Tough choices for
Arab-American voters
angered by Gaza war

Democrats 'dehumanised' Palestinians and Arabs in support for Israel

Amer Zahr lives in Dearborn, Michigan.

The city is home to more than 100,000 Arab Americans, earning it the nickname the "capital of Arab America". Together with wider Wayne County, the area has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the US.

The sprawling suburb is on the outskirts of Detroit and is home to several Arab and Islamic community centres and institutions, as well as traditional and modern Arabic restaurants and pastry shops, shisha lounges and trendy Yemeni cafes.

The city is home to the only Arab-American museum in the country and it has an Arab-American mayor and chief of police.

Mr Zahr, a long-time Democratic voter, says he is disappointed with the party for continuing to support Mr Biden’s policy on Gaza, with the brutality of Israel's actions on stark display.

That stance has dehumanised Palestinians and Arabs, he says, and created an environment in the US that has led to a rise in Islamophobia, anti-Arab sentiment and violence.

Even worse, he says, Democratic politicians only began to call on Mr Biden to step aside when his advanced age and reported cognitive decline became apparent – and threw the party's chances of retaining the presidency into doubt.

“And so, ultimately, his policies were not the problem," Mr Zahr says. "They didn't have a problem that he's been supporting, funding and cheerleading a genocide or that he lied about us causing an environment that dehumanised us – that was not the problem. The problem is he looks bad on TV.”

Mr Biden has left the race, but Mr Zahr says the demands of Arab-American voters, especially in Michigan, have not changed. "We want an end to arms sales to Israel and a recognition of a Palestinian state," he explains.

"Obviously, Biden was the embodiment of everything that's been terrible about American foreign policy, but Vice President Harris was his lieutenant this whole time. And so we have to get some clarity. It's not the same 'defeat Biden at all costs' or 'defeat the Dems at all costs', but it might turn back into that.

“Some people, obviously, are happy that Biden's out. He's been the embodiment of terrible things, but Harris is the next worst option from this point of view – it's not a fresh face, it's not someone who has said anything that has been critical of the policy. It's someone who has been tasked as the Vice President with executing the policy and hasn't spoken out against it. So let's see."

America needs a 'mentally focused' leader

Ali Abdelkarim is an Egyptian American who is not quite sure who he will vote for in the election.

"We can all agree that the presidential debate was a disaster, both candidates were evading so many questions Americans needed answers to, and we need a president that's mentally focused," he says.

"So for now, I'm undecided and I hope we'll get to see more candidates before the presidential race is over. And it's such a shame what happened to Trump with the attempted assassination – very un-American, regardless of your political affiliation."

Biden withdrawal changes nothing, activist says

Jinan Deena is Palestinian American who lives in Washington.

In 2020, she rallied Arab Americans to vote for Mr Biden, who promised to rescind Mr Trump's so-called Muslim ban on his first day in office – a promise the President kept.

But his stance on the Gaza war has left her feeling extremely disappointed and angry. She regrets supporting him four years ago.

Mr Biden stepping aside has not changed her mind about the Democrats and she plans to vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein in November, she says.

When she heard Mr Biden had left the race and was expected to be replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris, Ms Deena says felt “indifferent".

“I really think she’s not different from Biden. She is literally part of the administration that supported this genocide," she said.

“She's spoken at AIPAC [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee] multiple times, she's taken AIPAC money, and she literally is the vice president to the president who's going to have a legacy that he committed a genocide against the Palestinian people.

“There’s nothing to celebrate. I'm feeling very uninspired, and I don't think that either candidate represents any of my ideals or values. And even though I'm a registered Democrat, I don't plan on voting for the Democratic nominee.

“At the end of the day, the Democrats are staunchly going to support the state of Israel, whatever administration comes in.”

Biden administration has lost Arab-American vote, imam warns

Imran Salha is the imam at the Dearborn Islamic Centre.

He says there is little the Biden administration can do to win back the Arab and Muslim vote in his congregation.

But that does not necessarily mean he will vote for Mr Trump.

“We are dealing with an individual who is clearly hellbent on genocide, and we're dealing with another individual where we are dealing with hypothetical genocide. And so there comes a judgment call that needs to be made,” he says.

“When it comes to [the Democrats], there's a code of honour and there's an opportunity to send a very strong message that we will not cosign on genocide, and there is a red line for us with Trump. I don't see myself voting for Trump.”

Doctor who lost family in Gaza considers voting Republican

Dr Alaa Ali is an emergency physician in Michigan.

He grew up in the Tel El Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza city.

Since the start of the war, he has lost 128 members of his family, including his younger brother Mohammed. Four of his siblings and their families remain scattered throughout the enclave, with most living in tents where they struggle to meet their basic needs.

“Everybody knows that there is no major shift in the Democratic Party policies, especially in the Middle East, especially in the genocide that's going on," he says. "We believe that whoever is going to come in will follow the same footsteps, or even worse.

“Kamala Harris is already meeting with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and then talking to him about next steps and how the US can support Israel with more stuff – that is very unacceptable.

“In my opinion, she's going to be worse than Biden.

“Our goal is not who becomes the president, it’s who loses the election – if we waste our votes on a third party, if it's going to send any messages, it will be a very weak message. It's not going to really affect anything.

"The Trump campaign has been trying to reach out to the community and trying to say, ‘How can we work with you? What, can be done for us to get your vote?’ And I think it's not a bad opportunity for our community to take advantage of that.

“After the [assassination] attempt on Trump, with no doubt, he will be the President of the United States. There is no question about it. So for the sake of our community, we can get the advantage of reaching out to the Republicans and see what can be done.

"How can we work together? What can we get from them to give them our votes?”

Business owner says he will never vote for Trump

Palestinian American Mohammad Qazzaz owns a coffee company in Dearborn.

For the past 800 years, members of his family have been the muezzins of Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

“I will never vote for Trump. Hell no,” he says.

“Trump is the one who started all this,” Mr Qazzaz says, explaining that the Republican’s policies during his time in the White House emboldened the Israeli government.

That is a reference to the Trump administration's decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and its softening of a long-standing policy on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Mr Qazzaz says he is happy Mr Biden has bowed out of the race, but is worried about Mr Trump's potential return to power. "Because if he takes over, it’s not only going to be bad for Palestine, it’s going to be bad for America as well," he adds.

“I haven’t made up my mind, but my vote all depends on who [Ms Harris] puts as vice president and it depends on what happens in the next few months, if she's going to call for a ceasefire and if she might come up with a plan in the next few months.

"I don't know if it's too close to the election to come up with a plan, which I think it is, but maybe she'll come up with a plan to have a solution.”

We're not actually living in a democracy, lawyer says

Ayah Helmy is an Egyptian-American lawyer. She grew up in Minnesota and now lives in Washington.

She has not yet decided who she will vote for in November.

"I'm seriously concerned, I am really confused as to why all of us are just waiting around for someone to do something, and it's just the same conversation over and over again," she explains. "We're not actually living out a democracy.

"It feels like we're in a space right now where we're just trying to salvage something, and then maybe we try to figure out a democracy? But it's not really anything actually in action, like democracy in action is not occurring right now. And that is highly, highly disturbing."

My vote depends on Harris's stance on Gaza war, engineer says

Imad Mohamed is an engineer from Texas.

He travelled to Washington to protest against Mr Netanyahu's address to Congress, where the Israeli Prime Minister accused demonstrators of "standing with evil".

"I won't vote for anybody who stood on the sidelines watching children being killed," Mr Mohamed says.

"We don't feel that Joe Biden was actually working hard, or even adapting at least some sort of independent position between both sides, to be able to support some sort of humanitarian initiative, at least for a ceasefire and to stop the killing of the innocent people in Palestine."

He says Ms Harris's position on the conflict could determine who he backs in the election.

"It depends on Kamala Harris, her position on the current genocide," he explains. "If she will have the same position as Joe Biden, it will be the same position for us: we will not vote for Kamala Harris.
"The same, we will not vote for Trump, who will be supporting the genocide, unfortunately."