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Supporters of Palestinian Rights Were Victorious at the Democratic Convention
Despite the hurt and pain of seeing the plight of those suffering in Gaza sidelined at the DNC, the entire saga represented a win—one we must recognize and embrace, and on which we must now build.
Aug 26, 2024
The 2024 Democratic National Convention was an exhausting roller coaster ride for Arab Americans and supporters of Palestinian rights. It was a messy affair, with highs and lows, some small victories and some setbacks. But on balance, the naysayers are wrong, because Palestine and supporters of Palestinian rights were big winners during the four days in Chicago.
We didn’t get language on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict changed in the party platform, nor did we get a Palestinian American speaker in prime time from the convention’s main stage. But the issue of Palestine was front and center from Monday through Thursday, and in the days that followed. They were little wins, to be sure, but they were victories, nonetheless.
On Monday, the convention agreed to host a panel on Palestinian suffering at an official site. It was co-chaired by Minnesota Attorney General (former Congressman) Keith Ellison and myself. It featured the compelling testimonies of: Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan who told harrowing stories of children and medical workers who were victims of the genocidal war on Gaza; Layla Elabed, a Palestinian American leader of the national Uncommitted Movement that garnered 750,000 voters, protesting the administration’s complicity in the war; former Congressman Andy Levin, who lost his reelection due to AIPAC spending millions to defeat him; and Hala Hijazi, a Palestinian American Democratic Party fundraiser who had lost scores of family members in Gaza.
There had been over 30 of these official side panels hosted by the campaign. Most had been sparsely attended by delegates and party members; for example, the one on the war in Ukraine had less than one hundred participants. This session on Palestine had well over 300 attendees, with most deeply moved by what they heard. There were many tears shed as well as a number of standing ovations in support of the speakers and issues raised.
Now isn’t the time to withdraw in defeatist anger. Instead, it’s imperative to recognize the victories won and continue to engage with allies in the political process, because change will come...
It was understood that securing the official sponsorship for the panel wasn’t the victory we sought. Our goal remains a change in U.S. policy. But recognition of Palestinian suffering and Israel and the U.S.’s responsibility for producing this genocidal war was important and could not be dismissed.
News that an Israeli American family would take the convention’s main stage to tell about their son who was a Hamas-held hostage upped the ante and led us to insist that a Palestinian American also be invited to tell the story of their family in Gaza. Days of negotiations followed. When the decision was made to not extend an invitation, Abbas Alawieh, another of the leaders of the National Uncommitted Movement, led a protest walkout from the arena and a sit-in in front of the convention.
I called this campaign decision a “bone-headed, unforced error.” It was deeply hurtful to Palestinian Americans who felt their humanity wasn’t being recognized. It threatened to erase the positives gained by the campaign’s recognition of our panel, leaving supporters of Palestinian rights with a sour taste in their mouths. But it also meant—and this is important to recognize—that the issue of Palestine and the effort to silence our voices would once again be elevated to the center of discussion. Over the next 24 hours, we held multiple press conferences and spoke one-on-one with dozens of journalists ensuring that the issue of Palestinian rights would continue to be discussed—and it was. Endorsements for having a Palestinian American speaker came from members of Congress, national organizations (including Jewish groups), Black and Hispanic leaders, two prominent Jewish newspapers, and even the Israeli American family that had spoken at the convention.
Reviewing the convention itself, it was moving to see hundreds of delegates, including hundreds of Harris supporters, wearing kaffiyehs or “Democrats for Palestine” buttons, including Vice President Harris’s niece. It was also important to note that when Palestine was mentioned by speakers, it was greeted by rousing applause. And while in her speech Vice President Harris included the usual commitments to Israel’s security, her words about Palestinian suffering were passionate and punctuated by her commitment to their “freedom, security, dignity, and self-determination.” That’s more than any other presidential nominee has ever said. And so, despite the hurt, the entire saga represented a win—one we must recognize and embrace, and on which we must now build.
Today’s movement for justice for Palestinians isn’t riding on the back of a leader. It is a people-powered movement, from the bottom up.
Thirty-six years ago, I was the last Arab American to speak about Palestinian rights at a national party convention when, in 1988, I presented the Jackson campaign’s minority plank on Palestinian rights from the podium in Atlanta. I knew it was a historic moment and in the days that followed I experienced the backlash from pro-Israel forces within the party. They pressured me to resign my post as a member of the Democratic National Committee. It was then that Rev. Jackson taught me two important lessons I’ve not forgotten.
The first was that “When you win a victory, embrace it but never turn your back, because the knives will be out to get you.” The other was, “Never quit, because that’s exactly what your enemies want you to do. What they fear most is that you’ll stick around to fight.”
These lessons apply today, with a difference. In 1988, we were able to raise the issue because it was a powerful Jackson-led movement. Today’s movement for justice for Palestinians isn’t riding on the back of a leader. It is a people-powered movement, from the bottom up. This effort has mobilized to pass ceasefire resolutions in over 350 cities and won the support of major unions, Black, Latino, and Asian organizations. It is responsible for demonstrations mobilizing millions of Americans, encampments on over 100 college campuses, and garnering over 750,000 votes in Democratic primaries across the US. Polls show that the majority of Democrats want a ceasefire, conditioning arms to Israel, and securing rights for Palestinians.
Now isn’t the time to withdraw in defeatist anger. Instead, it’s imperative to recognize the victories won and continue to engage with allies in the political process, because change will come—but only if this work continues.Keep ReadingShow Less
A Poll of Arab American Voters’ Message for Biden? Reverse Course on Gaza
An Arab American Institute poll shows that if the president, even at this late date, were to dramatically change policy on Israel and Gaza, he could potentially win back much of the support he has lost.
Jun 10, 2024
More often than not, those in the media take a simplistic view of political polls. Especially in a presidential election year, attention tends to be singularly focused on who’s up and who’s down.
In reality, these “horse race” numbers, while important, are often the least consequential part of a poll. Looking at the rich data that makes up a poll can provide far more useful information, suggesting, for example, why candidate A or B is doing well or poorly. A deep dive into the data can also reveal the diversity of the population being surveyed and among which component groups of the electorate the candidates are doing better or worse. And finally, if prescriptive questions are asked, a poll can also provide a way for candidates to understand what they can do to improve their position.
Ignoring all of this nuance, journalists who make do with simply reporting the top-line results miss the more valuable findings of a poll. As a case in point, we can look at the May 2024 poll of a random sample of 900 Arab American registered voters in key states, representative of the demographics of the community. The poll was conducted for the Arab American Institute (AAI) by John Zogby Strategies.
The simple reason for Biden’s low numbers and ratings is, in a word, Gaza.
The AAI poll received good coverage, all of which noted that while in 2020 U.S. President Joe Biden bested former President Donald Trump by 59%-35% among Arab Americans, Biden is now losing to Trump by 32%-18%. This was true, but what was missed were the details that make this picture so much more revealing.
For example, while “not sure” and third-party candidates received less than 10% support in 2020, that goes up to 50% this year. The main reason for this is that 40% of Arab Americans say they are “not enthusiastic at all” about casting a vote in November, while another 21% are “not really enthusiastic”—increasing the percentage of those who aren’t sure for whom they’ll vote (or if they’ll vote at all) in November. Importantly, the lack of enthusiasm is most evident among Democratic voters, 50% of whom aren’t “enthusiastic at all.” That’s only the case for 11% of Republicans.
The AAI poll also shows that 79% of Arab Americans have an unfavorable view of President Biden, while 55% have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump. Biden’s negative ratings are largely driven by the 56% of Democrats who view him unfavorably. On the other hand, Trump’s numbers are higher because he retains the near total support of those who identify as Republicans.
Biden’s most significant losses among Arab Americans occurred among the two groups who have in recent decades heavily leaned toward the Democratic Party but who also have the most tenuous attachment with any party identity—young voters and immigrants. They are classic swing voters. In response to almost every question in this survey, the poll shows that these two groups are the most likely not only to reject Biden but also to distance themselves from the Democratic Party.
The simple reason for Biden’s low numbers and ratings is, in a word, Gaza. When given 10 issues and asked to select the three most important to them, 60% chose the war in Gaza. In addition, 57% say that Gaza will be “very important” in determining their vote in November.
After eight months of Israel’s relentless assault on Palestinians in Gaza, 88% of Arab Americans say they have a negative view of the way Biden has handled the war, with overwhelming majorities across all party identification—with 87% of both Republicans and Democrats, and almost 90% of Independents and those with no party, having a negative view. Like many other voters, Arab Americans have opposed Biden administration policies supporting Israel’s war in Gaza.
The AAI poll also shows that if the president, even at this late date, were to dramatically change policy on Israel and Gaza, he could potentially win back much of the support he has lost. In two separate questions, when asked if the president were to demand an immediate cease-fire and unimpeded humanitarian aid into Gaza or if he were to suspend diplomatic support and arms shipments to Israel until they implement a cease-fire and withdraw forces from Gaza, 60% of Arab Americans say they would be more likely to vote for Biden in November. If Biden were to dramatically change his approach, the poll shows that the Biden/Trump match-up numbers could change favorably for Biden, due to these results coupled with Trump’s declining numbers since our last poll.
Another observation can be culled from the polling data by comparing the percentages of the results in this AAI poll with the actual voter data in key states. For example, looking at Arab American voters in Michigan, when we compare this poll’s expected 2024 results (Trump 28%- Biden 15%) with the Arab American vote in 2020, we see a significant potential loss for President Biden of 91,000 in Michigan alone.
Polls provide snapshots of where voters are at any given moment. This poll confirms what we know—President Biden is hemorrhaging Arab American voters because of his policies on Palestine. It also shows that dramatically changing those policies can move some voters.
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White House Needs a Strategy for Combating Islamophobia, Say Rights Groups
"Any genuine attempt to combat Islamophobia must start with the government acknowledging the harm it continues to inflict both domestically and internationally, and offering adequate redress to affected communities at home and globally."
May 08, 2024
Nearly 100 organizations joined Muslims for Just Futures on Tuesday in calling on U.S. President Joe Biden to introduce a White House Islamophobia Strategy that centers government accountability and solidarity with Muslim and Arab American communities, demanding that the Biden administration honor the "lived experiences" of people who have faced Islamophobic attacks that have ramped up since Hamas attacked southern Israel last October.
The coalition's 26-page community memorandum, dated April 2024, was publicly released on Tuesday, the same day Biden spoke about fighting antisemitism in a speech marking the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Days of Remembrance.
Biden's conflation of antisemitism with protesters' and voters' demands to end U.S. support for Israel in order to save the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, said the community memorandum, has had "profound negative effects" on Muslim and Arab Americans.
The coalition said that organizations involved in drafting the memorandum—including Afghans for a Better Tomorrow, American Muslim Bar Association, and the Center for Constitutional Rights—"emphasized the direct role of the White House in perpetuating Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, and anti-Arab racism through its ongoing support for the genocide and occupation in Palestine," among other military campaigns.
"Any genuine attempt to combat Islamophobia must start with the government acknowledging the harm it continues to inflict both domestically and internationally, and offering adequate redress to affected communities at home and globally," reads the memorandum.
The document includes a number of recommendations for agencies across the federal government, including a call for all agencies to vet potential employees "for affiliation with white nationalist or white supremacist" groups.
In the first weeks of Israel's bombardment of Gaza last fall, one high-profile alleged Islamophobic attack was perpetrated by a former State Department official who had served in the Obama administration and was filmed harassing a food cart vendor in New York.
The document makes other recommendations including:
- Biden to call for an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza and end U.S. support for Israel's bombardment of the enclave;
- The closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention center;
- The U.S. intelligence community to "stop weaponizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act against Black, Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian (BAMEMSA) communities by surveilling citizens and non-citizens and collecting communications without a warrant;
- The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to consult with Black, Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and South Asian communities about their needs and concerns, amid a surge in Islamophobic attacks that was recorded by the Council on American-Islamic Relations last year;
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation to end its use of "secret and discriminatory watchlists," which includes 1.5 million people in 2019—95% of whom had Muslim names; and
- The government to ensure that universities and schools end the targeting of "Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and allied students supporting Palestine," who have been "discriminated against by their universities, and physically attacked, doxxed, and intimidated in efforts to silence their advocacy for Palestinian rights and opposition to Israel's genocide."
The memorandum was released as a research scholar at Arizona State University, Jonathan Yudelman, was reported to be on leave after cellphone video last weekend captured him intimidating and yelling at a women wearing a hijab.
Other Islamophobic attacks in recent months have included the stabbing of a young Palestinian American man in Austin, Texas and the shooting of three Palestinian students in Burlington, Vermont.
"By embracing a framework that honors lived experiences and acknowledges the diverse impacts within Muslim and related communities, we can begin the urgent task of dismantling systemic barriers that harm Muslim communities and those racially perceived as such," said Muslims for Just Futures. "Additionally, the government must take decisive action to dismantle policies that perpetuate Islamophobia while actively involving affected communities in decision-making processes."
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