On the Arab American Vote

It's a Complex Issue

“I’d like Egypt to take people”

“You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over.’”

This was Trump, speaking over the weekend about the population of the Gaza Strip, one of two autonomous Palestinian lands and the site of over a year of interminable bombing by the Israeli Army.

Earlier this month, Trump’s Ambassador to Israel, evangelical whack job Mike Huckabee, appeared on MAGA State TV (Fox News), where he was asked about a two-state solution to the Palestinian situation. His answer was "No, I think we have to recognize, there was a Palestinian state, it was called Gaza. Look how that turned out!”
(Emphasis added)

Note the past tense. It’s pretty telling.

Neither of these positions are terribly surprising. Nor are the many variations of “I wonder how the people of Dearborn feel now” comments that I have heard, and continue to hear, from people who are upset and looking for someone, anyone, to blame for the nightmare we find ourselves in.

While I understand the sentiment, I also have a pretty significant issue with this mindset. By and large, the folks criticizing the Arab communities who, misguidedly, in my opinion, turned their backs on Kamala Harris as a form of protest or punishment, are Americans, and generally college educated folks. Of course they are welcome to their opinion, and they can be upset with whomever they want, but they also don’t have any way to fully understand the dynamics at play.

Most Americans don’t understand why the Palestinians, and other Arab Americans, would make such a seemingly suicidal choice to either vote for a third party candidate in the 2024 election or, worse, vote for Trump. And yet a large percentage of that population did just that, helping Trump to win a second term. Common sense tells us that the Palestinians would find allies in only one of the major parties, and it wasn’t the one that took the White House. So what would make people who are generally smart, politically informed, and have always tended to lean left do this?

What most Americans fail to grasp is that many of these Arab Americans have had friends and family displaced, or in some cases killed, during the latest fighting in Gaza. They have lost people to American bombs dropped by an American Ally. The Democratic government that they supported for years stood by and let it happen, with only lip service being paid to stop Israel from doing genocide. That same government ignored multiple outreach attempts from the Arab American community. The attitudes of the Biden Administration gave rise to the Uncommitted movement, who took their name from the fact that they voted “uncommitted” in the Michigan Democratic primary in an effort to send a message to the Biden administration that they would not just blindly continue their support of the Democrats. There’s a reason Arabs called the former President Genocide Joe, and unfortunately Kamala Harris did not do enough to separate herself from Biden’s lack of action to protect the Gazans.

The very least the Harris campaign could have done was to give the Palestinians a voice. Allowing a representative to speak at the Democratic National Convention, even if it was at noon on the first day, would have gone a long way toward winning over some Arab voters. Instead they strung the Arab delegation along, eventually denying them a place on the stage. Making matters worse, they had the parents of one of Hamas’ slain hostages speak during prime time. Obviously this family also suffered from a terrible loss, but once again, the Palestinians felt like they were not being represented.

When a group feels like they are not being heard, being taken seriously, then eventually they are going to change tactics. This is precisely what the Arab Americans did. They felt that they could threaten to take their votes elsewhere, that this would force the Harris campaign to hear them. Leaders in the community made multiple overtures to the Harris campaign, practically begging them to come to the table, to at least consider speaking on the Palestinian plight.

Unfortunately, when their phones did ring, it was Trump, swooping in to cynically lie to them mere days before the election. Thing is, they were so thirsty to have someone, anyone, hear them that when he pretended that he did, many fell for his lies. As can be imagined, many on the left could not believe the Arabs were so gullible. “You know he is lying, he is going to screw you over… you have to see this.” Well, yes, one would think so. Unfortunately, by this point it was too late.

With the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear that the strategy of the Arab Americans was doomed. If their gambit to keep Harris from the Presidency failed, then they would lose any leverage to move the Democratic party to a more Pro-Palestinian position. If they succeeded, they would, and did, end up with Trump, perhaps the literal definition of a pyrrhic victory. Perhaps some in the community believed Trump when he told them he wanted to help the Palestinians, but deep inside most had to know this simply would not be the case.

In fact, some Arab American activists were not fooled, but also felt helpless to make a difference. After Trump’s win, Dearborn activist Abbas Alawieh reflected on the future of the Palestinian cause.

“Trump came to Dearborn and made a lot of promises,” he said, adding that residents he has spoken to are wondering what Trump will do for Palestinians. Alawieh thinks the reality is obvious. “It’s clear as day that he’s playing us,” he said. “I think he’s going to target us. That’s what he’s going to do. He’s going to target our families, and it’s going to hurt. So, I think we’re about to find out.”

In conclusion, while I understand how people can blame the Arabs for Trump’s victory, it’s not such an easy calculus. While the Arab vote may have sunk Harris’ chances in Michigan, it did not effect any of the other six swing states she lost. We have another Trump administration for a complex combination of world events, Democratic ineptitude, social media propaganda, and many other causes. To single out the Arabs would be to just continue a decades-long tradition of scapegoating.

---

Average White* Guy is a collection of thoughts from Marwan Saidi. It’s primarily a place for me to dump my thoughts in an effort to get them out of my head and give me some calm. It’s also a place where my friends and family can opt in to my neuroses so I can keep it out of other family gatherings. :)

* - I am Palestinian American, but you would probably not think that based on my appearance or (lack of) accent. For years I would check White on the race section of forms because there wasn’t an option that fit better.