America: Muslims in 6 swing states begin a campaign against Biden’s re-election

The voices of some lawmakers calling for imposing conditions on American aid to Israel are getting louder. The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip cast a shadow over the corridors of Congress in particular and the United States in general, and led to increasing warnings about its repercussions on America’s image and values. This comes in conjunction with recent opinion polls that reflected a major rift among Democrats in their support for US President Joe Biden’s pro-Israel position, not to mention the demonstrations and protests in various states demanding an immediate ceasefire, in addition to an escalation in hate crimes against Arabs in the United States.

Reviews Washington reportwhich is the result of cooperation between “Asharq Al-Awsat” and “Al-Sharq”, the background to the demands to amend the American “blank check” policy towards Israel, and whether it will lead to a change in Biden’s tone towards Tel Aviv.

Conditions on military aid?

The former military advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colonel Abbas Dahuk, says that American military aid is usually linked to specific restrictions, noting that any country that receives this aid must adhere to international humanitarian laws, the laws of conflict, and some American laws. Dahok suggested that the US administration give Israel a list of sites that should not be targeted, including United Nations sites, schools, hospitals, electrical networks, and others.

For his part, Adam Early, the former US ambassador to Bahrain, did not rule out the possibility of imposing conditions on military aid, noting that there is a “radical shift in public opinion in the United States about Israel.” Early added: “We see thousands of Americans protesting and demonstrating against Israel and in favor of the Palestinians… When was the last time this happened? “That never happened.”

The former advisor to the US delegate to the United Nations, Wael Al-Zayat, spoke about democratic calls for a ceasefire and imposing conditions on military aid to Israel, noting that there are different opinions in the Democratic Party. He said that it is “a complex and diverse party that includes moderate and left-wing democrats, including socialists.” It includes different ethnic and religious communities, including Muslims, Jews, and Americans of African, Latino, or Asian descent. “So, there are many different opinions about this conflict.” But Al-Zayat considered that the reason for some people’s objections was the difference between what Biden said regarding human rights and democracy when he was a presidential candidate, and his policy today. He explained: “They saw that he practiced this trend in places like Ukraine, but not in the Arab world, specifically in Palestine.”

In light of these calls and objections, some warn of the repercussions of Biden’s policy of support for Israel on the values ​​and image of the United States, and this was repeated by Colonel Dahok, who stressed the necessity of imposing restrictions on aid to Israel. He said: “If the United States continues to provide this type of support, ultimately it must bear responsibility for some of these outcomes in Gaza.”

Early spoke about the repercussions of the conflict on the image of the United States, referring to his period of service as deputy spokesman for the US State Department in 2006 during the “July War” in Lebanon. He said: “Journalists asked me the same questions at the time… How can the United States support Israel when it is causing all this destruction?” He added: “What is happening in Gaza now is ten times worse… And by the way, if ( Hezbollah) By attacking Israel, things will be thirty times worse than in Gaza. “For this reason, everyone is worried in Washington.”

Generational disparity

Recent polls show a major rift among Democrats in their support for Israel. While 69 percent of young people under the age of 35 oppose Biden’s policy with Israel, 77 percent of Democrats over the age of 65 support him, according to a Quinnipiac University poll, and 74 percent of young Democrats sympathize with the Palestinians, compared to only 25 percent of them. Democrats over 65.

Al-Zayat says that young people in the United States are growing up in an era that highlights social and racial justice, explaining: “We saw that here after the killing of African American George Floyd in Minnesota, and the subsequent raising of awareness about the need for equality among peoples. Today, young people here compare the conditions of Palestinians, occupation, separation and discrimination with what they see here. “So, because of these comparisons and experiences in the age of social media platforms, it is not difficult for them to see the connections.” He continued: “For this reason, we see persistent efforts to intimidate the voices of university students and young employees in major companies, to silence them and intimidate them so that they do not speak about the rights or humanity of Palestinians, and to equate this in a very dangerous way with anti-Semitism.”

For his part, Colonel Dahok says that the older generation “still considers Israel an ally that must be supported to defend itself. While the new generation looks at the matter from a different perspective, and opposes the military approach.” Dahok said that this difference in opinions leads to difficulty in including young people in the American army, “because the new generation does not consider the military option to be a good option for international relations, and prefers to employ diplomacy, intelligence information, and economics in managing our foreign affairs.”

With the growing voices of young people demanding a change in Biden’s policy with Israel, Early rules out that this will lead to a radical and immediate change in policy. He explains that “Members of Congress and any elected official care only about two things: donors and voters. Young people between the ages of 20 and 30, despite their opinions, do not donate money and do not vote much. “For this reason, polls will not unseat politicians until pro-Palestine individuals vote in large numbers and give money to politicians.”

Biden’s fortunes and Trump’s policy

The young voter is not the only one who objects to Biden’s policy towards Israel, as this policy has led to increasing criticism of the Democratic administration from Muslim and Arab voters. Al-Zayat, who currently holds the position of executive director of the Emage Foundation, which coordinates the efforts of American Muslim voters, says that this electoral group “feels angry, disappointed, and betrayed by the Biden administration, which many supported financially and by voting for it.”

He added: “We need a sustained ceasefire and a more realistic, permanent solution to this crisis that leads to a more credible path for the Palestinians and their right to self-determination.”

Al-Zayat stressed that these voters will not abstain from voting, noting that abstention means supporting another candidate, most likely in this case it will be former President Donald Trump, adding: “We will make sure to educate people that voting for a candidate from a third party or staying at home is… “It is not a solution and may lead to worse management in November.”

Early compared Biden’s and Trump’s policies on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and warned: “If the Democrats, the Americans, or others believe that Biden is not working for the benefit of the Palestinians, wait until Trump becomes president to see the difference.” Early explained what he meant by presenting Trump’s policy with the Palestinians, saying: “He would have now relied on a scorched earth policy, as Jared Kushner, the US ambassador to Israel, and the US Secretary of State during his reign publicly stated that the Palestinian Authority has no value and cannot be dealt with. He moved the embassy to Jerusalem, and cut off all our funding for UNRWA, and that was during a period of peace and not a period of war like today.”

Hate crimes

With the escalation of Islamophobia and hate crimes against Arabs in the United States, the most recent of which was the shooting of 3 Palestinian-American youths in Vermont, Al-Zayat directed the blame to the White House.

“The White House can be partly blamed for this because of the way they describe what is happening in Israel,” he said. They liken it to the events of September 11, and there were expressions taken from the language used to talk about ISIS. Of course, Israel benefited from this, because it was in its interest and justified its moves against Gaza. Al-Zayat added: “This is the language of genocide… This is the language that is used to justify mass massacres and the killing of people. We have seen this in other conflicts. “Seeing this here in the United States is not only unfortunate, it is also dangerous.”

Early stressed the need to change the tone of officials in this context, saying: “They must say clearly that what (Hamas) did is wrong, but (Hamas) does not represent the Palestinian people. If you want to target Hamas, do not condemn, punish and kill the entire Palestinian people.”