Muslim Leaders in Swing States Vow to Abandon Biden over Gaza
The leaders, who gathered at a conference in suburban Detroit, said Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war could cost him the votes of the Arab American community, which could make a difference in the 2024 presidential election.
The conference was held in Dearborn, the city with the largest concentration of Muslims in the US.
The leaders came from Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania. They stood behind a lectern that read "Abandon Biden, ceasefire now".
The Israeli aerial and ground strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip has killed more than 15,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The attacks started after Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched a surprise operation on October 7 in response to increased Israeli violence against Palestinians in the occupied territories. Hamas attacks killed some 1,200 Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to Israeli officials.
Biden's reluctance to call for a ceasefire has damaged his relationship with the American Muslim community beyond repair, said Jaylani Hussein, a Minneapolis-based organizer of the conference.
"Families and children are being wiped out with our tax dollars," Hussein said. "What we are witnessing today is tragedy upon tragedy."
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Hussein, who is Muslim, told The Associated Press: "The anger in our community is beyond belief. One of the things that made us even more angry is the fact that most of us actually voted for President Biden. I even had one incident where a religious leader asked me, 'How do I get my 2020 ballot so I can destroy it?'"
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates previously said the Biden administration has pushed for humanitarian pauses in the fighting to get humanitarian aid into Gaza, adding that supporting the Israeli occupation has been among “core values” for President Biden.
Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were key states that Biden won in 2020, helping him defeat former President Donald Trump.
About 3.45 million Americans identify as Muslim, or 1.1% of the country's population, and they tend to lean Democratic, according to Pew Research Center.
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But the leaders said on Saturday that the community's support for Biden has vanished as more Palestinian civilians are killed in Gaza.
"We are not powerless as American Muslims. We are powerful. We don't only have the money, but we have the actual votes. And we will use that vote to save this nation from itself," Hussein said at the conference.
The Muslim leaders' condemnation of Biden does not mean they support Trump, the clear front-runner in the Republican primary, Hussein clarified.
"We don't have two options. We have many options. And we're going to exercise that," he said.
Source: Agencies
