Arab American leaders are listening as Kamala Harris moves to shore up key swing-state support

Arab American leaders are listening as Kamala Harris moves to shore up key swing-state support
1 / 3
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, whose district includes Dearborn, Mich., is the only Palestinian American in Congress. (File/AP)
Arab American leaders are listening as Kamala Harris moves to shore up key swing-state support
2 / 3
Rep. Abdullah Hammoud, D-Dearborn, says it is Kamala Harris' responsibility to coalesce the coalition that ushered in Biden's presidency four years ago. (File/AP)
Arab American leaders are listening as Kamala Harris moves to shore up key swing-state support
3 / 3
Osama Siblani, publisher of the Arab American News When asked if Kamala Harris can regain the support of the nation's largest Muslim population located in metro Detroit, Osama Siblani responded, "We are in listening mode." (File/AP)
Short Url
Updated 29 July 2024
Follow

Arab American leaders are listening as Kamala Harris moves to shore up key swing-state support

Arab American leaders are listening as Kamala Harris moves to shore up key swing-state support
  • Top officials from both major political parties have been asking Arab American leaders if Harris can regain the support of the nation’s largest Muslim population located in metro Detroit
  • Kamala Harris appears to be pivoting quickly to the task of convincing Arab American voters in Michigan

DEARBORN, Michigan: Osama Siblani’s phone won’t stop ringing.
Just days after President Joe Biden withdrew his bid for reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination, top officials from both major political parties have been asking the publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News if Harris can regain the support of the nation’s largest Muslim population located in metro Detroit.
His response: “We are in listening mode.”
Harris, who is moving to seize the Democratic nomination after Biden stepped down, appears to be pivoting quickly to the task of convincing Arab American voters in Michigan, a state Democrats believe she can’t afford to lose in November, that she is a leader they can unite behind.
Community leaders have expressed a willingness to listen, and some have had initial conversations with Harris’ team. Many had grown exacerbated with Biden after they felt months of outreach had not yielded many results.
“The door is cracked open since Biden has stepped down,” said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud. “There’s an opportunity for the Democratic nominee to coalesce the coalition that ushered in Biden’s presidency four years ago. But that responsibility will now fall on the vice president.”
Arab American leaders such as Hammoud and Siblani are watching closely for signals that Harris will be more vocal in pressing for a ceasefire. They’re excited by her candidacy but want to be sure she will be an advocate for peace and not an unequivocal supporter of Israel.
But Harris will need to walk a fine line not to publicly break with Biden’s position on the war in Gaza, where officials in his administration have been working diligently toward a ceasefire, mostly behind the scenes.
The divide within Harris’ own party was evident in Washington last week during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to address Congress. Some Democrats supported the visit, while others protested 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 that read “war criminal” during Netanyahu’s remarks.
Harris did not attend.
Some Arab American leaders interpret her absence — she instead attended a campaign event in Indianapolis — as a sign of good faith with them, though they recognize her ongoing responsibilities as vice president, including a meeting Thursday with Netanyahu.
Her first test within the community will come when Harris chooses a running mate. One of the names on her short list, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, has been public in his criticism of pro-Palestinian protesters and is Jewish. Some Arab American leaders in Michigan say putting him on the ticket would ramp up their unease about the level of support they could expect from a Harris administration.
“Josh Shapiro was one of the first ones to criticize the students on campus. So it doesn’t differentiate Harris very much if she picks him. That just says I’m going to continue the same policies as Biden,” said Rima Meroueh, director of the National Network for Arab American Communities.
Arab Americans are betting that their vote holds enough electoral significance in pivotal swing states like Michigan to ensure that officials will listen to them. Michigan has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the nation, and the state’s majority-Muslim cities overwhelmingly supported Biden in 2020. He won Dearborn, for example, by a roughly 3-to-1 margin over former President Donald Trump.
In February, over 100,000 Michigan Democratic primary voters chose “uncommitted,” securing two delegates to protest the Biden administration’s unequivocal support for Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. Nationally, “uncommitted” garnered a total of 36 delegates in the primaries earlier this year.
The groups leading this effort have called for — at a minimum — an embargo on all weapons shipments to Israel and a permanent ceasefire.
“If Harris called for an arms embargo, I would work around the clock every day until the election to get her elected,” said Abbas Alawieh, an “uncommitted” Michigan delegate and national leader of the movement. “There’s a real opportunity right now to unite the coalition. It’s on her to deliver, but we are cautiously optimistic.”
Those divisions were on full display Wednesday night when the Michigan Democratic Party brought together over 100 delegates to pitch them on uniting behind Harris. During the meeting, Alawieh, one of three state delegates who did not commit to Harris, was speaking when another delegate interrupted him by unmuting and telling him to “shut up,” using an expletive, according to Alawieh.
The call could be a preview of tensions expected to surface again in August, when Democratic leaders, lawmakers, and delegates convene in Chicago for the party’s national convention. Mass protests are planned, and the “uncommitted” movement intends to ensure their voices are heard within the United Center, where the convention will be held.
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 policy during his one term as president.
A meeting between over a dozen Arab American leaders from across the country and several of Trump’s surrogates was convened in Dearborn last week. Among the surrogates was Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-born businessman whose son married Tiffany Trump, the former president’s younger daughter, two years ago. Boulos is leveraging his connections to rally support for Trump.
Part of the pitch that Boulos and Bishara Bahbah, chairman of Arab Americans for Trump, made in Dearborn was that Trump has shown an openness to a two-state solution. He posted a letter on social media from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and pledged to work for peace in the Middle East.
“The three main points that were noted in the meeting were that Trump needs to state more clearly that he wants an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and that he supports the two-state solution, and that there is no such thing as a Muslim ban,” said Bahbah. “This is what the community wants to hear in a clear manner.”
Before a July 20 rally in Michigan, Trump also met with Bahbah, who pressed him about a two-state solution. According to Bahbah, Trump responded affirmatively, saying, “100 percent.”
But any apparent political opportunity for Trump may be limited by criticism from many Arab Americans about the former president’s ban on immigration from several majority Muslim countries and remarks they felt were insulting.
“I have not heard any individuals saying I’m now rushing to Donald Trump,” said Hammoud, Dearborn’s Democratic mayor. “I have yet to hear that in any of the conversations I’ve had. They all know what Donald Trump represents.”
Siblani, who organized Wednesday’s meeting with Trump surrogates, has spent months serving as an intermediary between his community and officials from all political parties and foreign dignitaries. Privately, he says, almost all express the need for a permanent ceasefire.
“Everybody wants our votes, but nobody wants to be seen as aligning with us publicly,” Siblani said.


Indonesia urges UN Security Council to stop Israel from banning UNRWA

Indonesia urges UN Security Council to stop Israel from banning UNRWA
Updated 5 sec ago
Follow

Indonesia urges UN Security Council to stop Israel from banning UNRWA

Indonesia urges UN Security Council to stop Israel from banning UNRWA
  • Israel has been trying to delegitimize the UN body, causing temporary suspension of funding earlier this year
  • UN body’s head Philippe Lazzarini says Israel’s attempt to halt the agency’s work ‘sets a dangerous precedent’

JAKARTA: Indonesia called on the UN Security Council on Tuesday to halt Israel’s ban on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, a move Jakarta says violates the world organization’s charter and immunity of its bodies.

On Monday evening, the Israeli parliament — the Knesset — passed two bills; one barring UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees from operating on territories occupied by Israel, and another banning Israeli authorities from any contact with the UN agency.

The bans, set to take effect in 90 days, are expected to severely restrict UNRWA from operating in the regions where it is supporting the Palestinian population in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza strip.

“This decision clearly violates and contradicts the UN Charter and the 1946 Convention on the immunities of UN agencies,” the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

“Indonesia urges the international community, especially the UN Security Council, to immediately halt Israel’s actions and ensure its compliance with obligations under international law, UN Security Council resolutions, and the ICJ (International Court of Justice) rulings to end the occupation in Palestine.”

In July, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible.”

Indonesia has been increasing its contributions to UNRWA since Israel’s war on Gaza escalated last October.

“UNRWA is an agency mandated by the United Nations to serve an irreplaceable role in providing education, healthcare, and aid to millions of Palestinian refugees. Indonesia reaffirms its commitment to continue supporting UNRWA in discharging its mandate,” the ministry said.

UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949, originally to support 700,000 Palestinians who were forced from their homes during the creation of Israel.

Today, it serves some 5.9 million people and operates in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, with contributions from UN member states.

Since Israel escalated its attacks on Gaza more than a year ago, nearly all Palestinians in the area have relied on UNRWA for basic necessities.

This includes reliance on food, water and hygiene supplies, while almost half of the enclave’s 2.2 million population have been sheltered in the UN agency’s schools, clinics and public facilities.

Israeli forces have killed at least 233 UNRWA staff in the year-long war, during which Tel Aviv launched an intense campaign to delegitimize the UN body.

This includes accusing UNRWA employees of association with the Gaza-based militant group Hamas, which earlier this year had led to some countries, including the US, suspending funding for the agency.

Most nations have since restored their contributions, with the exception of Washington, its biggest donor.

Monday’s vote by the Israeli parliament “sets a dangerous precedent,” said UNRWA head, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.

He wrote on X that it “will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell.”

Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on Gaza have killed over 43,000 Palestinians and injured more than 101,000. The real death toll is suspected to be much higher, with estimates published by medical journal The Lancet indicating that, as of July, it could be more than 186,000.

“Failing to push back these bills will weaken our common multilateral mechanism established after World War 2,” Lazzarini said. “This should be a concern to all.”


Bangladesh requests Saudi support in skills development

Bangladesh requests Saudi support in skills development
Updated 43 min 15 sec ago
Follow

Bangladesh requests Saudi support in skills development

Bangladesh requests Saudi support in skills development
  • New leadership highlights Saudi Arabia’s importance for Bangladesh’s development
  • Muhammad Yunus discusses investment policy and opportunities with Kingdom’s envoy

DHAKA: The chief adviser of Bangladesh’s caretaker government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, has requested Saudi support in training Bangladeshi talent and helping develop their skills.

Yunus, economics professor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, took charge of Bangladesh in August, when ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina quit and fled the country amid violent protests.

His interim administration has since been implementing a series of reforms, after which it is expected to announce new general elections.

Yunus held a meeting with Saudi Ambassador Essa Al-Duhailan at his office in Dhaka on Monday to discuss policy and facilitating investment opportunities from the Kingdom.

“For our development, Saudi Arabia is a very important country. We share many things common in various international forums, including OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation),” Mohammed Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, the chief adviser’s deputy press secretary, told Arab News.

“The discussion with the Saudi Ambassador Essa Yousef Al-Duhailan focused mainly on trade and investment. Prof. Yunus requested more investment from Saudi Arabia and also increased support in the energy sector.”

There are some 3 million Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia, accounting for over half of Bangladeshi migrant workers.

They constitute the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the biggest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh.

“Prof. Yunus requested the ambassador to cooperate for building trained human resources in Bangladesh, which will eventually be beneficial for both brotherly countries. In this way, our migrants will receive a better salary in the Kingdom and will be able to send more remittance to the country,” Majumder said.

Helping advance the professional competence of Bangladeshi workers would allow more of them to enter the Saudi labor market, where opportunities are vast with many megaprojects under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 transformation strategy.

“It will also foster entrepreneurship among Bangladeshi youths. The ambassador said his country is ready to provide necessary support in this regard,” Majumder said.

More than a fourth of Bangladesh’s 170 million population are between the ages of 15 and 29. The unemployment rate is the highest in this group, contributing 83 percent of the total unemployed people in the country.


UN rights chief urges Bangladesh to ‘protect’ democracy after revolution

UN rights chief urges Bangladesh to ‘protect’ democracy after revolution
Updated 55 min 26 sec ago
Follow

UN rights chief urges Bangladesh to ‘protect’ democracy after revolution

UN rights chief urges Bangladesh to ‘protect’ democracy after revolution
  • ‘Democracy is one of the most powerful ideas ever dreamed up by humanity’
  • ‘But it is also fragile – something that we must nurture and protect – particularly in its earliest stages’

DHAKA: UN rights chief Volker Turk on Tuesday urged students at Bangladesh’s Dhaka University, the heart of the uprising that toppled autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina, to “protect” democracy to end cycles of revenge.
“Democracy is one of the most powerful ideas ever dreamed up by humanity... but it is also fragile — something that we must nurture and protect — particularly in its earliest stages,” Turk said in an address.
“I know you are aware of the pitfalls that led other pro-democracy movements into a dead end.”
Tens of thousands demonstrated on campus and in the surrounding neighborhood as protests against job quotas morphed into a nationwide struggle to end Hasina’s 15 years of iron-fisted rule.
More than 700 people were killed, many in a brutal police crackdown, before Hasina fled to India by helicopter on August 5.
Several of the top student protest leaders were enrolled at the university, some of whom are now part of the cabinet of the interim government which is led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
Hasina’s rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents. A Bangladeshi court this month issued an arrest warrant for the ousted leader.
Turk told students they had “shown great courage in standing up for justice and equality,” and that he was honored to address them “at a pivotal time, and in a symbolic place.”
But he also warned them of the risks as they support the huge challenge of restoring democratic institutions.
“Beware of the idea that the ends justify the means,” Turk added.
“The process through which you seek change is just as crucial as the outcome. Strengthening institutions can be more important in the long term than tearing them down.”
Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is on a two-day visit to Dhaka to meet with Yunus, the chief justice, army chief and other leaders, his office said.
“Inequality, cycles of revenge and retribution, marginalization, corruption, and gross human rights violations must be consigned to the past. There must be no repetition, no going back. The present and future belong to equality, to justice.”
Dozens of Hasina’s allies have been arrested, while the last known whereabouts of the 77-year-old fugitive was a military air base near India’s capital New Delhi.
“We cannot allow a vicious new cycle of reprisals and revenge to repeat itself,” Turk added.
“The pursuit of justice must also go beyond trials of those responsible, and address the root causes to achieve the broader social transformation to which you aspire.”


Trump adviser Bannon released from prison: US media

Trump adviser Bannon released from prison: US media
Updated 29 October 2024
Follow

Trump adviser Bannon released from prison: US media

Trump adviser Bannon released from prison: US media
  • Steve Bannon left a federal prison in Connecticut, where he served time for a contempt of Congress conviction

WASHINGTON: Steve Bannon, a prominent right-wing figure and former senior adviser to Donald Trump, was released from prison early Tuesday after spending nearly four months behind bars, US media reported.
Bannon left a federal prison in Connecticut, where he was serving time for a contempt of Congress conviction, just a week ahead of the US presidential election in which his former boss Trump is seeking to regain the White House.


Diwali fireworks could worsen air in Indian capital, despite fewer farm fires

Diwali fireworks could worsen air in Indian capital, despite fewer farm fires
Updated 29 October 2024
Follow

Diwali fireworks could worsen air in Indian capital, despite fewer farm fires

Diwali fireworks could worsen air in Indian capital, despite fewer farm fires
  • Rated world’s most polluted capital for four years in a row, New Delhi was world’s second most polluted city on Tuesday afternoon
  • Annual practice of burning crop stubble left after harvesting paddy to clear fields widely blamed for toxic pollution in the region

NEW DELHI: Fireworks set off during celebrations for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, could further worsen air quality in the Indian capital this week, officials said on Tuesday, offsetting a reduction in burning of farm waste in nearby states.

Rated the world’s most polluted capital by Swiss group IQAir for four years in a row, New Delhi was the world’s second most polluted city on Tuesday, the group’s live rankings showed, after Lahore in neighboring Pakistan.

“The incidents of stubble burning are decreasing, but ... the smoke created by firecrackers needs to be controlled,” Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai told news agency ANI, calling for further monitoring of the burning of farm waste.

The annual practice of burning crop stubble left after harvesting paddy to clear fields for wheat planting is widely blamed for toxic pollution in the region before winter, causing disruptions such as school closures and construction curbs.

But people often flout Delhi’s ban on smoke-emitting firecrackers, usually burnt in celebration of the festival which runs from Wednesday to Friday this year, worsening pollution.

Delhi’s air quality was 273 on Tuesday, the Central Pollution Control Board’s index showed, far exceeding a rating below 50 that is considered to be ‘good’.

From Wednesday to Friday, the index is expected to be in ‘very poor’ territory from 301 to 400, but may drop to ‘severe’ in the index range of 401 to 500, fed by fumes from burning firecrackers and waste fires, the earth sciences ministry said.

Air quality is likely to be in the very poor to severe category for six days from Saturday, the ministry added.

Farm fire incidents have fallen this year, however, the agriculture ministry said, to stand down 35 percent in Punjab and 21 percent in Haryana — both breadbasket states — compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

Data from the earth sciences ministry showed that stubble burning’s contribution to pollution dropped in the last week, to reach barely 3 percent on Monday from 16 percent on Wednesday, with greater contributions from other sources, such as vehicles.

Last week, the Supreme Court urged authorities in Delhi and adjoining states to tackle the toxic air, saying living in a pollution-free environment was a “fundamental right.”