DETROIT — Democratic leaders of the national Uncommitted Movement said Thursday they won't be endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, citing her "unwillingness" to shift away from the administration's "unconditional" support for arming Israel with weapons.

But the group's three leaders from Michigan said they do intend to mobilize their supporters against Republican Donald Trump, whose return to the White House they said would quash pro-Palestinian voices and "accelerate" killings in Gaza. That anti-Trump education campaign with voters starts Thursday night with a community event in Dearborn, they said.

"We aren't discouraging anyone within our movement or anti-water voters (from voting) for Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket. What we are asking our supporters and uncommitted voters to do is to register a vote that ensures we are blocking Donald Trump," said Layla Elabed, one of the co-founders and co-directors of the Uncommitted Movement that started in Michigan earlier this year.

"But we know for some voters, especially voters who are deeply impacted by our U.S. policy decisions as the bombs are raining down on people that we love and care about ― that asking them to make that choice right now is impossible. And so voters, in some ways, will have to vote their conscience."

The group clarified Thursday that they won't urge supporters to skip the top of the ticket. They are also not recommending votes for third-party candidates in the presidential election, emphasizing that in swing states this could "inadvertently" deliver the presidency for Trump because of how the Electoral College system works, said Abbas Alawieh, one of the movement's cofounders.

The decision by the anti-war activists denies Harris a nod from what's been an influential voice among Arab American and Muslim voters in key swing states like Michigan.

Uncommitted and similar ballot options became a symbol for voters who refused to back President Joe Biden in their states’ primaries this year over opposition to his support of Israel in the Gaza war, sending 30 uncommitted delegations to the Democratic National Convention last month. They have sought a policy change from Harris to secure a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and end U.S. weapons shipments to Israel.

"The Vice President believes making your voice heard and participating in our democracy is fundamental to who we are as Americans," Harris campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said Thursday in response to the group's announcement.

"Vice President Harris supports the deals currently on the table for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and for the release of hostages. She will continue to meet with leaders from Palestinian, Muslim, Israeli and Jewish communities, as she has throughout her vice presidency."

Prominent Democrats have for months voiced concern about Arab Americans in Michigan — who tend to vote Democratic — staying home or voting for another ticket in November. Biden defeated former President Trump in Michigan in 2020 by about 154,000 votes or 3 percentage points.

Michigan is home to one of the largest communities of Arab Americans in the country, with over 300,000 residents of Middle Eastern or North African ancestry, according to Census Bureau estimates. Some recent polls and interviews have suggested there could be substantial support among Muslim-American voters for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who wants to end U.S. military aid to Israel and has called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

Thursday's announcement followed high tensions between the Harris campaign and pro-Palestinian delegates and protesters during last month's convention in Chicago, where Uncommitted members staged a sit-in after the DNC refused requests that a Palestinian American address delegates as part of the convention program.

The Democratic National Committee did allow for panel discussions during convention week in Chicago, including one focused on Arab and Palestinian issues featuring leaders from the Uncommitted movement and another on Jewish American issues including rising anti-Semitism and hate speech.

After the convention, the Uncommitted leadership by letter had asked Harris to respond by Sunday, Sept. 15, to their request that she meet with Palestinian American families in Michigan who have lost loved ones in Gaza bombings and to discuss the group's demands for halting arms to Israel and a permanent cease-fire, Alawieh said. Harris did not make that trip.

"Unfortunately, the response has not been satisfactory. We've received a pretty candid responses about continued engagement and prioritizing everyone and all of those things," Alawieh said. "Their response went on to emphasize that Vice President Harris and Governor (Tim) Walz are the 'right choice.'"

Alawieh said the Harris campaign rejected the group's offer to mobilize voters in Michigan as they did ahead of the state's February primary election, when over 100,000 voters cast ballots for "uncommitted" over Biden.

"Their response was, 'We understand that you won't be endorsing. We understand that you won't be mobilizing voters,'" Alawieh said. "It seems that they think they can reach rightward and maybe pick up a few Dick Cheney voters."

Former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, who was influential in getting then-President George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2003, endorsed Harris for president earlier this month.

Alawieh said he personally intends to vote for Harris, not because she shares his values on this issue, but over his concern with Trump's "very specific" plans to suppress pro-Palestinian human rights organizing by, for instance, revoking the tax-exempt status of organizations working on Palestinian human rights efforts.

Elabed, sister to Detroit U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and another Uncommitted leader, Lexis Zeidan, each said separately that they plan to skip the top of the ticket in Michigan.

"I simply cannot go to the ballot box and cast a vote for a candidate that is not hearing the demands of her people and to change policy that is going to save lives. I am an anti-Trump person. I also don't believe in the third party because of our broken electoral system," Zeidan said.

"As of right now, I plan to skip the top of the ticket and support our Democrats that are down ballot."

The Biden-Harris administration has supported Israel in its war after a Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7 killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 300 people hostage. Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health authority, which makes no distinction between civilian and military casualties.

The administration has leaned on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a cease-fire agreement.

“It is time for this war to end and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity, and self-determination," Harris said in late July after meeting with Netanyahu in Washington.

"Let’s get the deal done, so we can get a cease-fire to end the war.”

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