Where are the US demands for a Hamas surrender and the unconditional release of all of the kidnapped hostages?
The protest vote was organized by Arab-Americans and led by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a leader of the progressive, anti-Israel ten-member “Squad”on Capitol Hill. Tlaib represents Michigan’s 12th District, which includes Dearborn, a Detroit suburb the majority of whose 100,000 residents hail from Arab lands in the Middle East and North Africa. The goal was to express displeasure with Biden’s support for Israel and to fire a warning shot to impair his re-election campaign.
By the time you read this, Super Tuesday primaries in 15 states will be over. We should know if Michigan had a snowball effect in the eight Super Tuesday states that also allow uncommitted ballots.
Biden is still winning well over 80% of Democratic votes. There are thornier issues with a larger direct impact on Americans than war in the Middle East that may yet derail his quest for a second term. More Americans care about the porous US-Mexican border than the relatively impermeable border between Egypt and Gaza.
The Biden campaign has belittled the uncommitted vote, which could further alienate those voters come the November general election. There is nothing un-American about voting however your conscience directs you. Jews often cast votes based on a candidate’s support for Israel, and Michigan is also home to more than 105,000 Jewish voters, according to a 2021 American Jewish Population Project at the Steinhardt Social Research Institute at Brandeis. The Biden campaign needs to take them into account as well, even though they are far less raucous.
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