In Dearborn, Michigan, a city with a significant Arab-American population, Fatima, a young woman who prefers to keep her last name private, is uncertain whether she will back the Democrats in the upcoming presidential elections. This 24-year-old cast her vote for Biden in 2020 but is deeply affected by the harsh fatalities of Palestinians in Gaza and the recent assaults by Israel on Lebanon. Her support for Kamala Harris, the new Democratic presidential candidate, will depend on the actions taken in the coming weeks, particularly regarding Palestinian relief.
Harris, who initiated her campaign against Donald Trump for the White House on July 21 following Biden’s withdrawal, has managed to revitalise essential segments of the Democratic base, including young voters, women, and people of colour. This momentum could prove pivotal in her bid for presidential success.
However, for those in southeastern Michigan, where distrust towards Democrats runs high, and where many consider the conflict in Gaza a primary campaign issue, there is apprehension over the party’s new nominee. Another Dearborn resident, Abir, an older woman with regrets over her vote for Biden in 2020, expressed her hesitation in supporting any candidate unless their position on ending the conflict becomes clear.
While Harris hasn’t explicitly diverged from Biden’s Israel policy, there have been attempts to differentiate herself from Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel. Despite not attending his speech to Congress in Washington last month, she had separate discussions with him and later affirmed her unwavering commitment to Israel’s security. At the same time however, she pledged to avoid silent complicity over Palestinian suffering.
Jim Zogby, the man behind the Arab American Institute, stated his belief that Harris would regain the support of many who had been alienated by the administration. He noted that despite Harris’ increased efforts to bridge ties with the Arab community since the start of the instability, she still needed to maintain her stance.
The greatest challenge during Harris’s campaign is likely to be forming a coherent stance on Middle Eastern matters. Upon landing in Detroit for a substantial campaign rally last Wednesday, Harris briefly interacted with local activists. This group had succeeded in influencing over 100k voters to select “uncommitted” in the Democratic Party primary as a way of expressing their dissatisfaction with the existing White House administration.
One of the figureheads of this movement, Layla Elabed, expressed their wish to support Harris. To make this possible, Elabed insisted on the need for immediate life-saving measures in Gaza, such as an arms embargo on Israel. But Harris’s defenders stated she was open to discussing the stoppage of arms supply to Israel, her national security adviser, Phil Gordon, refuted this notion the following day.
On platform X, Gordon asserted that Harris was committed to safeguarding Israel against potential threats from Iran and associated terrorist organisations. He confirmed Harris did not support an arms embargo on Israel and promised her continued efforts to uphold international humanitarian law and protect civilians in Gaza.
However, during Harris’s Detroit rally, protestors frequently interjected, chanting condemnation against her. Harris responded initially by affirming the importance of each voice in a democracy. She later implied if the protestors preferred a Donald Trump presidency, they were free to express this. This statement was widely applauded by most at the rally.
Zainab Hakim, a 21-year-old protestor, felt that Harris’s response was disrespectful. She added that she was tired of hearing statements implying a problematic future under Trump due to her race, religion and nationality.
While openly expressing concerns over the potential fallout for Palestinians under the leadership of Biden and possibly Kamala, a statement implied that the US Democratic Party could risk losing some traditional support. This could subsequently tip the scales in battleground states that feature a closely-matched population, such as Michigan, falling in Trump’s favour.
However, the issue of Gaza isn’t the sole focus of most voters. It is suggested that if Harris manages to impress other demographic sections, such as Democratic, independent, and swing voters, it might offset some effects due to the Middle East crisis. By adopting an assertive approach against the protestors, Harris may counter allegations from conservative critics, indicating she’s excessively liberal.
Harris’s performance can also be influenced by the diplomatic scenario in the Middle East. The US, alongside Egypt and Qatar, is making efforts to orchestrate a ceasefire deal, aiming to end the tumult between Israel and Hamas and possibly release hostages and prisoners.
According to Kyle Kondik, from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, Harris appears to balance between acknowledging critics of the US’s policies on Israel and Gaza and refusing to urge for an arms sales embargo to Israel. He noted that her mere difference from Biden could attract some of Biden’s critics.
However, for voters like Mahde Kazan, a Dearborn ice cream shop owner who voted both for Trump and Obama in the past, the decision is not so clear. Although perceived as a suitable presidential candidate, Harris leaves a question mark about her stance on Middle East issues and broader foreign policies.
“Dow, a septuagenarian tutor within the field of engineering unveiled his uncertainty regarding who he will cast his vote for, citing limited knowledge about the woman in question’s opinions on various international matters, including Gaza, Russia’s incursion into Ukraine, ties with China and the overall economic environment. He insisted that the individual should make her viewpoints public.
On the other hand, even though Fatima’s certainty about her support for Harris has not been established, for her, voting for Trump is absolutely out of the question. She believes he is against the ceasefire, and fears an exacerbation of hate crimes under his leadership,” she expressed. © The Financial Times Limited 2024.