Messages to Pennsylvania voters say Harris is two-faced on Israel

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a church service in Detroit on Sunday. Photo by Getty Images

TO Arno Rosenfeld
November 4, 2024

Some Pennsylvania voters have received anonymous text messages that portray Vice President Kamala Harris’ stance on the Gaza war as duplicitous and false.

“Kamala Harris’ campaign has posted conflicting information about her position on Israel,” one post said. “That’s exactly what she needs to do to win.”

This text message, sent Sunday from a northern Virginia area code, included a screenshot CNN article about how Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, has been running ads that “expand various parts of her message on Gaza and Israel in Michigan and Pennsylvania.”

Harris has sought to maintain a careful balance on the war, repeatedly saying she supports Israel’s right to defend itself against any threat while describing the death and destruction in the Gaza Strip as “heartbreaking.” On Sunday in Michigan, she said she would “do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza, to bring home the hostages, to end the suffering in Gaza, to ensure Israel is secure and ensures that the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, security and self-determination.”

But political experts believe she is in danger of losing votes over the war, both from the progressive left, many of whom are angered by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war, and from American Jews, who generally support Democrats but see former President Donald Trump. Trump is better for Israel than Harris.

The text messages to Pennsylvania voters appeared to be aimed at and in some ways echoed pro-Palestinian progressives. advertising targeting Arab Americans in Michigan which were controlled by the republican group.

“I am writing to you to make sure you know that Kamala will always stand with Israel,” the text message sent on Sunday continued. “She can still count on your support, right?”

The second message identified the sender as “Avi,” who said he was asking voters “if they care that Kamala Harris has pledged to support Israel as it wages war in the Gaza Strip.”

“This is important to me,” he added. “Does this matter to you? Is there another problem that is more important to you? The sender then provided a link to an NBC news article about Harris telling pro-Palestinian demonstrators who interrupted an August rally in Michigan: “I’m speaking now.”

On Monday morning, Avi posted another message that said: “With only a few hours left until Election Day, I can’t stop thinking about how this will affect the situation in the Gaza Strip. This is my No. 1 question on the ballot.”

The messages were received by at least four people registered to vote in Pennsylvania, a critical state for both candidates and one that polls show is deadlocked.

“Kamala residents have been texting me all weekend to make sure I know how much she hates Palestinians,” Kumars Salehi, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. tweeted on Sunday, sharing screenshots of multiple messages.

Another person shared screenshots of messages from Forward on the condition that they not be named, and the third described one anonymously. online forum progressives. This user seemed to believe it came from the Harris campaign.

“People like this especially piss me off,” they wrote. “It’s so loving and insulting.”

Michael Stroh, a spokesman for the Republican state legislative campaign in Pennsylvania, also appears to believe the messages were legitimate. In message by X On Sunday evening, Straw said Harris “plainly admitted that he lied to voters.”

Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, the structure of the messages did not correspond to the official messages of the election campaign. The tone of the texts was similar to a Michigan ad targeting Arabs in Michigan, with supposedly positive messages about Harris, including that she put “free Palestine supporters” “in their place.”

This ad was paid for by Future Coalition PAC, a Republican group that got money from Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who spent big to get Trump elected. The group’s treasurer is Ray Zaborney, a Republican. political consultant in Pennsylvania, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democrats have called advertising in Michigan offensive and a “thinly veiled attempt” to harm Harris.

Salehi, professor, later recognized that the messages he received turned out to be “election disinformation.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he wrote, “they got me.”