Harris meets with Arab and Muslim leaders in Michigan

Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday met with Arab and Muslim leaders while campaigning in Michigan, a crucial battleground state where roiling discontent over the United States’ backing of Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s escalating attacks in Lebanon could threaten her support.

“The big takeaway was that she fully understands the severity of the situation, she absolutely understands the impact this has had on our communities, and the potential impact this could have on voters,” said Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action, a group that mobilizes Muslim American voters and has endorsed Harris.

During the meeting, which took place backstage at a rally in Flint, Michigan, Muslim and Arab leaders pressed Harris to work toward ending the Israel-Hamas war, expressed concerns about the civilian casualties and about tens of thousands of people being displaced in Lebanon, Alzayat said.

He added that Harris, who was joined by her campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, said she understood the frustrations in the community and was committed to finding a path to peace. The meeting was originally scheduled for 10 minutes but ran for 20, sending a strong message about “the gravity of the current moment we’re in,” he said.

Harris’ campaign said in a statement that she expressed her concern for the “scale of suffering in Gaza,” and outlined her goal to end the war in Gaza, which started after Hamas attacked Israel nearly one year ago, on Oct. 7. The vice president also expressed her desire to secure the release of hostages taken during the attack, and continue to ensure Israel’s security while also seeing to it that Palestinian people can “realize their right to dignity, freedom, self-determination.”

Harris also expressed her concern about civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon, and reiterated the Biden administration’s desire for a diplomatic solution and preventing a regional war, the campaign said.

The meeting came as Harris’ campaign had ramped up efforts to appeal directly to Arab and Muslim voters in the final weeks before the election.

On Wednesday, her national security adviser, Phil Gordon, met with Muslim, Arab and Palestinian American community leaders and discussed similar topics. On Thursday, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, appeared at a virtual “Million Muslim Votes: A Way Forward” event, which was hosted by Emgage Action.

Battleground states such as Michigan, which Trump won in 2016 but swung to President Joe Biden in 2020, are crucial to Harris’ hopes for November. A recent New York Times/Siena poll found that she and Trump were neck-and-neck in the state.

The state has more than 200,000 Muslim voters. (In 2020, Biden won there by 154,000 votes.) Arab American and Muslim voters also helped Biden defeat Trump in other battlegrounds, including Pennsylvania and Georgia.

In the lead-up to the election, Muslim and Arab groups have grappled with how to mobilize their communities to support Harris, even while many are unhappy with Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

Harris has not signaled that she would break from Biden’s foreign policy, a conundrum that she faces as a candidate who is the sitting vice president. But she has been more vocal in expressing empathy for the plight of Palestinians and in condemning Israel’s killing of civilians and its role in fueling a humanitarian catastrophe.

Alzayat said his group told Harris during the meeting that she needs to try to impress upon Biden that he has to end the war, and if not, commit to ending it herself, if elected. He also requested more diversity on her foreign policy team, should she win.

“At the end of the day, it’s the policy decisions that will ultimately matter,” he said. “I didn’t get a sense that she was patronizing us or just giving us platitudes. She is waiting to win this thing so she can put her own imprint on these policies.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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