A Very Wise and Correct Decision as Arab American Leaders Endorse Harris for President

New Republic: Stunning Endorsement of Harris by Arab American Leadership

We've been saying it here ever since Israel began bombing Gaza.  The best chance the people of Gaza have to see this bombardment and destruction end is the election of Kamala Harris to the Presidency.  

Protest votes, in critical times, never achieve their intended outcome.  Israel is at war with Gaza right now, a war that, in spite of it being prompted by a very evil, destructive, tragic, Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, has gone beyond acceptable boundaries when it comes to civilian casualties.  Even though it is Hamas that uses the tactic of embedding itself among the civilian population, there is a measure of responsibility for a military with the technological advances of the IDF when it comes to deciding to go ahead and accept collateral damage among civilians and civilian infrastructure in order to achieve a military objective.  

The idea here is simple, really.  One is a cease fire, immediately, and then an assessment of the military situation.  The second is to make sure that humanitarian aid, including sufficient food, water, shelter and all kinds of medical supplies make it into Gaza and relieve the suffering population.  They are no less deserving, no less worthy and no less human than Israelis or Americans.  The time for political negotiation is later, this is the time for all of us to stop being political asses and racial and religious bigots and start showing some of the humanity that we claim as our own.  

Political Options for Arab Americans

Please pick up a copy of Project 2025 and give it a good, thorough read through.  

Project 2025 is the Trump agenda.  It is a thorough blue print for the establishment of a Christian nationalist dictatorship in the United States, and its authors, who are far right wing Evangelical Christians, representing an extremist faction that, if Trump succeeds in winning the White House, will enact its agenda to turn the country away from constitutional democracy into a living hell of tyrannical assault on anyone who is not white, Christian and lined up with the idea of a Christian nation.  

Individual constitutional rights will be removed, and the first people to be attacked, vilified, deported if possible, or pushed out if that's the case, will be Arab American supporters of the Palestinian people.  

Jill Stein cannot protect you from this.  Stein has never been able to deliver on a single promise she has ever made politically, because she has never exhibited anything close to the kind of leadership necessary to attract more than a tiny handful of supporters.  Her political understanding is dubious, she is not a patriotic American, but she is a dupe of Vladimir Putin.  She exhibits no leadership qualities and doesn't attract anyone to lead except a political party that doesn't seem very motivated to achieve its own objectives, because it never really tries.  

Donald Trump is your enemy.  He's the one who is going to push you out, more than likely in some illegal way, like turning his army of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers loose in your communities.  Hamtramck will resemble Gaza in more ways than one.  The restraint Arabs desire to see on American participation in this war, in its supply of ammunition for the Israelis, will not materialize.  The Christian nation that is part of the vision of Project 2025 has no room for an Islamic minority.  And since a vote for Stein is a vote for Trump, and a vote for Trump is a vote for the destruction of  the American Muslim community, this is not a wise choice.  

I certainly understand the reluctance to support Harris and exercise a political option that might get more attention from the administration.  But here's the reality of the situation.  The United States was one of the major world powers which used its influence to help create the state of Israel, and has been its biggest supporter.  Few Americans have any idea of the history of the Middle East and many of them have no concern about something happening on the other side of the world.  It's not possible to reverse a major foreign policy position in one single move.  And unfortunately, the political posture being taken by the Arab American community, a protest vote, is a weak gesture, probably futile since there are not enough Arab American votes on the same side to pull this off.  

But Harris is the best chance the people of Gaza have for a cease fire, which they need to survive, and to ensure that the humanitarian aid reaches the people without the interference of Israelis.  She is also the best chance for a full, workable solution to the problem.  Read that Project 2025 narrative again if you need to, the resolution they provide is to push Palestinians out of Gaza and off the West Bank and give the land to Israel, making 2.5 million Palestinians take to the road, become refugees and try to get help from the Arabs in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Egypt, never to return to their homes.  Harris stands for something much more substantial, realistic and beneficial for all involved.  She's the one with whom you should be taking your chances.

Don't Defeat Your Own Cause

Politicians are not always able to act on all of their convictions.  Learning how to win elections means learning how to negotiate, how to balance issues of character and leadership with political ambitions and actual, achievable goals that are empowered, not by the office for which one runs, but by the people who put them there.  For example, has Harris actually changed her personal convictions about fracking?  Not likely, but she is sending the signal that she is willing to negotiate, recognizing what others think along with those working in the field, and then making an attempt to balance those needs with those of the other side.  That's how politics in a democracy works.  

Neither Islam nor Judaism lend themselves to the empowerment of their people.  They are not democratic, they are theocratic and there is a strong belief that God's will is a specific end to which no compromise or negotiation must be made.  We need to recognize non-negotiables with the understanding that, in a democracy, our rights are only equal to all the other rights of the people.  And in this democracy, religion is a separate matter from politics entirely, which is exactly the opposite of the way it is in most Islamic-run countries.  The boundary of one's religious practice cannot be imposed on that of another, regardless of their religious belief.  

Palestinians have the right to self-determination and self rule.  But the Israelis have the same rights, and that has been affirmed by recognition of multiple world powers, including the United States.  That cannot be reversed or turned back, and that's a fact that everyone must recognize before there is peace. Arab Americans need to understand this and work from this framework, because there is no way to change it.  And those who are in the position to negotiate and have the power to enforce solutions, which includes the United States, must make the decision to enforce, and not cut corners or look the other way when there are violations, such as permitting Israeli settlement in the West Bank.  

It is obvious that there are elements on both sides who do not want peace, or who only want it on their own terms.  When those breakouts occur, they need to be handled accordingly, not by over-reacting or taking advantage of the opening, but quickly, sending the message and making it clear that this will not be tolerated.  Politicians who negotiate this must be fair, willing to listen and willing to take the kind of steps necessary for a resolution.  In Kamala Harris, we have this.  In Trump, all the Arab American population has is an enemy.  His mind and his position will never be friendly toward Islam.