You are missing the point - this is an anti-war protest.
As a majority in U.S. now disapprove of Israeli action in Gaza, ABC News reports that the 'Uncommitted' movement plans to keep pressuring Biden over Israel’s war through November:
"We aren't backing down until we achieve a permanent cease-fire. Voting uncommitted in a democratic primary election is voters' way to tell Biden to listen to us," Elabed said ... they have no intention of endorsing a candidate yet, but after the convention they plan on supporting down-ballot races in November's general election.
That it is happening during an election year is coincidental. Should political protests stop during an election? That would be a stupid idea because voters in a democracy know that the best time to pressure a politician is when they come to ask you for your vote.
The Guardian report 'How the uncommitted movement rocked Biden over Gaza' also highlights that the aim is to pressure Biden to end the genocide and stop the war:
A memo written in late January by Waleed Shahid, a Democratic strategist, outlined the idea: use uncommitted in the Michigan presidential primary to “demonstrate a large rejection of President Biden’s backing and financing of the Israeli government’s war in Gaza”. The effort would generate free press to the anti-war movement ... It would “politicize and electoralize discontent” over the war.
... They made over 500,000 phone calls and sent more than 600,000 text messages to voters. They tapped into existing organizations on the ground who knew how to mobilize. Seasoned organizers led the effort, assisted by hundreds of volunteers both in Michigan and nationally, from progressive groups, faith communities and anti-war organizations. Groups like the Democratic Socialists of America and Our Revolution provided support, helping to canvass or send emails to voters. Jewish activists hosted phone banks ... They far exceeded their goal ... “I have never been a part of such an aggressive campaign before ...” said Layla Elabed, a longtime organizer and the campaign manager for Listen to Michigan
... “We knew that this is no longer an issue that is just a concern of Palestinians or Arabs or Muslims. There’s a groundswell of people that are saying no to genocide,” ... Already, it seems like the movement has jolted Biden – and other Democrats – on the issue. The White House’s language has changed, from seeking a “humanitarian pause” to a temporary ceasefire. Biden called for a port to be built to drop aid into Gaza. More Democrats have publicly started speaking out against the Biden administration on the issue. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, one of Biden’s allies, called for ousting Netanyahu’s government.
Activists say the change in language and attention does not include enough of an underlying change in policy. Their message has been clear and consistent throughout the campaigns: they want to see a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to US funding and support of the war ... There’s a lot of time – and time for action – between now and November that gives Biden a chance to change course, organizers say. He can win a good chunk of these voters back by supporting a ceasefire. “It is our hope that Joe Biden would not risk his presidency, not risk the White House, to someone like Donald Trump,” Elabed said.
The argument that this helps Trump, who is more pro-Israel, is without merit as the Democrat anti-war protestors have no sway over Trump. They voted for Biden. He is currently the President of the United State of America with the power to end the unnecessary genocide. If he doesn't listen to his voters, and address their concern, why should his voters care to re-elect him? Democrats believe Trump won't listen to them and hence they are currently focusing the anti-war protests only on Biden. But it would be seen as a bigger betrayal for these protestors if Biden, for whom they voted, displays the same anti-democratic attitude as Trump. He would be no different than Trump.
Then there is the argument that if Biden capitulates to the anti-war protestors and pressures Israel to end the war, American Jews will abandon him and vote for Trump. This is rubbish as Biden has high approval rating among among American Jews who largely support the Democrats and tend to have different political opinions even on Israel and Palestine. There’s no Jewish American consensus about the conflict in Israel and Gaza:
American Jews are not a monolith — “two Jews, three opinions” goes the old adage ... American Jews, who make up 2.4 percent of the overall electorate, are a solidly liberal group and have long been one of the Democratic Party’s core constituencies. According to a survey released by Pew Research Center in 2020, 71 percent of Jews identified as or leaned Democratic.
... A 2019 survey of Gallup polling data noted that Jews are the most liberal-leaning religious group in the United States. American Jews overwhelmingly disapproved of Donald Trump’s presidency, even as he courted and won over more politically conservative, religiously observant Orthodox Jews with his uncritical embrace of Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Recent surveys showed American Jews in strong support of President Joe Biden; in an April 2022 survey by the Jewish Electorate Institute, the president had a 63 percent approval rating among Jewish voters, 21 points higher than his approval rating among the general public.
... When pollsters working for the Jewish Electorate Institute asked specific questions about Israel and Palestine to 800 Jewish American voters in 2021, what they found shocked some Jewish leaders. Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they supported restricting US military aid to Israel so that it could not spend the money on expanding settlements in the West Bank. Roughly a quarter of those surveyed said they agreed with the statement “Israel is an apartheid state.” And 31 percent said that Israel was “committing genocide” against the Palestinians. Younger Jews were much more likely to agree with both statements.
... As they did in the civil rights era, Jewish Americans are playing an important role in today’s social justice movement. There are Jewish organizations supporting racial and economic justice, defending the rights of immigrants and refugees, and fighting for reproductive rights. Today, too, Jewish organizations are among the leading voices arguing for an end to Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and urging US political leadership to limit American aid to Israel in order to achieve those goals.
Biden has so far not only expressed but also provided unconditional support to Israel's current leadership and their stated war goals of rescuing the hostages and wiping out Hamas. No one can blame him or America of not standing resolutely by an ally ('Israelis Are Rejecting Netanyahu. So Why Is Biden Giving Him a Blank Check?'). But Biden cannot be blamed for the incompetence of Netanyahu in failing to achieve either goals. Or his selfishness to try and drag on the war for his own domestic political benefit and make the situation worse for Israel by organizing a genocide that has earned it international condemnation. If Netanyahu's ineptitude and misadventures are not curtailed immediately, Israel may soon find itself fighting a dangerous and unsustainable multi-front war with most of the middle-east becoming a volatile region.
So American Jewish voters have no real cause to be angry at Biden if he now pressurises Netanyahu and Hamas to negotiate for the hostages and a ceasefire. And he won't be upsetting Israelis too - he is actually more popular than Netanyahu in Israel!
At the same time, Arab Americans and other anti-war protestors in America do have a genuine reason to be unhappy with Biden for not listening to them (so far) and not doing enough to prevent the ongoing and meaningless genocide of Palestinians. (In fact, many Arab Americans who voted for him actually have innocent relatives in Palestine and have a genuine grievance that Biden and the US administration ignored their pleas to somehow protect them.)
Biden has no political benefit in supporting Netanyahu's war any more and can end it without comprising Israel in any manner. With the right political advise and skill, he can compromise and temporarily end the conflict without alienating any of his voter base. If he doesn't, or can't, he would be as incompetent as Netanyahu is and would be losing the Presidency not because of these anti-war protestors, but his own foolishness.
Update: Trump's campaign is already seeking to bolster the anti-war campaign with his shrewed political campaign. Washington Post reported on April 14, 2024 that Trump supporters echo pro-Palestinian ‘genocide Joe’ chant:
“Genocide Joe” is a phrase used by pro-Palestine protesters against President Biden because of his unconditional support of Israel amid its onslaught in Gaza. But supporters of former president Donald Trump adopted the chant at his campaign rally Saturday night ... Supporters began to chant “genocide Joe, genocide Joe,” as Trump spoke from a stage in a large field at the Schnecksville fire hall.
Trump paused before saying: “They’re not wrong, they’re not wrong. He’s done everything wrong.”
... Congressional Republicans have urged more U.S. support for Israel, although the Republican-controlled House has yet to take up a bill passed months ago in the Democratic-controlled Senate that would send aid to Israel along with Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.
Many of the anti-war protestors are clearly angry with Biden for not doing enough to prevent the human rights violation and war crimes in Gaza. A core democratic value of democracy is that an elected representative needs to be willing to listen and negotiate with voters. If Biden continues to ignore these anti-war protests, he may may even disappoint proressives and make them reconsider their vote for him. Some of them (especially the angry Arab Americans) may actually choose to believe that Trump may be more willing to hear their concerns and do something about it.
