WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is hiring Nasrina Bargzie to lead communications with Muslim and Arab voters, according to a campaign official who shared the details of the plan for the first time with NBC News — a move aimed at a key constituency that worries President Joe Biden, which he has given Israel. according to support.
Until July, Bargzie served in Harris’s White House office as a policy adviser on Muslim, Arab and Gaza issues, as well as reproductive rights, voting and democracy, a campaign official said. He will cover the same broad portfolio in the campaign.
Harris has faced a barrage of pro-Palestinian protesters at recent rallies, and Democrats are bracing for major protests at next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Some Muslim groups, critical of Biden’s policies on Israel and the Middle East, argue that Harris is an extension of their position. But other Muslim leaders said Harris was more sympathetic to the death of civilians in Gaza than Biden and that he was the best candidate to support in the race.
While voters wait to see if Harris will present a different approach to the Middle East and Israel than Biden’s, Bargzie will focus on speaking to the Muslim and Arab communities.
“I am honored to continue my work for the vice president in this election, advising on a range of critical issues from democracy and reproductive rights to Muslim and Arab advocacy,” Bargzie said in a statement the campaign shared with NBC News. “I know the Vice President is deeply committed to freedom, justice and peace — and we will work with Americans across the country to help realize those goals and deliver on America’s promise.”
Several people who knew Bargzie praised him in interviews.
“I have had the privilege of knowing Nasrina for more than 20 years, since we attended Berkeley Law School together and worked closely with her at the White House,” said Mazen Basrawi, the White House’s Muslim liaison. Community until June. “Nasrina is an extraordinarily skilled lawyer who understands the trauma of war and displacement from her own life experience. I’m sure he will do a great job reaching out to the Arab and Muslim communities in the United States.”
Bargzie was a refugee himself, born in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and lived in Pakistan for three years before his family was admitted to the US Refugee Resettlement program in 1985.
“The campaign will benefit greatly from his continued work in these areas for the vice president,” he said, praising the role that Josh Hsu Bargzie, Harris’ senior White House counsel, will play.
Hala Hijazi, a longtime San Francisco leader on issues affecting the Muslim and Arab communities and now on the campaign’s national finance committee, added her own praise. “He always approaches and solves the most difficult and sensitive issues, thinking about truth and justice,” Hijazi said. “She has played an integral role in ensuring the voice and inclusion of communities that have always been voiceless and without a seat at the table.”
Harris faced criticism after responding to a group of pro-Palestinian protesters at a rally in Detroit last week saying: “I am here because we believe in democracy. Everyone’s voice matters. … But I am speaking now. I’m talking now.”
As the protests continued, Harris’s tone grew stronger. “You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say so. Otherwise, I’m talking,” Harris said, helped by several thousand attendees who chanted “Kamala” to quell the protests. Campaign workers soon removed the protesters from the venue.
Days later, at a rally in Arizona, Harris was again interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters. He gave a different answer and received a standing ovation. “I am clear: Now is the time to reach a cease-fire agreement and fulfill the pledge agreement,” he said. “Now is the time. The President and I are working around the clock to secure a ceasefire and bring the hostages home. So I respect your votes, but we’re here to talk about this race in 2024.”
After the Arizona rally, Abandon Biden, a national Muslim group, accused Harris of using “empty rhetoric.” “Harris’ stated and repeated position on the ceasefire and the Israeli hostage deal is the same line that the Biden-Harris administration has parroted in every department for eleven months. Beyond that, Harris has offered nothing but this tired platitude,” the group said in a statement on Monday.
But other Muslim leaders disagree.
The Black Muslim Leadership Council Foundation, a national Muslim organization that has declared itself “disloyal” to Biden’s re-election bid, announced its support for Harris this month. It is believed to be the first Muslim group to openly support him in an open camp.
Salima Suswell, founder and CEO of the Black Muslim Leadership Council Foundation, praised Harris. “He has more sympathy for the people of Gaza than both President Biden and former President Donald Trump,” Suswell said. “He has repeatedly called for a cease-fire, and I believe he has also shown empathy for civilian life and is very concerned about getting aid to the people of Gaza.”