[News] 'Learn a Lesson' - How Gaza Genocide Shaped the 2024 US Elections

[Anti-Imperialist News]

palestinechronicle.com
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/learn-a-lesson-how-gaza-genocide-shaped-the-2024-us-elections/>
'Learn a Lesson' - How Gaza Genocide Shaped the 2024 US ElectionsNovember
7, 2024
------------------------------
The voting patterns of Arab Muslims and their allies suggest that Gaza
played a major role in decisive votes in some American states. (Design:
Palestine Chronicle)

*By Romana Rubeo <https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/romana-rubeo>*


The voting patterns of Arabs, Muslims and their allies suggest that Gaza
played a major role in decisive votes in seveal US states.

George Helmy, a Democratic senator and a member of the US Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, told Al-Jazeera on Wednesday that the war in Gaza
contributed to Kamala Harris’s loss of the state of Michigan.

Earlier, official results from the state, home to hundreds of thousands of
Arab-Americans, indicated that approximately 110,000 votes went to
candidates other than Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

The voting patterns of Arabs and Muslims and their allies suggest that Gaza
played a major role in decisive votes in some American states.
*The Case of Michigan*

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris lost Michigan, a crucial
swing state, where votes from Arab and Muslim communities proved
influential.

Republican candidate Donald Trump claimed Michigan’s 15 electoral votes.
Many American Muslims in the state expressed frustration with the
Biden-Harris administration’s unwavering support for Israel amid the
ongoing crisis in Gaza.

According to the Associated Press, with 99% of precincts reporting, Trump
gained 49,8 % of votes in the key state, while Harris received 48.3%. Green
Party candidate, Dr. Jill Stein, gained 0.8%, absorbing some of the
dissatisfaction among Arab communities.

For example, in the city of Dearborn, which is considered the ‘capital’ of
the Arab American community, Jill Stein garnered
<https://www.aa.com.tr/en/2024-us-presidential-election/muslim-voters-in-city-of-dearborn-michigan-reject-democrats-over-gaza-stance/3386970>
an impressive 18.37%.

In addition to her support for Israel, Harris’s campaign appeared to suffer
from other choices or mistakes.

Last August, for instance, she refused
<https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4842001-muslim-women-for-harris-pulls-support-over-palestinian-dnc-speaker-controversy/>
to have a Muslim or Arab speaker at the Democratic National Convention.

Last week, former US President Bill Clinton was sent by the Democratic
Party to rally support for Harris. However, Clinton faced wide criticism
for remarks justifying Palestinian civilian casualties, claiming that Hamas
“forced” Israel into such actions.

“I understand why young Palestinians and Arab Americans in Michigan think
too many people have died. I get that,” Clinton said addressing
Arab-American voters.

“But if you lived in one of those kibbutzim in Israel right next to Gaza,
where the people there were the most pro-friendship with Palestine, most
pro-two-state solution of any of the Israeli communities — were the ones
right next to Gaza. And Hamas butchered them,” he continued.

In an attempt to engage with “leaders of the Arab-American community,”
Harris herself headed to Michigan, and vowed to do “everything in her power
to end the war”.

Yet voters appeared skeptical of her commitment. While acknowledging the
“suffering in Gaza”, she reiterated, once again, that she must “ensure
Israel is secure”.
*Demands Rejected*

US voters opposing Israel’s genocide on Gaza openly declared that they
would not support the Democratic party and the outgoing administration,
which provided Israel a record $17.9 billion in military aid during the
first year of the war, according to a report from Brown University’s Costs
of War Project.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Arab American activist Adam Abusalah
stated that Harris’s campaign disregarded warnings from the community.

“We’ve been warning the Democrats for over a year now, and the Democrats
continue to downplay what’s going on,” he was quoted as saying.

Just a few days before election day, a report published
<https://theintercept.com/2024/11/01/voters-election-harris-trump-israel-gaza/>
in The Intercept noted that,

“after months of protests on the streets and organizing within the
Democratic party, Kamala Harris’s campaign has not shown signs it will
stray from the Biden administration’s steadfast support for Israel amid its
genocidal war in Gaza and invasion into Lebanon”.

The Intercept interviewed “voters who are horrified by the ongoing U.S.
support for Israel’s war” and found out that “each voter(…) had demanded of
Biden, and now Harris, an immediate, permanent ceasefire, and an end to the
U.S. policy of unconditional military aid to Israel”.

“The rejection of such demands have left voters uneasy about their
choices,” the report stated.

*The Exception: Rashida Tlaib*

Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib won re-election in Michigan’s 12th
congressional district, securing her fourth term as the only
Palestinian-American woman in the US House of Representatives.

The Associated Press declared her victory early, with only 18 percent of
precincts reporting. Tlaib garnered a remarkable 77 percent of the vote,
while her Republican challenger, James Hooper, only received 19 percent.

Notably, Tlaib was the only member of the so-called ‘Squad ’ not to endorse
the Democrat candidate.

Tlaib has been outspoken in her criticism of the Democratic Party’s stance
on the ongoing genocide, stating that it was “hard not to feel invisible”
when the party chose not to include a Palestinian-American speaker at its
convention.

“Our trauma and pain feel unseen and ignored by both parties,” she said in
an interview with former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan at the time. “One party
uses our identity as a slur, and the other refuses to hear from us. Where
is the shared humanity? Ignoring us won’t stop the genocide.”
*‘Learn a Lesson’*

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest
Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, issued a statement on
Wednesday calling for Democratic leaders to “learn lessons from Vice
President Harris’s loss of support among Muslims and other voters opposed
to the Gaza genocide.”

“It is important for Democratic and other elected officials to recognize
that Vice President Harris’ steep drop in support in key states compared to
President Biden’s 2020 victory resulted, in part, from the deep frustration
and disillusionment that many young, Muslim, Arab, Black, and other voters
feel with the Biden-Harris administration due to its steadfast financial
and military support for Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza,” the statement
said.

“Rather than listening to the clear majority of American who support both a
ceasefire and a suspension of weapons to Israel, Vice President Harris only
struck a slightly more sympathetic tone toward Palestinians while sticking
with the substance of President Biden’s disastrous stance.”

“This led to an unprecedented shift of support from Muslim, Arab, and other
communities who traditionally vote for Democratic presidents,” the
statement concluded.

*(The Palestine Chronicle)*


*– Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The
Palestine Chronicle. Her articles appeared in many online newspapers and
academic journals. She holds a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and
Literature and specializes in audio-visual and journalism translation.*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20241108/ec8d27a6/attachment.htm>