of tens-of-thousands of innocent civilians. If these same party leaders call for a ceasefire now, weeks from now, or months from now, it will be too late.

If the Democratic Party wants to earn my vote, its leaders, especially President Joe Biden and Vice Presidents Kamala Harris, must:

• Call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire
• Call for an end of military aid to Israel
• Challenge free speech infringement at workplaces and college campuses in their states/districts
• Support a resolution to pressure Israel to greatly increase the flow of aid into Gaza.
• Recognize Israel as an apartheid state and cut diplomatic ties until Palestinians are granted full rights.