Biden risks losing Black voters over Gaza

Signs are emerging that President Biden may lose the support of Black voters come November over his support for Israel over the war with Hamas 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 Israel-Hamas war as “extremely important” ahead of the election.

One in 6 Black voters in the poll said they’ve considered not voting as a form of protest — with "protecting Palestine" as one of their top reasons.

The poll followed calls in February from the African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the oldest religious and civic institutions for Black Americans, for an end to all financial aid to Israel.

Quintin Cross, senior policy adviser at the New York-based racial justice organization Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition, said many Black Americans identify closely with the struggle of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

“This is the subtle life we live with every day,” Cross said. “Whether it's police violence, government attack or just a general disregard for Black lives, we can relate.”

If Black voters stay home, it could hurt not only Biden but Democrats up and down the ballot as the party vies for control of Congress.

Concerns are especially high among young voters, many of whom were already disappointed in the administration. 

A March survey from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace found Black Americans are increasingly concerned about the humanitarian crisis of the war. 

According to the report, 45 percent of Black Americans report feeling connected to the Palestinian plight, while 59 percent said U.S. military aid to Israel should be conditional in order to ensure that American weapons are used for “legitimate self-defense” and in a way that is “consistent with human rights standards.”

The Carnegie survey found that people under 30 years old were more likely to report feeling worse about Biden since Oct. 7.

Biden has remained steadfast in his support for Israel’s right to defend itself.

He didn’t call for a cease-fire until early April in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, frustrating many on the left.

He offered the call again during his commencement speech Sunday at Georgia’s historically Black, all-male Morehouse College, a visit seemingly intended to help shore up support with a key constituency.

Black voters generally are much more likely to vote for Democrats than Republicans, though some polls have shown former President Trump doing better with Black men in this cycle than in his previous runs.

In another worrying sign for Democrats, only 41 percent of Black voters between the ages of 18 and 39 said they were certain to vote in November, according to a recent poll from the Washington Post/Ipsos. 

Cross expressed mixed feelings about such surveys.

Though he is dedicated to ending the war in Gaza, he said he is also worried about what could happen to protesters, Palestinian- and Jewish Americans if Trump returns to the White House.

“I understand where they're coming from completely, because that was me two months ago,” Cross said. “But if the wrong person gets in [office], those communities are going to suffer even more.”

Encampments on college campuses have cropped up around the nation as students protest the ongoing war, many in support of Palestinians. More than 2,700 students have been arrested or detained. 

Leading Black organizations including the NAACP have thrown their support behind these students. 

“Protest is the language of the people, used to fight against violence and build a healthy democracy,” said Wisdom Cole, national director of the NAACP Youth & College Division.

“We cannot encourage a generation to use their voice through their vote while simultaneously suppressing their freedom of speech,” he added. “Enough is enough. It is time for our leaders to come together in embracing the activism of our youth while investing in solutions to promote safety, not suppression. We can, and must, do better. "

Black lawmakers have been raising the issue vocally, warning Gaza could prevent him from putting back together the 2020 coalition that helped him defeat Trump.

“President Biden was elected by a broad, diverse, and multi-generational coalition of voters to lead with moral clarity and the responsibility to save lives,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) told The Hill.

“It’s imperative that in seeking a second term, the Biden-Harris administration is accountable to this coalition and responsive to the pain people are feeling. A lasting, bilateral ceasefire to save lives, return the hostages, and surge humanitarian aid to Gaza is not only essential, but also critical to ensuring Donald Trump is never president again.”

Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who introduced the Ceasefire Now Resolution earlier this year, said it should be no surprise that Black voters are protesting the war. 

“The struggle in occupied Palestine feels all too familiar for many Black people in this country,” Bush said. “For decades, Palestinians have been victims of state-sanctioned violence, oppression, apartheid, and racial injustice and inequality–and so have we. Our commitment to ending violence, brutality, and oppression is not conditional. It’s universal. Black people have a deep understanding of that.”

A spokesperson for the Biden-Harris campaign said the administration has delivered on the issues Black Americans care about most.

Since Biden took office, America has seen the lowest Black unemployment rate in history, Black child poverty has been cut in half and billions in student loan debt has been forgiven.

Biden has also appointed the most diverse Cabinet in American history and invested billions in historically Black colleges and universities.

Partly because of these successes, Marshall Mitchell, the pastor of Salem Baptist Church of Abington, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia, said he is surprised by how heavily invested Black Americans are in the war.

“I have never heard this many or as many young African Americans concerned about foreign policy as we are hearing today,” Mitchell said.

Though this interest in politics is a positive, he said, he is concerned Black voters may be prioritizing the wrong fight for justice. 

“African Americans have to be hypersensitive in the complex global economy in which they live, to be sure that the interests that they live and die on are their own and not someone else’s,” said Mitchell, who is also on the board of trustees at the University of Pennsylvania.

“While I certainly respect the interest of Palestinians, I know that the interest of African Americans economically and socially and educationally are more important than any foreign policy issue.”