The Green Party nominee for president, Jill Stein, is expected to select a running mate from a pool of Palestinian American candidates in an apparent bid to draw votes from Democrats opposed to their party’s support for Israel during its defensive war in Gaza. 

The Green Party candidate, who has made her criticism of Israel’s war against Hamas a central tenet of her campaign, is reportedly in contact with three different Palestinian Americans about joining her in her long-shot 2024 presidential bid. 

One candidate, a human rights lawyer and associate professor of Africana studies at Rutgers University, Noura Erakat, announced over the weekend that she had been approached by Dr. Stein “to run as her vice-presidential candidate” and that she was “seriously considering it,” she wrote in a post on X.  

In the same post, she denounced Vice President Harris’s campaign, writing, “The Harris team is demanding our votes to ‘save our democracy’ but has been oblivious to the fact that supporting a #genocide poses the most significant threat to it.” 

Another candidate Dr. Stein is reportedly eyeing is the executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Abed Ayoub, who similarly took to X to write that he was approached by the Green Party nominee. 

“Since the start of the genocide I have made a commitment to stick to our shared principles,” he wrote in a post on X. “Dr. Stein has consistently held the right position on Gaza, Palestine, and human rights throughout this campaign.” 

He added: “Being considered is a testament to the fact that there are still politicians and candidates out there who value integrity and the willingness to stand on the side of justice.”  

A political activist and comedian, Amer Zahr, told NBC News that she has also been speaking with Dr. Stein, describing it as “an honor” to be considered for the VP role and a demonstration of Dr. Stein’s “direct outreach to Palestinian Americans and Arab Americans, especially in Michigan.” 

“It shows that, unlike the Harris campaign, she is serious about addressing the core issues in this campaign,” she added. 

Dr. Stein had also reportedly been in contact with the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, Abdullah Hammoud, before realizing that the 34-year-old politician just missed the minimum age of 35 required by the Constitution for VP nominees. 

Dr. Stein is due to announce her running mate this Friday. 

While Arab and Muslim voters have historically voted along Democratic Party lines, many have turned their noses up over Ms. Harris’s apparent commitment to supporting America’s longtime ally, Israel. 

Losing the Arab and Muslim vote could be significant for the Harris-Walz campaign, given that key swing state Michigan boasts one of the largest Arab and Muslim populations in the country. 

As the race between Ms. Harris and President Trump tightens, Democrats are becoming increasingly concerned that Dr. Stein’s campaign could draw votes from Democrats and put Trump at an advantage. 

The conflict was put on display just last week, when several anti-Israel protesters crashed a Harris-Walz rally at Detroit, chanting, “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide.” 

She responded by calling back: “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that.”