Kamala Harris Meets with Arab Leaders to Win Back Discontented Voters Unhappy with U.S. Support for Israel | WPN World People News

With the U.S. presidential election approaching, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris met with local Arab-American voters in Flint, Michigan, on the 4th, following a campaign rally, in an attempt to gain support from this community. Arab-American voters have expressed growing frustration over the U.S.'s delayed and insufficient intervention in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon conflicts.

Harris' team issued a statement noting that she listened directly to their concerns regarding the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. She expressed her own concerns about Gaza and discussed efforts to prevent a regional war. Wa'el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action, a U.S. Muslim advocacy organization that previously endorsed Harris and attended the meeting, said the conversation, originally scheduled to last 10 minutes, ended up lasting 20 minutes. He added that while Harris made no concrete promises, she told them, "She wants the war to end and will do everything she can to work toward that goal."

As Israel continues its offensive in the Gaza Strip and has recently shifted its focus northward toward Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran, where several Hezbollah leaders have been killed in airstrikes, the Middle East conflict appears to be escalating. Traditionally, Arab-Americans have tended to support the Democratic Party, but the Biden administration's handling of the Middle East crisis has weakened this community's support for the Democrats. Polls show that among likely Arab-American voters, Trump leads Harris by 46% to 42%. Michigan is home to nearly 400,000 Arab-Americans, the highest percentage of Arab citizens in the U.S. Since Biden narrowly won Michigan in 2020, the state is once again a critical battleground in this election.