Michigan Arab and Muslim leaders outraged by Biden’s second visit of the year without talks

SAGINAW, MI — President Joe Biden will not meet in person with members of Arab-American and Muslim communities as he faces protests at campaign and polling places over Israel’s military action in Gaza. This was his second visit to Michigan this year. .

According to the Biden campaign, the president on Thursday He visited Saginaw for an organizing meeting, which the paper called “a diverse city with a plurality of blacks and a large number of Latinos.” The paper said that Biden’s policy of “cutting costs for Michiganders stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s attacks on the state’s working families, including his comments this week promising cuts to Medicare and Social Security.” He plans to make a statement emphasizing that.

but Biden’s team tried keeping the stops close together. This is to minimize the possibility of protests and event disruptions over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

In January and February, we met with campaign personnel. The White House traveled to Dearborn to meet with some members of the Muslim and Arab American communities, but Biden himself did not attend either occasion.

Several community leaders also chose not to attend. They continue to pressure Biden to engage more directly, demand an immediate ceasefire in the war and put conditions on further U.S. military aid to Israel.

Protests continued Thursday in Saginaw, with activists from the Abandon Biden movement holding a news conference in the center of town to appeal to Biden to support a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

But some organizers say too much violence has already occurred under the Biden administration’s leadership to warrant consideration for his re-election in November.

“I voted for Biden. In fact, I had a Biden sign in my front yard. And I’m currently co-chairing the campaign to abandon Biden. So is it on me, or is it on me? Is it in Joe Biden?” said Khalid Thulani, one of the group’s leaders. “I think Joe Biden’s failure to address the humanitarian crisis, the genocide that’s happening in Gaza, is just a war crime. I mean, this is just a war crime. In a perfect world, Joe Biden would also be in The Hague. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be one of them.”

In late January, the United Nations’ highest court, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, ordered the Israeli government to take steps to stop genocide in the Gaza Strip, but did not directly call for a ceasefire in the war. , never issued a statement. The court ruled that Israel had committed genocide.

Thulani warned politicians not to underestimate the growing movement in key battleground states such as Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in the run-up to the general election.

“If you want to bet on sweeping this movement, good luck in November,” Thulani added. The loss will be tied to the shame of the massacre in Gaza. ”

During Biden’s several visits to the Saginaw area, White House officials met privately with Arab American and Muslim community leaders in Chicago. It has a large Palestinian American population.

Officials heard regional leaders speak candidly about concerns over the war in Gaza and rising Islamophobia in the United States, a person familiar with the planning said. Not all community members invited to the meeting attended.

“Some Muslim leaders are pushing the administration to continue working with communities, even if the White House initially continues to give them a cold shoulder. They want to see that work done.” said another person familiar with the concerns of the American and Muslim communities.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Biden’s return to Michigan is the first time he has secured the party’s 2024 presidential nomination and since last month’s primary, when about 13% of Democratic voters chose the “no-commitment” option. , many of whom were protesting his treatment of Israel. -Hamas war. This brings the total number of eligible voters in the state to more than 100,000, raising concerns about the outlook for the general election after Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by 154,000 votes in Michigan in 2020. .

According to census data, Michigan is home to approximately 300,000 people of Middle Eastern and North African descent. Many of these voters have leant toward the Democratic Party in the past.

Mr. Biden had hoped for a temporary ceasefire to be in place by the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week. However, this plan did not materialize as negotiations between Hamas and Israel failed to reach an agreement.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said he had not heard from anyone from the White House ahead of Biden’s visit to Saginaw.

He added that people in the local Arab American and Muslim communities are more interested in seeing policy changes than in having additional conversations with Biden’s team.

“I think the community perspective is dialogue for the sake of dialogue, and it doesn’t really mean anything. What we want is action, because lip service doesn’t get us anywhere,” Hammoud said. . “We are now seeing a shift in tone where the president recognizes the suffering of the Palestinian people, but what we want is to see actual concrete steps taken to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. Take the following steps.”

He also mentioned Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call for Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s resignation This is because the new elections in Israel did not go far enough.

“What we have known for decades, Sen. Schumer has come to realize that Benjamin Netanyahu is not a partner or ally of the American government or the American people. This fascist and this war crime. It’s time to remove them,” Hammoud said.

Asked if he would actively campaign against Biden in the general election if the White House doesn’t listen to his concerns, Hammoud was somewhat evasive, saying the region would resolve the war. said they don’t have time until November.

“Every day people around the world wake up and find out the murder numbers. How many innocent men, women and children have been killed,” he said. “And frankly, we don’t have time until November. We’re advocating for change today to prevent the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And that’s what we’re focused on. I have to go.”