ARAB AMERICANS TURN BACKS ON BIDEN OVER PRO-ISRAEL STANCE
▶ Michigan’s ‘uncommitted’ primary voters inspire Democrats in other states to follow suit
This year’s US presidential election is shaping up to be a repeat of 2020, with President Joe Biden expected to once again face off against his predecessor Donald Trump.
But each candidate faces a vastly different set of challenges compared with the previous polls, with Democrat Mr Biden coming under growing criticism for his administration’s approach to the Israel-Gaza war.
Among the most vocal critics of his Gaza policy have been Arab and Muslim Americans, with many members of the community angered by Mr Biden’s staunch support of Israel and slow response to the growing humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Mr Biden has sent billions in military aid to Israel while directing the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, to veto a series of Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Republican rival Mr Trump is also a strong supporter of Israel. While in office, he moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, and in 2017 he enacted the so-called Muslim ban, which barred citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.
He has sworn to reinstate the ban if re-elected.
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, told The National that the bloc had historically leaned Democrat by four to five points.
This trend became even more pronounced after the September 11 attacks, with Arab-American Democrats outnumbering Republicans by two to one.
“The most recent poll we did, however, showed a complete reversal, with Arab-American Democrats falling below Arab-American Republicans for the first time,” Mr Zogby said.
There are about 2.5 million Arab-American voters in the US, mostly in the mid-Atlantic region, but also in Michigan, Florida and California.
Michigan is a crucial swing state, and has the highest density of Arab-American voters.
In 2016, Mr Trump took the state by about 19,000 votes, while Mr Biden won it in 2020 by about 150,000 votes.
During the state primaries this year, activists in Michigan launched a campaign encouraging Democrats to vote uncommitted to protest against Mr Biden’s Gaza policy.
Arab-American voters led the campaign, but they were far from the only ones taking part.
“[There is] nothing that Biden can come here and say to us as an empty platitude to try to win our votes back,” voter Mariam Tout told The National at an event held in support of the “uncommitted” movement.
“It is all going to be just really disrespectful.”
The campaign in Michigan had aimed to get 10,000 people to vote “uncommitted”, but more than 100,000 Democrats ticked that box on the primary ballot last month.
After the success of the campaign in Michigan, Democrats in other states have suggested they may follow suit.
In Washington state, the United Food and Commercial Workers – the state’s largest labour union – endorsed voting “uncommitted”, citing concerns about Mr Biden’s political strength as well as his stance on Gaza.
This is despite the fact that Mr Biden has described himself as the most pro-union president in US history, and joined car workers on the picket line in Michigan last year.
The “uncommitted” campaign has also spread to Minnesota, which has a significant Somali and Muslim-American population.
While it is not a battleground state, 20 per cent of Democrats there voted “uncommitted” at the primary on Tuesday.
Since the Michigan vote, Vice President Kamala Harris has called for a ceasefire and the US has begun to drop aid into Gaza.
It is not yet clear whether these actions will sway alienated Democrats to vote in November.
Arab Americans have historically leaned Democratic, but recent polls show a rise in Republican support