Like many Arabs and Muslim Americans who traditionally vote for the Democrats, the civilian loss of life in Gaza has awakened me to reconsider my allegiance to the party. Although we represent just 1% of the U.S. population, our concentrated presence in swing states makes us a crucial bloc for Democrats.

In the 2020 election, about 65% of the Muslim Arab community in swing states cast its ballot for President Joe Biden. This backing was crucial to his victory. Biden secured pivotal swing states by narrow margins. Biden won Georgia by only 12,000 votes, while over 61,000 Muslims voted there, and he took Pennsylvania by 81,000 votes, with 125,000 Muslims participating. 

This year, however, the war in Gaza brought Arab and Muslim Americans together more profoundly than any other topic. Should we turn our backs on the Democratic Party just like it turned its back on our demands for a ceasefire?

Since its launch in February, the Uncommitted National Movement, composed of a coalition of Palestinian, anti-war, and progressive groups, has been advocating voters to choose “uncommitted” in the November election. The movement has since gained significant traction, with more than 700,000 Muslims joining its cause. Support is expected to grow even further after Democrats denied Palestinian Americans the opportunity to take the stage at the Democratic National Convention last month to address Israel’s war in Gaza.

Put simply, Biden lost us as Muslim American voters, and Vice President Kamala Harris crushed our demands. The Democrats have left us with no choice but to vote uncommitted or for a third party as not voting at all is also not an option. For many of us, voting for a third-party candidate such as Jill Stein or Cornel West is the only viable option. Both Stein and West have been vocal in their support for Gazans. Stein chose Muslim activist and academic Rudolph “Butch” Ware as her running mate, while West chose Melina Abdullah, a Black Muslim woman, as his running mate.

By voting for an independent candidate, we continue to fulfill our civic duty while also renouncing a party that pays no heed to our demands. We refuse to settle for the crumbs offered by the Democrats — either they earn our votes or lose them forever.

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So, maybe in the end, it’s not a dilemma at all.

Voting collectively for a third party, as Arabs and Muslims, will send a clear message to both major parties that our vote cannot be taken for granted.

Zineb Williams is a foreign affairs freelance journalist based in Washington, D.C. She is a former intern-writer at the Daily Caller News Foundation and the National Journalism Center.