United States Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is considering three Palestinian rights advocates, including two Arab Americans, to be her running mate in the elections, her campaign has confirmed.
The vice president announcement will be made during a livestream rally on Thursday, the Stein campaign told Al Jazeera.
The candidates are Abed Ayoub, executive director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC); Amer Zahr, a Palestinian American activist; and Jacqueline Luqman, a journalist and activist.
All three have been vocal critics of Israel and the US’s unflinching support for the war on Gaza. Stein, a physician and activist, herself is a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights.
Having one of the three on the ballot could boost Stein’s chances of tapping into the mass of disaffected voters who have grown angry with the mainstream Democratic Party’s stance on Israel.
I think Jill Stein is entirely too suspicious to be considered a good faith third party. Others have provided evidence. You can attribute good intentions all you want, but it’s irresponsible to be blind to the impact at best, or simply inexcusable to bring it about at worst.
I’m not a huge fan of her or anything but I do firmly believe that third parties should exist. I’ve been aware of Stein for a long time and thought she just seemed like a simple environmentalist. I have only recently become aware of the allegations of her working with Russia and I can’t tell from what I have read if it’s legit or not, or if it’s just Democrats trying to turn people against her. Regardless, I will not be voting for her.
Independently, yes, I support the concept of a third party. If we can institute ranked choice voting or some other system, bring it on. Until then though, it’s just unrealistic and dangerous.