Kamala Harris has vowed not to remain silent about the suffering of Palestinians (file).
Dearborn, United States:
In the key US swing state of Michigan, Democratic voters of Arab and Middle Eastern descent say Kamala Harris will have to win them back after being alienated by President Joe Biden’s handling of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
The city of Dearborn, home to 110,000 people and a cultural center for Arab Americans, could play a decisive role in deciding the battleground state’s fate in November’s presidential election.
Community members interviewed by AFP said they were willing to listen to what the vice president had to say and weigh their options – a marked change from outright hostility toward Biden.
“We are in a listening mode right now,” said Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News.
Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination at the party convention on Thursday and promised to “finalize” a ceasefire in Gaza and ensure that Palestinians realize their right to “dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”
But there was outrage among pro-Palestinian delegates that their request for a speaking slot at the convention was denied. The group Muslim Women for Harris-Walz said the decision sent a “terrible message” and announced it would disband and withdraw its support from the campaign.
Harris, who has vowed “not to be silent” about the suffering of Palestinians, recently met with members of the national “Uncommitted” movement that led the charge against Biden during the Democratic primary process.
Although she made no firm promises, leaders said she impressed them with a show of empathy.
In the foreground is Israel’s ten-month military operations in Gaza, which have devastated the Palestinian enclave since the start of the war in response to Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Growing influence
Michigan, home to the “big three” automakers — Ford, General Motors and Chrysler — has long been an essential stop for White House aspirants.
The economic downturn of the 1970s caused many to leave the so-called “Rust Belt” state, just as unrest in the Middle East brought new waves of Lebanese, Iraqi, Yemeni and Palestinian immigrants.
“We are a global city, where almost 55 percent of our residents have an Arab background,” Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said in a recent interview. “For many of us, when you talk about what’s happening in Gaza, these are our family and our friends.”
Known as the birthplace of Henry Ford, Dearborn at first glance seems like any small American town, with its wide thoroughfares and shopping centers.
But it’s also home to the Islamic Center of America – the country’s largest mosque – and countless Middle Eastern supermarkets, eateries and coffee shops.
When Siblani first started his newspaper in the mid-1980s, he remembers the then-mayor campaigning on a platform of tackling the “Arab problem.”
But as the number of community members grew and the children of factory workers took positions as lawyers, doctors, and businessmen, so did their political influence.
‘Less of two evils’
Historically socially conservative, Arab and Muslim Americans strongly supported George W. Bush in the 2000 election.
Years of America’s “War on Terror”—which saw wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan, and American Muslim communities placed under increased law enforcement surveillance—brought them firmly into the democratic camp.
In 2018, Southeast Michigan residents elected Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American to Congress – a milestone for the community.
Three Arab-American mayors have also recently been elected in suburbs known for their historic racism toward non-whites.
Angered by former President Donald Trump’s travel ban on Muslim countries, support for Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and more, Dearborn voters overwhelmingly backed Biden in 2020, securing Michigan for Democrats by a narrow margin.
However, residents here are tired of being asked to vote for the “lesser of two evils” and instead want candidates who will heed demands such as a permanent ceasefire and an end to the supply of weapons to Israel.
“I think VP Harris has a chance,” said Faye Nemer, community activist and CEO of the MENA American Chamber of Commerce. “She can continue President Biden’s legacy or set her own agenda.”
Arab Americans in Dearborn are impressed with Harris’ choice of Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz has taken a conciliatory approach toward opponents of the war, in contrast to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who took a tough stance on college protesters.
But the requirements are becoming increasingly strict.
“We don’t want any more crumbs,” declared Soujoud Hamade, a corporate lawyer and longtime Democrat who vowed to vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein if Harris failed to deliver on the campaign trail.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
