Facial feedback Harris smiles Trump scowls mirror stances on Israel

Facial feedback: Harris smiles, Trump scowls mirror stances on Israel

TEHRAN- American people cast their ballots in the presidential and congressional elections prioritizing economic issues amidst the significant allocation of billions in US taxpayer dollars for military adventurism overseas.

Prior to Election Day on Tuesday, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump made their final appeals to voters. 

Vice President Harris, who ended her campaign in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, doubled down on the economy and outlined her plan to “build an economy where we bring down the cost of living”.

Trump also vowed to lead the US to “new heights of glory” at an event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The economy is a key issue for American voters facing challenges related to unemployment and inflation. 

The new US president's policies will undoubtedly impact both domestic and international relations. The White House race could also impact the Russia-Ukraine war. However, Washington’s unwavering support for Israel and its enmity against regional resistance groups will remain unchanged.  

Amid the race for the White House, many Americans are fed up with their country’s support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. The “ironclad” support provided by the administration of President Joe Biden to Israel had already overshadowed Tuesday’s presidential elections. 
 

Supporting savagery 

Since Israel launched war on Gaza in October 2023, the United States has spent a record of at least $17.9 billion on military aid to the regime. That’s according to a report for Brown University’s Costs of War project, published on October 7 this year on the anniversary of the regime’s genocidal war on Gaza. The onslaught has so far claimed the lives of more than 43,000 Palestinians in Gaza. 
 

No to war

Over the course of the Gaza war, huge anti-war protests have also been staged across the world, including in the United States. 

American protesters have criticized the US government for spending their taxpayer money to feed the Israeli war machine. The demonstrators have demanded that Washington stop arming Tel Aviv and exert pressure on the regime to end the onslaught.

American voters are increasingly worried about the state of the economy while the US spends taxpayer money on military adventurism overseas. Students also set up encampments across college campuses to express their frustration over US support for Israel’s war on the Palestinians. But US police launched clampdowns and made mass arrests. 

Besides, multiple American officials have resigned to voice their anger at their government’s backing for the Gaza genocide. 

Tariq Habash, an official at the Department of Education, was among those who resigned in January.  Habash cited significant disillusionment with Biden in the Democratic base because of his unwillingness to hold Israel accountable for violations of international humanitarian law.

“Whoever replaces the President on the ticket needs to show voters that there will be a substantive shift in policy that ends the dehumanization of Palestinians and supports Palestinian human rights, international law, and peace,” Habash said, according to a report released by The Intercept in July. 

Veteran US diplomat Hala Rharrit also quit her job in April in opposition to the US’s policy on the war in Gaza. 

For 18 years, had Rharrit worked as a political officer in the US Department of State, and eventually as spokesperson for the government. 

Rharrit has said that US talking points are “dehumanizing to the Palestinians” and neglect their plight. She has also blamed the US for destabilizing the region. 

An American Air Force major who stepped down in June criticized the Democratic Party for ignoring the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.
“I’m still disheartened that the Democratic Party doesn’t care about Palestinians and continues to offer unconditional support to Israel,” Riley Livermore said. 

Blasting brutality 

In late February, an active-duty member of the American Air Force set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. to denounce Washington’s support for Israel's brutal onslaught on Gaza. 

A video posted on social media showed Aaron Bushnell walking up to the driveway of the Israeli embassy, setting his phone down on the ground, and pouring an unknown liquid from a bottle over himself. He then ignited it while yelling "Free Palestine" repeatedly.

The flames consumed Aaron’s body and he finally fell to the ground. 

The footage, that Aron livestreamed himself on Twitch, explained his reasons for the act of protest.

"My name is Aaron Bushnell, I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide…I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it's not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal."

The 25-year-old officer was taken to hospital in a critical condition but died of his injuries.

On Tuesday, American voters also went to the polls to elect 34 US senators (out of 100) and all 435 members for the House of Representatives.

Presently, mainstream media have focused on the results of the US presidential election while Israel persists in massacring people in Gaza with American bombs.

Israel which expanded its war into Lebanon more than a month ago, has also killed a number of regional resistance leaders and multiple military commanders. Unsurprisingly, the United States has thrown its full weight behind such assassinations. 

Irrespective of whether Trump or Harris takes the helm at the White House, the next president will continue to condone such killings. 

The strategy of the next US president in backing Israel’s barbarism will remain intact, but his or her approach may be different.  

Trump is a businessman-turned-politician who exhibits erratic behavior and explicitly sides with Israel’s expansionist agenda. 

But Harris tries to launch a charm offensive with Palestinians in an attempt to appease opposition to Israel’s brutalities and obscure Washington’s ugly face behind her smiles.  

Trump’s frowns and Harris’s smiles are based on the same scripts with different characters when it comes to dealing with Israel’s fascist and apartheid nature.  

 

source: tehrantimes.com