Not long after President Biden threw his unconditional support behind Israel’s war on Gaza, great numbers of American Muslims felt betrayed by the President they had helped decisively in the 2020 election. There seemed to be no contest between the long-established and well-endowed pro-Israel lobby and the meager pro-Palestinian lobby.

Some Muslim leaders launched the “Abandon Biden” effort, which helped to win significant numbers of “undecided” voters in several state Democratic primaries. I voted undecided in Colorado, and started a petition urging Biden to bow out of the race to allow for an open Democratic Convention (https://www.change.org/p/mr-president-please-bow-out-of-the-race). That did not go far.

Many of the Abandon Biden people decided to support a third party candidate; I doubt any planned to vote for Trump. Which brings up my point: the Abandon Biden campaign could not help but aid Trump, because any vote a third party candidate takes from the Democratic candidate indirectly benefits the Republican candidate. Would that our’s was parliamentary system in which voting one’s conscience is easier, given multiple parties.

Come the first Presidential debate with Joe Biden’s debacle, and we are in a new ball game. Democratic Party bigwigs are calling it just one bad night, not a big deal. But most people without a psychological commitment to Biden know it WAS a big deal. 

Now there is little chance Biden will be the next President; there is no reason to persist with organizing Muslims to abandon him. But there is a very good reason for Muslims, liberal Jews, liberal Christians, Blacks, youth, and all who are dismayed by our current pro-Israel policy to lobby with all their might to impress upon the Democratic nominee, whoever that will be, the need for a more balanced policy on Israel and Palestine.

Only two candidates have a chance at the White House: Trump and the Democratic nominee, whoever that will be. The only thing that is certain at this point is that both Palestinians and American Muslims will be worse off if Trump wins.

Anyone is free to vote his or her conscience with a third party candidate. But he or she might soon after regret it.