In a final push to engage Muslim voters ahead of the election, Tim Walz called for the end of the war in Gaza and pledged that, if elected, the Harris administration would work “side by side” with Muslim Americans.

The vice-presidential candidate joined Muslim advocacy group Emgage Action’s Million Muslim Votes: A Way Forward virtual summit the day after the vice-presidential debate.

During his speech, Walz acknowledged a collective grief among Muslim and Arab American communities due to Israel’s war on Gaza, where more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October. “Our hearts are broken,” Walz said.

“The scale of death and destruction in Gaza is staggering and devastating. Tens of thousands of innocent civilians killed, families fleeing for safety over and over again. We all know on here, this war must end and it must end now. The vice-president’s working everyday to ensure that, to make sure Israel is secure, the hostages are home, the suffering in Gaza ends now. And the Palestinian people realize the right to dignity, freedom and self determination.”

He also highlighted his connection to the Muslim community in Minnesota.

“Here in Minnesota, I’ve got the privilege to represent an incredible and vibrant Muslim community,” Walz said as light streamed through a large window behind him. He shared that he and his wife, Gwen, held the first iftar, the fast-breaking evening meal during Ramadan, at the Minnesota governor’s residence in 2019. And last year, Walz also passed interest-free down payment assistance for first-generation homebuyers to increase homeownership among Muslim Americans.

The virtual event came shortly after Emgage Action endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. It was not an easy decision for the organization to make, said Nada Al-Hanooti, Emgage Action’s national organizing deputy director, while adding that a third party vote was tantamount to a vote for Donald Trump: “We don’t have time to punish the Democratic party.”

Emgage Action also endorsed Harris and Walz to help advance their anti-war objectives, said the group’s CEO, Wa’el Alzayat. “Our endorsement is a clear-eyed guidance to our voters on election day, when either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will be elected to become commander in chief,” said Alzayat. “This endorsement is not acquiescence to the status quo. On the contrary, we believe that the most effective way to advance our anti-war goals is to block Trump’s fascism and push for the change we want to see.”

In a tight run-up to the election, Muslim and Arab American voters will play a critical role in its outcome. During the last presidential election, Joe Biden won Michigan, home to 278,000 Arab Americans, by 154,000 votes. A survey of 1,200 Muslim American voters after the Democratic national convention found that respondents supported Harris and Jill Stein equally at 29% each, according to the Muslim civil rights group Council on American Islamic Relations.

During the summit on Thursday, politicians and Muslim American leaders also warned of the dangers of a second Donald Trump presidency. During a June debate with Biden, Trump urged him to let Israel “finish the job” in its war on Gaza.

“We also have to recognize in this election, Donald Trump has made it clear where he stands with his anti-Muslim bigotry, with his threats to a Muslim ban,” Walz continued in his speech. “Vice-president Harris and I are committed that this White House will stand up to it, will continue to condemn in all forms anti-Islam, anti Arab sentiments being led by Donald Trump. But more importantly, a commitment that Muslims will be engaged in this administration and serve side by side.”

Keith Ellison, the Minnesota attorney general, the first Muslim American to be elected to Congress in 2006, also spoke at Thursday’s event, affirming his support for Harris and Walz, “because I believe this is the best way to stop the violence in Gaza and in Lebanon”, Ellison said. “Politics, friends, is really not about picking the person who’s already 100% on what you believe is right. So often, politics is about getting the person in office who you believe you can push. I know we cannot push Trump.”

Along with Ellison, several Muslim leaders have endorsed Harris and Walz in recent months, including the Black Muslim Leadership Council and the US representative Ilhan Omar. The group Muslim Women for Harris-Walz disbanded when the DNC denied a Palestinian American speaker, but later reaffirmed their support for the Democratic candidate.

The push to court Muslim voters 32 days before the election comes after months of criticism from Arab and Muslim American communities that the Democratic candidates – first Biden and then Harris – have failed to effectively engage them. Two weeks ago the Uncommitted National Movement, which mobilized more than 700,000 citizens to vote “uncommitted” or its equivalent in Democratic primaries throughout the nation, declined to endorse the Harris-Walz ticket. The Uncommitted National Movement said that Harris failed to meet a 15 September deadline to meet with Palestinian families and engage in discussions about a ceasefire deal.

Still, Thursday’s event served as a call to action for Emgage Action: “The Muslim American community must turn out in record numbers,” said Alzayat. “We are asking Muslim voters to also consider the human impact of a second Trump presidency, not just on us here in the United States … On the very people abroad we seek to help.”