Numerous Arab and Muslim community members in Arizona withdrew their support for President Joe Biden because of his support of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
On Nov. 8, a group of Arizona Muslim residents gathered to hold a press conference at the Arizona Capitol, announcing they decided to actively campaign against Biden by joining the “Abandon Biden Campaign.”
“We’re going to go out in full force to defeat Biden,” said Maher Arekat, a member of Arizona Palestine Network. Other states, like Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, are doing the same campaign to unseat Biden. Biden needs us. He won with a small margin in Arizona and Michigan. “If we rally, we can unseat Biden.”
Arekat said other states, like Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, are holding similar campaigns advocating to unseat Biden. He claimed Biden needed the Muslim community’s votes after winning with a small margin in Arizona.
A nationwide poll by the Arab American Institute reported a 42% decrease in support of Biden among Arab American voters amid Biden’s response to violence in Palestine and Israel. Support plummeted from 59% in 2020 to 17% in 2023. Arab Americans account for hundreds of thousands of voters in key election states like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
68% of Arab Americans polled believe the United States should call for a ceasefire. However, Biden stated there was ‘no possibility’ for a cease-fire.
“Biden has abandoned us. He has abandoned justice and common sense,” said Amal Fayaad, a licensed professional counselor who spoke at the press conference. “In Arizona, we announce publicly that we have abandoned him.”
67% of Arab Americans polled said they had a negative view of Biden’s response to violence in Palestine and Israel. 68% of Arab Americans also believed the United States should not send weapons and military supplies to Israel. These results have been seen at Pro-Palestinian rallies — for example, the streets of Washington D.C. saw over 300,000 people gather at Freedom Plaza to march in support of Palestine, making it the largest Pro-Palestine protest in the history of the United States.
“The message was loud and clear: ‘No ceasefire, no votes,’' said Mohye Abdulaziz, founder of Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance, referring to the protest in the nation’s capitol. “We are committing ourselves to this slogan, and this principle is about the Democratic Party recognizing that our vote cannot be taken for granted.”
The impact of President Biden’s responses showed a significant drop in the expected voter support in 2024 and a dramatic effect on party preference. The poll marks the first time in 26 years of polling Arab American voters that a majority did not claim to prefer the Democratic party, according to the Arab American Institute report.
Arekat, like many Muslims and Arabs, said he voted for Biden because he disagreed with former President Donald Trump. He expressed disappointment with the United States because, in the last couple of years, Democrats and Republicans could only come up with candidates that do not fit the overall public interest, he said.
The report expressed concerns about negative repercussions on the Arab American community’s safety. Eight in ten Arab Americans said they were concerned about anti-Arab bigotry, and two-thirds were concerned about anti-semitism, according to the poll.
59% of Arab Americans reported experiencing discrimination. 70% of Arab American Muslims and 74% of Arab Americans ages 18-34 reported facing discrimination.
Since Hamas’ attack on an Israeli city on Oct. 7, the death toll of Palestinians has reached at least 14,854, including at least 6,150 children and 4,000 women killed by Israeli forces, according to the government media office in Gaza. At least 1,200 Israelis have been killed, as reported by the Israeli Medical Services. Infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed, with 278,00 residential units and 26 of 35 hospitals not functioning. At least 53 journalists have been killed, including 46 Palestinian journalists.
A four-day truce was set to begin between Israel and Hamas on Nov. 24 in exchange for Hamas to release 50 women and children from about 240 Israelis taken captive on Oct. 7. In exchange, Israel would release 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons.
Gaza has been described by many as an open-air prison because of the lack of ability to move, but to Moe Hegazy, a real estate broker in Phoenix, it is more of a concentration camp. “An open-air prison suggests that the Palestinians committed a crime,” he said. “But they did not have anything to do with the situation.”