Michigan mayor prepares to step up pressure as Trump and Harris woo Arab Americans | US Election 2024 News

Dearborn, Michigan – Abdullah Hammoud was walking outside his office having a heated phone conversation about former President Bill Clinton’s claim that Hamas was “forcing” Israel to kill Palestinian civilians.

By the time the mayor of Dearborn, a Detroit suburb, sat down for an interview, he had at least superficially shaken off his anger.

Hammoud, 34, appeared clear-eyed about the future of the city known as the capital of Arab America and the path its grieving community will take during Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon.

“There is a blanket of pain that covers this society, and people are openly talking about the genocide, the war in Lebanon, the bombing in Yemen, etc. They’re trying to get by amidst the presidential election in the background. ” Hammoud told Al Jazeera.

Hammoud, one of the most prominent Arab American elected officials in the United States and serving as a Democrat in the state Legislature, did not support any of the candidates and instead urged residents to “vote their conscience.”

In a close race, tens of thousands of Arab voters in Dearborn, a city of 110,000, and across Michigan could be crucial to the outcome of elections in the state and possibly the nation.

This did not go unnoticed by the candidates: Trump is expected to visit Dearborn on Friday, and Harris had previously met Hammoud during the campaign but not in Dearborn.

Hammoud emphasized the need to get out and vote to make the community’s voice heard.

“In this period, what is more important than anything else is to hold tightly to our values ​​and principles and to stand by each other in the city,” he said.

But according to Hammoud, the fight to end Israel’s killing machine in Gaza and Lebanon (the ancestral home of thousands of Dearborn residents, including the mayor himself) does not end with the closing of the polls on November 5 and the election of a new president.

“Whoever takes this office, we are ready to hold their feet to the fire and hold them accountable,” he said. “Everyone is promising a ceasefire, but no one is saying how the ceasefire will be achieved.”

‘Pressure will increase’

While Democratic candidate Kamala Harris said she would press for an end to the war, her Republican rival Donald Trump promised “peace” in the Middle East.

However, both the vice president and the former president remain steadfast in their support for Israel.

Hammoud noted that the two candidates clearly stated how they would deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly promised to continue the massacre until “complete victory.”

“But the pressure will increase from our side. And we will also lean on the broader anti-war coalition of our union labor leaders who have come forward and called not only for a ceasefire but also for an arms embargo against Israel,” the mayor said.

“Hell, even at this point I’ll trust the young Republicans who advocate for the arms embargo.”

According to Hammoud, change is possible regardless of the outcome of the election. “The politics is obvious. “Millions of Americans support this,” he said.

“And what you won’t see is 50 million, 100 million Americans acting in line with their own values ​​and principles. “I think it’s possible for us to believe that millions of Americans can mobilize one person in the White House on this issue.”

Wearing a blue jacket over a white shirt, Hammoud harshly criticized both major candidates for their stance on the Middle East and their approach to the Arab community in Michigan.

His office hangs a map of Lebanon above a Yemeni dagger, a firefighter’s helmet, an American football with the Detroit Lions logo, the city’s seal (featuring a vintage car because of the city’s manufacturing history as the hometown of industrial pioneer Henry Ford). as well as other items representing Dearborn’s history and diverse communities.

‘Policy outcomes are no different’

Hammoud listed some of Trump’s anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian policies, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, cutting off humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, and recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

He also cited Trump’s travel ban on many Muslim-majority countries and recent comments by the former president’s surrogate Rudy Giuliani, who said Palestinians were “taught to kill us” when he was two years old.

“But I think the challenge is you want to respond with something that looks more palatable to Trump,” Hammoud said.

“And when you see former President Bill Clinton’s remarks about how Israel is forced to kill civilians and how the Israeli government’s claims to the land predate the existence of Islam, it becomes extremely frustrating.”

Clinton was addressing Arab American voters at an official Harris campaign event in Michigan when she made those comments this week.

Earlier this month, Harris campaigned in Michigan alongside former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the architects of the invasion of Iraq and the so-called “war on terror.”

“When surrogates like Liz Cheney are campaigning in the state of Michigan, talking about how even war criminal Dick Cheney supports Vice President Harris, is that supposed to be a welcome message to this community?” Hammud asked.

He also noted that the Biden-Harris administration has not reversed Trump’s pro-Israel policies.

“Yes, the rhetoric may be different,” he said, referring to the approach of Harris and Trump. “Sometimes policies don’t have different outcomes, and I think that’s disappointing for many.”

‘There is hope’

As the race for Michigan heats up, attention is turning to Dearborn, the country’s first city with an Arab majority.

Campaign billboards can be seen all over the city. Residents’ mailboxes receive reams of ads every day focusing on Arab issues and Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon.

But residents don’t seem to match the campaign’s enthusiasm. The city’s Arab American community, especially its large Lebanese American population, is grappling with the pain of watching from afar the war that destroyed their homeland.

Conflict is deeply personal to them. Their families are displaced, their villages are destroyed, and their loved ones are killed, often by bombs supplied by the United States. The community lost its respected leader Kamel Jawad, who was killed in an Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon on October 1.

“We attend funerals much more often than celebratory events,” Hammoud said.

Across the city, Lebanese and Palestinian flags and yard signs for school board candidates far outnumber those for Trump and Harris.

Despite voters’ disappointment and a growing sense of disillusionment with the political system, Hammoud warned against leaving the political process, calling it a “great fear”.

The mayor emphasized the importance of elections, especially at the local level. He noted that the election of officials like himself and other representatives, including Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, strengthens society’s demands regarding the conflict.

He said “there is hope” on the ground as people grapple with the presidential question.

“There are rallies all over the world, and the center of America has shifted to Israel-Palestine, and the center of the world has also shifted,” he said.

“I think we are a generation away from having a generation of elected leaders who will better reflect the policy stances, values ​​and principles of the broader electorate.”