Sumaiya Hamdami, a professor of Middle Eastern history, says her decision to vote for the Democrat hasn’t been easy -- saying she’s voting for Harris because ‘the alternative is a lot worse’ [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera]

Baltimore, October 30 (RHC)-- “It’s a very difficult thing.  I’m a lifelong Democrat, an American, but I’m also from the Middle East and teach the Middle East,” the 62-year-old told Al Jazeera from Harris’s rally in Washington, DC.

“What’s happening in Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, is heartbreaking and fills me with anguish,” she said.  Hamdami said she voted “uncommitted” during the Democratic primary in Maryland – part of a protest movement against the Biden administration’s staunch support for Israel amid its devastating war on the Gaza Strip.

“Obviously, I have a lot of reservations about voting for this candidate,” Hamdami said, especially Harris’s refusal to suspend American weapons shipments to Israel amid the conflict.  “But I think the alternative is a lot worse, so here I am.”