NAACP urges Biden to halt weapons to Israel to build Black voter support

The NAACP is calling on President Biden to halt the sale of weapons to Israel, arguing doing so will build Black voters’ support for him ahead of the election.

The push comes amid polls showing that Biden may lose the support of Black voters over his support for Israel amid the 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 identified the Israel-Hamas war as “extremely important” ahead of the election.

“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.”

Though the NAACP said Israel had a right to defend itself after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack that Israel says killed about 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, it is also urging Israel to “commit to an offensive strategy that is aligned with international and humanitarian laws.” 

According to the Palestinian Health Authority, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in subsequent Israeli military offenses, and Palestinians are facing widespread hunger and displacement. The International Court of Justice has accused Israel of violating the genocide convention. Israel denies these allegations.

The NAACP is also calling for Hamas to return the hostages and “stop all terrorist activity.” 

The 115-year-old civil rights organization has been hesitant to speak openly on the conflict, though it did express some support for college students’ right to protest last month.

Now, the organization is warning Biden that if he does not use his influence with Israel to help orchestrate a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, he risks Black voters’ frustration at the ballot box.

A majority of Black voters want to see the U.S. call for an immediate cease-fire, according to a survey by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and believe that U.S. military aid to Israel should be conditional.

Advocates have been warning Biden that Black voters feel a sense of connection with Palestinians for the oppression they have faced, a warning NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson reiterated in an interview with Reuters.

The growing civilian deaths, Johnson said, is “horrifying’ Black Americans, particularly young Black Americans.  

“It’s raising a lot of questions around why our tax dollars are being used to harm civilians,” said Johnson.