Arab American activists are attempting to discourage support of Democrats who they believe are too pro-Israel.
On October 14, protesters gather in Dearborn, Michigan, in support of Palestinians. Democrats taking them for granted, according to some Muslim United activists. A group of about 30 Muslim American leaders and activists met on October 16 at the Hanini Outreach and Community Center in Dearborn, Michigan, to discuss how to respond to the Jewish bombardment of Gaza. JEFF KOWALSKY/ Getty Images Attending the meeting, Muslim United activists expressed their outrage at what they perceived as President Joe Biden’s overwhelmingly pro-Israeli stance on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic organization that controls the Gaza Strip. They want Biden to put pressure on Israel to declare a cease-fire, put an end to what they see as Israel’s careless disregard for Arab civilians, and acknowledge that addressing Palestinians’ legitimate grievances would be the best way to stop Palestinian violence against Israel. In almost every situation, they all concurred that they would not support Biden, and they urged other Muslim Americans to do the same. Advertising &# 13,
You spit on me after taking my vote and money, right? Publisher of The Arab American News Osama Siblani, one of the attendees, told HuffPost. They treat our people like trash and are bigoted. And come November, we’ll give them a lesson. We won’t support them, according to Hussein Dabajeh, top assistant to Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun and owner of his own political consulting firm. He is in charge of setting up a political action committee that will act as the focal point for calls for boycotting Democratic candidates who refuse to speak out against Jewish bombardment and for Israeli rights. At the meeting on October 16, Dabajeh informed HuffPost that donors have been lining up to support the effort. The biggest home political challenge facing Biden after his embrace of Israel in the wake of a massacre of 1,400 Israelis in an extraordinary Hamas attack on October 7 is the possibility that Michigan’s significant Arab and Muslim population will miss the 2024 election. But as the president and his campaign attempt to navigate the issue’s politics, which have been influenced by both rising fresh voters’ liberalism and the fact that the Arab and Sunni populations in the US are still expanding, this is just one of many challenges they face. During his quick visit to Israel on Wednesday, Biden, a longtime supporter of Israel who self-identifies as Zionist, was greeted as family and literally hugged right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. # 13 of the advertisement
However, the Dearborn meeting on October 16 highlights a more nuanced political reality for Biden at home, especially among Democrat base voters. Thousands of children and more than 5,000 Gazans died in Israeli airstrikes, which has a significant impact on those voters. Additionally, there are indications that American public opinion as a whole is now more friendly toward Palestine than it was previously. People are asking him to use the word” restraint” rather than” war crimes.” Although a CNN / SSRS poll released last week found that 96 % of Americans were sympathetic to the Israeli people while 87 % said they were sympathizing with the Palestinians, Shibley Telhami, University of Maryland, is very sensitive to question wording when discussing the conflict. According to the same survey, 50 % of Americans believed the Israeli response to an attack was fully justified, and 20 % more believed it was only partially justified. ( Other surveys have revealed larger disparities between Americans’ sympathies for Israelis and Palestinians, and polls generally indicate that Americans are more sympathetic toward Israel than the latter group. ) Democrats and younger people are the obvious causes of the rise in support for Palestinians. According to the CNN poll, a full 91 % of people between the ages of 18 and 34 sympathize with the Palestinians, but only 57 % of those aged 18 to 34 believed the Israeli government’s response was fully or partially justified. According to the same survey, 49 % of Democrats said they had” a lot” of sympathy for the Palestinian people, while 99 % claimed to have it. Only 38 % of Democrats, compared to 30 % who said it was only partially justified, said the Israeli response was fully justified. # 13 of the advertisement
According to Shibley Telhami, a politics professor and public opinion expert at the University of Maryland,” Biden’s” one-sided approach does not correspond to where Democrats are in general.” People are asking him to use the word” restraint,” not” war crimes ,” Telhami continued. Telhami expressed outrage at Israel’s decision to cut off water, electricity, food, and fuel from Gaza, as well as at the inability of American citizens trapped in Gaza to travel safely through Egypt.” There is a real problem in the appearance that he is not valuing the lives of human casualties ,” among various complaints. In response to critics, the White House has praised Biden for his role in mediating the agreement that allowed 20 trucks of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza through Egypt over Democrat objections and for repeatedly opposing Islamophobia and the conflation of Hamas with Israeli civilians. In order to give Israel more time to negotiate the emancipation of hostages, allow in humanitarian aid, and develop plans for the protection of civilians, the Biden administration has even leaned on Israel to postpone its ground invasion of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomes President Joe Biden upon his arrival in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Associated Press / Evan Vucci /# 13,
Additionally, the White House emphasizes its efforts to engage and reach out to Arab, Muslim American, and progressive administration critics. Jeff Zients, the White House’s chief of staff, and senior adviser Anita Dunn have spoken with Arab and Arab Americans double to discuss their dissatisfactions. A White House official who asked for anonymity to speak openly said,” They put in a lot of time with administration officials at all levels to listen to their concerns and their feelings about what’s happening.” ” They’ve done that with appointees who are Jewish Americans.” With Arab and Sunni British appointees, they have done that. The official continued,” People can be immediately disappointed or disagree with particular policies, but they should understand that this administration must make difficult decisions, and standing by allies should definitely not be one of them.” Dilawar Syed, the Small Business Administration’s deputy administrator and the highest-ranking Arab official in the Biden administration, was sent to Illinois to speak on behalf of Wadea al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Israeli American who was killed by his landlord in what the police claim was an act of Islamophobic rage. Part of Syed’s remarks were met with jeers, but another clips show the audience cheering as he denounced Islamophobia and various forms of prejudice. Advertising &# 13,
In the end, Biden’s critics prefer policy concessions to facetious gestures. The continuous Israeli airstrikes, which Israel claims are only directed at Hamas militants, and the Jewish siege of the coastal enclave are the true causes of Gaza civilians’ suffering, according to Telhami, who referred to the U.S. brokered humanitarian aid as a” bandage” that treats them as victims of natural disasters. Biden’s handling of the Israel-Has war is rated as” less than an F” by Alexis Zeidan, a Arab National activist in Dearborn who was present at the meeting on October 16. When it comes to the Muslim culture, people adore us, but when it’s time to defend it, they let us down, according to Zeidan. The political repercussions of attrition from voters who backed Biden en masse in 2020 are likely to be greatest in Michigan, which has the highest percentage of Egyptian American residents in the nation.” We’re never talking about policies that are impacting the way our roads are built, but we’ve led to the death of a number of our brothers either back home or here.” More than 310 000 people of Middle Eastern or Northwest American descent, as well as over 240 000 Muslims of various cultural backgrounds, reside in the state. The Detroit region is home to the majority of Michigan residents who fit either description. These Michigan residents, who are generally supportive of the Israeli cause, were crucial in increasing Biden’s margins there. Biden received 81 % of the vote in the majority-Arab neighborhoods east of Dearborn, compared to Donald Trump’s 17 % in 2020. Michigan was won by Biden by roughly 150,000 votes, but polling indicates a more competitive race in the state in 2024. # 13 of the advertisement
” This is a particularly difficult moment for me as the Democrat because I survived the attack on the Capitol on January 6 and I am aware of the kind of hatred that the modern-day Republican Party is inciting in our nation.” – Abbas Alawieh, former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush’s ( D-Mo. ) chief of staff Adam Abusalah, a Arab American in Dearborn who was present at the meeting, declared that he would not support Biden also if it meant that Trump would win the presidency once more. We believe that he has betrayed us. ” Time and time again, we are told to choose the lesser of two evils, the lesser of two evils”, added Abusalah, who was a fellow on Biden’s 2020 campaign and served as communications director to Rep. Shri Thanedar( D – Mich. ). ” But now more than ever, it’s clear that the lesser of two evils doesn’t work “. Siblani, Abusalah and Zeidan all said that there is nothing that Biden can do to redeem himself in their eyes ahead of the presidential election. ” Not only are you seen as a failed leader, you are now seen as a murderer”, Zeidan said. ” And I don’t think there’s any reduction from that. People’s lives matter”. Advertisement &# 13,
Dabajeh offers just one doubtful circumstance in which Biden could win back his vote: the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state along Israel’s prior – 1967 border. Abbas Alawieh, a former chief of staff to left – wing Rep. Cori Bush( D – Mo. ) who recently returned to his hometown of Dearborn, is not ready to write Biden off already. ” As a survivor of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, I know the kind of hate that the current – day Republican Party is fueling in our country, so this is a particularly challenging moment for me as a Democrat”, said Alawieh, who is calling for a cease – fire between Israel and Hamas. ” My support is contingent on whether national and provincial elected officials decide to take a different route, a route that embraces peace, a route that embraces saving lives, as it relates to Middle East policy”. Though Muslims have grasped the most democratic power in Michigan, their growing population ― there were only 2.4 million Muslims in the United States in 2007, compared with nearly 3.45 million in 2017, according to the Pew Research Center― means they have increased political power in many other states, including Minnesota, Virginia and New Jersey. Dilawar Syed, deputy executive of the Small Business Administration, speaks at a vigil for a murdered Arab American boy, Wadea al – Fayoume, last Tuesday. Nam Y. Huh / Associated PressAdvertisement &# 13,
The growing population has also led to growing social prominence and to increased familiarity with other Americans. Americans who know a Muslim are more likely to have a positive view of Muslims total, according to a study released by Pew in March. ” To know Arab and Muslim Americans and to see them in their whole humanity helps people understand that our call for a cease – fire is not a political position– it is an urgent plea to keep us and to keep our families here, and in Israel – Palestine and in Lebanon, dead”, Alawieh said. In seeking to accommodate voters who want to see him take a more healthy approach to Israel, but, Biden faces political risks of another kind. Israeli Americans with generally master – Israel views have long exercised outsize sway in Democratic circles, both through their activism and voting patterns and through their financial support for the Democratic Party. In states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona, professional – Israel voters ― Jewish and non – Jewish likewise― could play a crucial role in the outcome of the presidential election, according to Mark Mellman, a pollster who runs Democratic Majority for Israel, a group that has spent millions of dollars defeating forceful Israel critics in competitive Democratic primaries. And in New York, where Democrats hope to claw back four House seats that Republicans flipped in 2022, professional – Israel Israeli voters could be a vital part of Democrats ‘ plan to retake the House, Mellman said. The American people in general and Democrats in particular are very much on Israel’s side in this conflict, according to a large number of polls, Mellman said. # 13 of the advertisement
Mellman, for his part, questioned whether Arab and Muslim United activists would stick to their anti-Biden stance if Trump was the only option. On Monday, Trump reiterated his commitment to re-implocate a ban on Muslims entering the country. As an analyst, he added,” I find it difficult to believe that people will support the Muslim ban guy when you actually have Joe Biden, who has protected and advocated for civil rights and civil liberties for Arab Americans, against the guy who is a racist Islamophobe ,” and when the presidential election is more than two years away. AmericanRelatedJoe Biden IsraelMichiganHamasArab In Michigan, Muslim American activists are mounting a campaign to stifle support for Democrats they believe to be very pro-Israel.
Arab American activists are attempting to discourage support of Democrats who they believe are too pro-Israel.
On October 14th, citizens in Dearborn, Michigan expressed their approval for Palestinians via demonstrating. Some Arab American activists feel disappointed that the Democrats take their support for granted. JEFF KOWALSKY/Getty Images. 24, 2006.
Approximately 30 Arab American leaders and activists gathered together at the Hanini Outreach and Community Center in Dearborn, Michigan on October 24, 2006 out of a shared wish to put an end to the increasing violence. 16 Arab American activists convened to express their distress towards President Joe Biden’s strongly pro-Israel stance concerning the current conflict between Israel and Hamas– the Islamist organization running the Gaza Strip. It is being requested that Biden put pressure on Israel to institute a cease-fire and end what is deemed to be their inconsiderate treatment of Palestinian civilians, as well as recognize that the most efficient approach to ending Palestinian aggression toward Israel is to address the rightful grievances of Palestinians. The group concluded that they would never cast their ballot for Biden and wanted their fellow Arab Americans to follow suit. Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, told HuffPost that it felt like politicians were taking his vote and money and then spitting on him. They are exhibiting prejudiced behavior towards our people, treating them as if they were worthless.
