Seven months into Israel's war in Gaza, Muslim and Arab American leaders say their lines of communication with President Biden's White House are nearly dysfunctional and that President Biden's key policy on the conflict this week is He said the administration no longer had a politically valuable chorus of support for the change.
Mr. Biden's announcement that he would suspend shipments of 3,500 bombs to Israel and not cooperate with a ground invasion of Rafah marked a change in U.S. policy that Arab-American and Muslim leaders have been demanding for months. It was a big change. But those who wanted it most had long accused the regime of complicity in a war that Gazan authorities say has killed more than 34,000 people, essentially arguing that it is too little, too late. Ta.
“The president's announcement is extremely premature and woefully inadequate,” said Abbas Allawi, one of the leaders of the anti-Biden protest movement that began in Michigan this year. “He needs to be against this war. Period. That's going to be important.”
Mr. Biden's White House aides did considerable outreach early in the Democratic primary season, when protest voting efforts in early states emerged as a surprising political headache. High-level aides visited Dearborn, Michigan, and Chicago to express interest in listening, but Arab American leaders said that without a significant shift in U.S. policy, including support for a permanent cease-fire, , told him the problem would be resolved. There's no need to keep talking.
Interviews with more than a dozen people reveal that prominent Muslims and Arab Americans generally conclude that they are irrevocably at odds with the Biden administration over foreign policy. Involved in negotiations. And many of them say they're tired of the idea that they should vote for Biden simply because former President Donald J. Trump was worse.
“I told them straight up, 'Don't waste any more time unless you have something important to do. This is a waste of time,'” said Dearborn's leading newspaper, The Arab American.・News publisher Osama Siblani spoke about White House officials.
Given the high likelihood of a narrow minority vote, the inability to maintain a useful line of communication with a group that represents the voice of Democratic voters, albeit a minority, poses serious problems for Biden's re-election. may cause. Battleground states. Protests against Mr. Biden drew double-digit support in some states during the Democratic primaries, but Mr. Biden's aides say voters ultimately see Mr. Trump as a greater threat and are more concerned about abortion and democracy. I believe that issues such as principles and economics will take priority. Over Gaza.
Biden has ensured that the White House, rather than his re-election campaign, will work on outreach to Arab and Muslim communities angered by the Gaza war, as their conflicts center more on policy than electoral politics. The White House has appointed official Mazen Basrawi as a “liaison to America's Muslim communities,” but no one has similar responsibility for Biden's reelection campaign. Biden campaign aides have said such assistance efforts will be left to the White House for now, at the request of regional leaders.
Basrawi was one of the officials on a White House delegation meeting with Arab American and Muslim leaders in Dearborn and Chicago this year. The February rally in Dearborn was the first to be held after the mayor publicly refused to meet with campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez.
At the Dearborn meeting, where senior White House foreign policy aides expressed regret over the administration's response to the war in Gaza, Basrawi apologized for the Biden administration's failure to engage with Dearborn officials.
“I want you all to know that since October we have been talking about many of these issues with the Arab community, both the Palestinian community in particular and the broader Muslim community,” Basrawi told the group, according to an audio recording. “I've been involved with this,” he told the group. The New York Times reviewed the conference. “To the extent that I neglected to include all of you in my involvement, that is my responsibility. You know, this is a community of national importance.”
In an interview Thursday, Basrawi said he was talking to more officials now than before the Gaza war began.
“Since October 7, my circle of contacts and regular conversations with leaders of the Muslim and Arab communities has expanded, including even more leaders at the local level,” he said.
The White House continues to reach out to Muslim and Arab American groups, especially elected officials, who are interested in getting involved. White House officials met with a group of Lebanese Americans in Houston last month. The White House's Office of Public Engagement also maintains an email list that updates Muslim American leaders on the administration's efforts toward Israel and Gaza.
“This is a difficult time for many communities, and we recognize that people have strong personal views,” White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement. “That's why the president continues to work diligently to secure a hostage deal that leads to an immediate and lasting ceasefire.”
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will meet with several prominent Arab American groups, according to three people familiar with the meeting, who requested anonymity to discuss private plans. However, the event was postponed because Blinken's busy travel schedule has taken him out of the country multiple times.
There are limits to the people and organizations that the Biden White House can engage with regarding the Gaza conflict. The administration disowned the Council on American-Islamic Relations in December and contacted the Council on American-Islamic Relations after the director general said that Palestinians in Gaza have a “right to self-defense,” but Israel “as an occupying power” does not. was blocked. (The group said the comments were taken out of context.)
A White House official, who was granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy, said the administration would talk to those critical of Mr. Biden's handling of the conflict, but did not praise the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. , made anti-Semitic statements and questioned Israel's right to exist.
People with direct or ancestral ties to the region criticize Biden and the White House's efforts as the pro-Palestinian movement spreads beyond Arab-American and Muslim communities to include young people and progressives. tend to be the most influential.
Last month, Wael Al-Zayat, the CEO of Emgage, a group closely linked to the Biden administration that mobilizes Muslim voters, declined an invitation to an iftar dinner at the White House.
“We do not discount the opportunity to meet with the president,” Al-Zayat said. “But at some point, as an organization that has largely voted Democratic, you expect us to address these things and you're actually setting us up for flames by not delivering on policy. is.”
He said Biden's threat to halt arms shipments was “promising and important” and the result of pressure from anti-war leaders, but Israeli tanks and jets continue to bomb the city. “It may be too late for Rafa,'' he said.
Some Arab Americans who have long been interested in high-level Democratic politics expressed a deep sense of alienation.
“I've never felt as closed off as I feel now,” said James Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute in Washington and a member of the Democratic National Committee since 1993. he said. It's the leadership of the entire country. ”
He said Zogby's most recent letter to the White House went unanswered for three months, as well as numerous texts and phone calls.
If some voters break with Biden over Gaza, they are more likely to stay home or choose a third party than vote for Trump. The former president has a long history of using anti-Muslim language and banned travel from several Muslim-majority countries during his time in office. On Thursday, he expressed support for the Rafah invasion, saying Israel must “fulfill his mission.”
Democratic officials who are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and have been in talks with the White House are extremely uncertain about how to position these discussions in public, given the anger of Muslim and Arab American voters. I am being cautious about this.
Two mayors with whom White House officials said they had discussed the Gaza conflict, Abdullah Hammoud of Dearborn and Andre Sayegh of Paterson, New Jersey, both declined to be interviewed.
Biden's threat to suspend arms sparked anger and concern among Democrats who support Israel's continued attacks in Gaza. Politically, some worry that Mr. Biden will lose support from Jewish Americans and moderates. Mark Mellman, founder of Israel Democratic Majority, said in a statement that undermining the U.S.-Israel alliance is “dangerous.”
Opinion polls show that Gaza is not a top issue for most voters, including young people, but some Democrats who support Biden say his Israel policy could help his campaign there. They fear it may be alienating some activists.
“Many of the people who are knocking on doors, using social media, and trying to set up rallies care deeply about the war,” said California Representative Ro Khanna, a Biden campaign surrogate. he said. “It's more than just a vote. How can we motivate our core of organizers and activists to get serious going into the fall?”
michael gold Contributed to the report.