Progressive Rep. Primila Jayapal (D-Wa.) said that President Joe Biden will lose votes from Muslims and Arabs in 2024 due to his full-throated support of Israel in the midst of its conflict with Hamas terrorists.
She warned Biden to be ‘careful’ when it comes to supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, but not also taking the same stance when it comes to Palestinians’ right to self determination.
Meanwhile, Arab-Americans in Michigan have expressed that they widely share the view Biden is taking the wrong approach with Israel – but it’s unclear who they would vote for in 2024 if not the current president.
Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips (Minn.) launched this month a longshot presidential primary bid, but even if the entire Arab and Muslim voting bloc rallied around him, it wouldn’t be enough to defeat Biden in a primary.
An NBC poll shows that six in 10 Democrats want Biden to face a challenger in 2024, but it’s still unclear if Phillips has what it takes to give Biden a run for his money in a primary election.
Meanwhile, all the Republican candidates are staunchly pro-Israel, which is evident by all top contenders speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday.
Progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wa.) said President Joe Biden needs to be ‘careful’ about losing Arab and Muslim votes in 2024 due to his stance and support for Israel
WATCH: @RepJayapal (D-Wash.) has been “one of President Biden’s biggest supporters” but worries that his response to Israel will cost him support from Arab and Muslim voters.
“I am certainly concerned about his approach. … He needs to call us to a higher moral place.” pic.twitter.com/VT4jTCmgG6
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) October 29, 2023
‘I have been one of President Biden’s biggest supporters,’ Rep. Jayapal told NBC Meet the Press host Kristen Welker on Sunday.
But she added: ‘I am certainly concerned about his approach [to Israel].’
Hamas attacked Israel earlier this month in a multi-front offensive that led to the largest single-day massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. So far, more than 1,400 Israelis were killed in the conflict.
‘He is, I think, going to be challenged to explain an issue of this moral significance to people,’ Jayapal said of the highly-contentious issue of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
‘The American people are actually quite far away from where the President and even Congress – the majority of Congress – has been on Israel and Gaza,’ she insisted. ‘They support the right for Israel to defend itself, to exist. But they do not support a war crime exchange for another war crime. And I think the President needs to be careful about that.’
While there have been widespread protests in support for Palestinian people, the general consensus in the U.S. remains support for Israel.
Republicans have denounced calls for ceasefires, claiming this is a way of telling Israel not to defend itself.
Meanwhile, the GOP also points out that Hamas terrorists are using innocent Palestinian people as human shields, which is what they say has led to the large loss of Palestinian lives in the three-week conflict.
Jayapal made clear that Rep. Phillips is not the alternative that Muslim and Arab voters should turn to in 2024, claiming he has nearly an identical stance to issues as President Biden.
‘Everyone’s got the right to run. But, I’m sorry, I have no idea what he is running on that is different from what President Biden is running on,’ Jayapal said on Phillips’ bid.
‘He took the same bold stances that President Biden has taken in this country on domestic issues,’ she added.
During her interview, Jayapal was careful to say she was proud of Biden’s ‘domestic’ agenda as the president’s own party has turned against him on foreign issues after a series of blunders – including and starting with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
‘I have been one of President Biden’s biggest supporters. I have been proud to be a partner as he has been courageous and strong on the domestic front,’ Jayapal said Sunday morning.
Arab Americans are outraged over Biden’s support of Israel.
The president visited the Jewish state in the wake of Hamas’ attacks and told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during that visit the U.S. ‘will continue to have Israel’s back.’
President Joe Biden visited Israel and told its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. ‘will continue to have Israel’s back,’ which has enraged pro-Palestinian Americans who blame Israel for killing civilians in Gaza during the conflict with Hamas
A New York Times report notes that Arab, Muslim and Palestinian voters in Michigan are likely to abandon Biden in 2024, and could contribute to him losing the state.
Michigan-based Palestinian-American organizer Nada Al-Hanooti said there are 200,000 registered Muslim voters in Michigan, a state Biden won by under 155,000 votes in 2020.
Muslim voters represented a significant turn-out for Biden in Michigan with 145,000 casting their ballot for him.
‘In 2020, the Muslim community was instrumental in turning out the vote for Joe Biden,’ said Al-Hanooti. ‘We did a lot of get-out-the-vote efforts.’
Jayapal, a progressive congresswoman and ally of Biden, said Sunday that Biden ‘needs to be just as courageous on this issue [of Israel[ so that we keep the unity within our country for the support of the incredible things that he has done.’