Gaza supporters protest against Biden, warning: 'Don't blame us' if you lose
About 100 people gathered at the University of Michigan on Tuesday to urge Democrats to reject President Biden in the state's primary, a political rally that illustrated both the passion and limits of the effort to oust him to pressure Israel to stop waging war. in Gaza.
The rally, held by a group called Listen to Michigan, which is urging voters to cast their votes for “Not Recorded” against Mr. Biden in next week's primaries, called on Democrats to vote for the president in the to reject primaries.
The speakers in Ann Arbor and a crowd made up mostly of students showed energy and spoke out angrily about Mr. Biden's stance on Israel, but when the event started there were so few attendees that they could all stand in a circle. and so they did. holding hands.
Former Representative Andy Levin of Michigan, a progressive Democrat who was at the meeting, said it would be Mr. Biden's fault if his policies on Israel and Gaza caused him to lose the general election to former president Donald J. Trump, the likely Republican nominee. . Mr. Levin nodded to Michigan's large population of Arab Americans, whose frustration with Mr. Biden, along with discontent among young voters and progressives, has raised questions about the president's standing in the state, a crucial presidential battleground.
“Don't blame us,” said Mr. Levin, who, along with Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, has become one of the most prominent supporters of the Uncomposed movement. “He needs votes from Arab Americans, from people of color, from progressive Jews and from young people. He won Michigan in 2020 by just 150,000 votes, so politically we have a moment where we can raise our voices.”
Layla Elabed, Listen to Michigan's campaign manager and Ms. Tlaib's sister, said the campaign's goal was to earn “at least 20,000 votes” for Uncomposed.
“That is the number we will need to increase our political power,” she said.
“We will raise our voices at the ballot box,” said Abbas Alawieh, a former congressional aide and one of the group's organizers. “Vote non-committed, because a vote for non-committed is a vote for a ceasefire. A vote for Uncommitted is a vote against war.”
The Uncommitt action has the support of 39 state and local elected officials in Michigan, according to U.S. state and local elected officials a count by The Detroit News. Ms. Tlaib this weekend became the first member of Michigan's Democratic congressional delegation to break away from Mr. Biden and call for an uncommitted vote.
The Biden campaign began sending surrogates to the state this week to urge primary voters to support the president. On the first day of the campaign on Monday, Mitch Landrieu, a former mayor of New Orleans and co-chairman of the Biden campaign, said said in Flint, Michigan, that he had not expected the conflict in Gaza will end “soon.”
“Michiganders need to get clarity on the differences between Biden and Trump,” said Lavora Barnes, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. “Our job will be to help people remember that when there is a choice between two people in November, the only way to vote will be for Joe Biden.”
That could be a tough sell for activists and officials involved in the Uncomposed campaign if Mr. Biden doesn't bring about significant change in U.S. policy on the Gaza war.
Rima Mohammad, a member of the Ann Arbor school board who addressed the meeting on Tuesday, said she could not imagine how Mr. Biden could expect people who feel “shocked” by the death toll and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to support him. support during the presidential elections. election.
“President Biden has failed this community,” Ms. Mohammad said. “People feel increasingly betrayed as violence continues in Gaza.”