Black and Arab US citizens may turn away from Joe Biden because of his Gaza policy. But even Donald Trump is not an alternative to the needs of the community, say activists.
PHILADELPHIA - The symbolic mix of soul food and Palestinian dishes had been consumed to mark the end of the Ramadan fast, and Palestinian Americans' comments about the war in Gaza had just ended at the Masjidullah Community Center when Suad Islam stepped up to a microphone and um asked for political advice.
“This presidential election is very disappointing. Is there a candidate you would suggest we vote for? Because I don’t know any Muslims who would vote for Biden,” said Islam, who is black and has lived in Philadelphia all her life. “Who should we vote for? I’m just very disappointed.”
Islam, who has lived in Philadelphia since the 1970s, has voted in every election since she was 18, almost always for Democrats. In 2020, she preferred President Biden to Donald Trump and even volunteered at a polling station. But she said she couldn't imagine voting for Biden again, not with more than 33,000 dead in Gaza, many of them fellow Muslims.
“The economy, the crime rate. Every time I go to the gas station I want to cry,” Islam said in an interview, listing the things going through her mind as she considers whether to vote in November. “It’s just a whole bunch of things going on. This is disappointing. But of course this war is at the top of my list.”
Trump presidency as a threat
As the Gaza war enters its seventh month, some Black Americans say Biden's handling of the conflict makes them question whether he deserves a second term. That's according to interviews with nearly two dozen voters, opinion leaders and activists grappling with a political and moral conundrum in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
For some, the conflagration 6,000 miles away has already influenced their voting decisions, displacing domestic concerns like the economy, inflation and crime. Others say the war in the Middle East, which has already cost thousands of lives and brought a region to the brink of famine, reflects other tragedies affecting people of color - and that Biden's support for what they see as moral See catastrophe, should have consequences at the ballot box.
Still others see the biggest threat in something completely different: another Trump presidency.
Coalition in the USA could splinter
Where these voters ultimately end up could play an outsized role in who occupies the White House next year. Pennsylvania is one of the few battleground states seen by both Republicans and Democrats as crucial to winning the presidency. In 2020, Biden won the state by just over 80,000 votes, including a 4-to-1 ratio in heavily Black Philadelphia. But there are signs that the coalition that elected him is splintering.
Reflecting the importance of the state and its largest and most diverse city, Biden visited Philadelphia more than 20 times as president - more than any other city except his hometown of Wilmington. Biden is spending most of this week in Pennsylvania: two days in Scranton, where he partly grew up, a day in Pittsburgh and Thursday in Philadelphia.
But even as he visits their city, some Black Philadelphians are focused on how his policies play out half a world away.
Middle East conflict affects black population in the USA
“I want the president to get it right because it’s right. That's the first reason, but beyond that there are political consequences if he doesn't get it right," said the Rev. Mark Tyler, the senior pastor of Mother Bethel AME Church, who plans to attend the Democratic National Convention this summer. He said he lost count of how many conversations he had with community members about the Middle East conflict.
“And it would be a mistake to think that this [conflict] will not have an impact on Black voters, who connect with this history in a way that other Americans perhaps cannot,” Tyler said.
Israel began its war in the Gaza Strip after Hamas militants breached the border fence between Israel and Gaza, killing 1,200 people, many of them civilians, and taking about 250 others hostage. In response, Israel has launched a military campaign that has devastated large parts of the enclave while severely restricting humanitarian aid.
Making matters worse, Iran fired a volley of missiles and drones into Israel last weekend in retaliation for a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria. Most of the weapons were fired by Israel and its allies, but the incident has raised fears of a wider conflict.
Territorial dispute: The Middle East conflict has historical origins
Israel's supporters reject claims that the invasion of Gaza is racist or reflects American racial dynamics. Rather, the 150-year-old Arab-Israeli conflict stems from a territorial dispute between two groups that are historically linked to the same country. The country's supporters also point out that Jews themselves have been victims throughout history, and that providing them with a safe haven is a central reason for Israel's existence.
But since the Gaza war raged, Biden and other Democrats have faced protests against the Palestinian deaths at almost all of their public events. In Scranton on Tuesday, after Biden gave a campaign speech on tax policy, the president's motorcade was greeted by demonstrators who chanted, "Biden Biden, you can't hide." We charge you with genocide” and “Welcome home, Scranton Joe – make sure the people of Gaza have a home too.” Protesters also shouted at Biden as he visited his childhood home.
Initiatives against Biden's Israel policy: Arab and Black Americans are moving together
In several states, Muslims and Arab Americans have organized movements calling on members of their communities — as well as people of color, liberals and others unhappy with Biden's support of Israel — to vote "uncommitted" in the Democratic primary, an action that has been in Michigan brought in more than 100,000 votes.
For seven months, organizers in Philadelphia have been stirring up a similar movement ahead of Pennsylvania's April 23 Democratic primary. They claim that Israel's military attack is similar to other racist oppressions that required a global moral response: Jim Crow in the American South or apartheid in South Africa.
This sentiment has led to a growing connection between Black and Arab American activists.
Black Americans “have been struggling with this situation for many, many years,” said Osama Al-Qasem, who leads the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “They understand what we are going through and that is why they feel compassion and support our fight as well. This way the built-in relationship becomes a hub that we can use.
Biden has made racial justice a central focus of his administration, and during his reelection campaign he highlighted the progress Black Americans have made during his presidency. If Trump were to move back into the White House, he and his deputies argue, this progress would be wiped out.
Biden has stressed that he needs Black voters to get him back to the White House, but recent polls have shown that support from that demographic has been declining since 2020 nationally and in the battleground states that are likely to decide the election.
According to the poll, a fifth of Black Americans would vote for Trump
About nine in 10 Black voters in Pennsylvania and other key states chose Biden over Trump in 2020, exit polls and similar surveys showed. However, a March Wall Street Journal poll of voters in seven swing states found that 68 percent of registered Black voters would "definitely" or "probably" vote for Biden in the 2024 election, while 20 percent said they would probably vote for Trump voices. Numerous national and state surveys this year have found similar results.
Biden's campaign announced in August that it was spending $25 million to reach key voters in battleground states, including the largest and earliest investment in Black media for a reelection campaign in history. These ads highlight Biden's efforts to narrow the racial wealth gap and note that he is responsible for the lowest Black unemployment rate in history.
In addition, Biden last month ran two commercials aimed at Black voters in battleground states, touting his administration's pandemic relief efforts and successful efforts to cap the price of insulin at $35 a month.
“At both the national and state levels, this campaign is committed to reaching out to Black voters earlier and more frequently than any other campaign to date,” Kellan White, a senior Pennsylvania adviser for Biden-Harris 2024 and a Philadelphia native, said in a statement .
Critics are too short-sighted about the Middle East conflict
Biden's defenders say critics have a dangerously short-sighted view of the Middle East conflict and that efforts to turn Black voters away from Biden play directly into the hands of Trump, who would be far worse for both Black Americans and Palestinians.
Biden is handling the Gaza war as best as he can, they add. “You can't solve the problem of the Middle East if you're a purist or an idealist,” says Marshall Mitchell, pastor of Salem Baptist Church of Abington, a Black church in Montgomery County, Pa. “They don’t understand the power of quiet diplomacy. They’ll hold out their hand, and then you won’t be able to turn Pennsylvania back.”
At the mosque and community center where Islam voiced her election concerns, many who came to learn about the Palestinian cause acknowledged that it was just one of the issues that would influence the decisions of Black voters.
Salima Suswell, head of the Black Muslim Leadership Council and one of the organizers of the cross-cultural event, said she empathizes with the suffering of Gazans who share her faith. But she also understands that it is difficult for people to put their own interests aside in order to represent a political point of view, even on such a controversial issue.
Salima Suswell: “Trump is a threat to our society”
“Some people feel like there are domestic issues that need to be prioritized, like gun violence in a city like Philadelphia where Black Muslim children are being murdered,” Suswell said. “Many people feel that we need a ceasefire here in our city. And to some degree there is also some frustration among people who see Trump as a major threat to our community.”
Suswell was one of the few Muslim leaders invited to the White House this month to speak about the war in Gaza and other issues. She has also organized events in her hometown to educate Black Philadelphians about the plight of Palestinians and show them how the community can influence U.S. politics.
Others are disappointed by the idea of having to choose between two parties whose policies toward Israel may not differ significantly.
“I think it has been recognized that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans really represent our interests. They do not represent the interests of black people. They do not represent the interests of the poor and the working class,” said Melina Abdullah, who recently became the candidate of third presidential candidate Cornel West.
In 2015, she and other founding members of Black Lives Matter issued a statement of solidarity with the Palestinians. “We don’t have to choose the lesser of two evils,” Abdullah said. “The lesser of two evils is still evil.”
In contrast, Rahima Abdullah, 67, a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, said the events of the last six months did not deter her from voting for Biden. Voting undecided or staying at home is a vote for Trump.
“I just feel like we have to do it,” she said of voting for Biden. “And then we have to pray.”
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on April 18, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com” - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.