Arab American leaders are listening as Kamala Harris moves to garner support from key swing-states
Dearborn, Michigan: Osama Siblani's phone won't ring.
Days after President Joe Biden withdrew his bid for re-election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination, top officials from both major political parties are asking the Dearborn-based Arab American news publisher if Harris could get an endorsement. The nation's largest Muslim population is located in metro Detroit.
His response: “We're in listening mode.”
Harris, who is poised to seize the Democratic nomination after Biden resigned, appears to be moving quickly to convince Arab American voters in Michigan that Democrats believe she can't lose in November, that she is a leader. They can be united behind.
Community leaders have expressed interest in listening, and some have had preliminary conversations with Harris' team. Many had grown increasingly disaffected with Biden after months of outreach had not yielded many results.
“With Biden resigning, the door is open,” said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud. “There is an opportunity for the Democratic nominee to unify the coalition that was four years ago under Biden's presidency. But that responsibility will now fall on the shoulders of the vice president.”
Arab American leaders such as Hammoud and Siblani are watching closely for signs that Harris will be more vocal in pushing for a cease-fire. They are excited about her candidacy but want to be sure she will be an advocate for peace and not an outspoken supporter of Israel.
But Harris must walk the fine line of not publicly undermining Biden's position on the war in Gaza, where officials in his administration have been working diligently for a cease-fire, mostly behind the scenes.
Divisions within Harris' own party became apparent during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington last week to address Congress. Some Democrats supported the visit, while others opposed it and refused to attend. Outside the Capitol, pro-Palestinian protesters were met with pepper spray and arrests.
Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, whose district includes Dearborn, held up a sign reading “War Criminal” during Netanyahu's remarks.
Harris did not attend.
Some Arab American leaders interpreted her absence – she attended a campaign event in Indianapolis instead – as a sign of good faith with them, although they acknowledged her continued responsibilities as vice president, including Thursday's meeting with Netanyahu.
Her first test within the community will come when Harris chooses a running mate. One name on his short list, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, has been publicly criticized by pro-Palestinian protesters and is Jewish. Some Arab American leaders in Michigan said putting him on the ticket would increase their unease about the level of support they can expect from the Harris administration.
“Josh Shapiro was the first to criticize students on campus. So it doesn't matter much to Harris if she picks him. It just says I'm going to continue the same policies as Biden,” said Rima Merueh, director of the National Network for Arab American Communities.
Arab Americans are betting that their votes carry enough electoral weight in key swing states like Michigan to ensure that officials will listen to them. Michigan has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country, and the state's majority-Muslim cities overwhelmingly supported Biden in 2020. For example, he won Dearborn by a nearly 3-1 margin over former President Donald Trump.
In February, 100,000 Michigan Democratic primary voters chose “noncommittal,” securing two delegates to protest the Biden administration's apparent support for Israel's response to the October 7 Hamas attack. Nationally, the “uncommitted” received a total of 36 delegates in the primaries earlier this year.
The groups leading the effort have called for — at a minimum — a ban on all arms shipments to Israel and a permanent cease-fire.
“If Harris calls for a gun ban, I will work around the clock every day until the election to get him elected,” said Abbas Alavih, a Michigan representative and national leader of the movement. “The real opportunity to unify the coalition is now. It's on his delivery, but we're cautiously optimistic. “
Those divisions were on full display Wednesday night when the Michigan Democratic Party gathered more than 100 delegates to unite behind Harris. During the meeting, Alawieh, one of the three state representatives who did not commit Harris, was speaking when another delegate unmuted him and told him to “shut up,” according to Alawieh.
The call could be a preview of tensions that will resurface in August, when Democratic leaders, lawmakers, and representatives gather in Chicago for the party's national convention. Mass protests are planned, and the “Unrestricted” movement wants to make sure their voices are heard at the Joint Center, where the conference will take place.
Trump and his campaign, meanwhile, are keenly aware of the turmoil within the Democratic base and are actively seeking the support of Arab American voters. That effort has been complicated by Trump's history of anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies during his one term as president.
A meeting between more than a dozen Arab American leaders from around the country and several of Trump's surrogates was convened in Dearborn last week. One of the surrogates was Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-born businessman whose son married the former president's youngest daughter, Tiffany Trump, two years ago. Bullos is using his connections to drum up support for Trump.
Trump's openness to a two-state solution was part of a pitch made by Arab Americans for Trump president Boulos and Bishara Bahbah in Doorborn. He posted a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on social media, pledging to work for peace in the Middle East.
“The three main points made at the meeting were that Trump wants an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and that he supports a two-state solution, and needs to state more clearly that there is no such thing as a Muslim ban.” Bahab said. “This is what the community clearly wants to hear.”
Before the July 20 rally in Michigan, Trump also met with Bahabah, who pressed him for a two-state solution. According to Bahabah, Trump answered positively and said, “One hundred percent.
But any clear political opportunity for Trump could be limited by criticism from many Arab Americans about the former president's ban on immigration from many Muslim-majority countries and comments they find offensive.
“I haven't heard anyone say I'm rushing Donald Trump anymore,” said Hammoud, the Democratic mayor of Dearborn. “I haven't heard that in any of the conversations I've had. They all know what Donald Trump represents.
Siblani, who hosted Wednesday's meeting with Trump surrogates, has spent months serving as a mediator between his community and officials from all political parties and foreign dignitaries. Privately, he says, almost everyone expresses the need for a permanent ceasefire.
“Everyone wants our vote, but no one wants to be seen as publicly aligned with us,” Siblani said.
