‘Uncommitted’ supporters dance and celebrate in Dearborn
Long before the final votes were counted in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary, organizers of a protest movement against President Biden’s support for Israel had declared victory, dancing to the tunes of traditional Palestinian music at a Lebanese restaurant in downtown Dearborn of the state. Arab-American community.
“This is a resounding victory for our country’s pro-Palestinian, anti-war movement,” said Abbas Alawieh, a spokesman for Listen to Michigan, a group that formed three weeks ago urging voters to cast their ballots for the ‘non-committed’ option in the country. the state’s primaries instead of Mr. Biden.
The crowd of about 250 people erupted in cheers shortly after 9 p.m., when Mr. Alawieh announced that the number of “unpledged” votes exceeded former President Donald J. Trump’s margin of victory over Hillary Clinton in Michigan in 2016 of roughly 11,000 votes had surpassed. Organizers set that as a public milestone for their efforts, perhaps strategically aiming low.
A rabbi sang a chant calling for “no more war” and “a ceasefire now” and offered a prayer for peace in Hebrew and English.
By 10:30 p.m., more than 34,000 “unrecorded” votes had been counted, with only about a quarter of the total votes counted. Strong turnout in the Detroit area meant the movement was able to win enough votes to send at least one delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
Soon after, Mr. Biden released a statement thanking “every Michigander who made their voices heard today,” but he did not mention Israel, Gaza or the protest movement.
The president’s allies pointed out that he won the vast majority of votes in Michigan. Rachel Rosen, a spokeswoman for the pro-Israel group Democratic Majority for Israel, cast doubt on the significance of the results, saying in a statement that “today’s questions about what distraught Democrats will do in November are completely unreliable.”
But Michigan campaign manager Layla Elabed, listen, rejected such words of caution, telling reporters: “We need Joe Biden to listen to the voice of Michiganders. Listen to the voice of his core voters and demand now a permanent ceasefire and an end to this unconditional, unchecked funding to Israel.”
While some Arab-American voters have said there is nothing Mr. Biden can do to win them back, several speakers at the event suggested they would return to the Democratic fold if Mr. Biden changes his position on Gaza.
“We are no longer in a position to beg Democrats to listen to us,” said Detroit City Council member Gaby Santiago-Romero. “Honestly, none of us want Trump to win, and that’s exactly why we’re doing this. This is the only way we can raise the flag to Democrats that you are going to lose unless you call for an ultimate ceasefire.”
As the party began to wind down around 11 p.m., a group of seven people smoked double apple-flavored tobacco from a hookah in a corner of the Adonis restaurant. They had all voted ‘not committed’. Only one, Hussein Abdel-Hak, a dentist who opened the restaurant 21 years ago, said he would consider voting for Biden in the general election if the president called for an unconditional ceasefire.
“If he does it tomorrow, there might be a chance,” says Dr. Abdel-Hak, 57, who is Muslim. ‘But it’s getting too late. It would almost be against my religion to vote for him now.”