US: Jill Stein announces Muslim convert as VP running mate at online event

US Green Party candidate Jill Stein announced her pick for her vice-presidential running mate at an online event on Friday night - academic, activist and Muslim convert Rudolph "Butch" Ware.

The announcement came after days of speculation over who Stein would choose in her, by all indications, quixotic campaign for president.

Over the past several days, multiple names - mainly Arab Americans - have been floated as Stein's VP contender, however Ware's name did not appear in most major news reports on the subject.

After Stein announced him as her running mate, Ware described himself as a "willing warrior with resolve in the cause of liberation."

Stein, who ran for president in 2016 and in 2020, followed up by saying, "We're going to turn the empire upside down." She went on to praise their alliance as a Jewish woman and a Muslim man, describing their ticket as unstoppable.

The web event lasted nearly an hour and 45 minutes with around the first hour and a half dedicated to the run-up to the VP pick. The discussion mainly focused on the war in Gaza and the duopoly of the two-party system that prevents multiple parties from running for president.

Though Stein appears to have no viable path to the presidency, raising concerns among many that she is a potential election spoiler, she does have a significant following in the Arab and Muslim communities. This is mainly due to her unconditional support for a ceasefire in Gaza and for a US arms embargo on Israel.

"She's the only campaign with a principled stance on Palestine. We should all get behind her," Amer Zahr, a comedian and activist from Dearborn told, whose name has been in the news recently as a potential running mate for Stein told The New Arab. 

"Yes, it's Harris and not Biden," he said, referring to Joe Biden stepping down from his candidacy as president with his vice president Kamala Harris now running in his place. "But our goal was not to just get rid of Biden. She's showing us that she's going to continue to support Biden's policies."

When TNA asked if he was concerned if support for Stein could lead to Donald Trump's re-election, he said, "If the Democratic Party wants us to not vote for Trump, they should give us a reason other than Trump."

It is unclear how much traction Stein's campaign will get moving forward, given her low poll numbers outside the Arab and Muslim communities as well as substantial scepticism of her policies, which some have suggested border on conspiratorial.

What is clear is that her significant support among Arab and Muslim voters, with many casting their votes in the swing state of Michigan, reflects a growing frustration among voters who want more options than two political parties that both support Israel's war in Gaza.