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Michigan's Arab American, left-wing communities vow 'uncommitted' against Biden in upcoming primary

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Michigan's Arab American, left-wing communities vow 'uncommitted' against Biden in upcoming primary


A crucial Democratic voting bloc in Michigan is leading the charge for a protest vote in Tuesday’s primary election against President Joe Biden for his support of Israel in its war against Hamas. 

Listen to Michigan, which describes itself as a multiracial and multifaith anti-war campaign, is spearheading the “Vote Uncommitted” effort, which encourages voters to show up to the polls and check off “uncommitted” on the ballot instead of Biden. 

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Michigan is home to the country’s second-largest Middle Eastern and North African population, according to US census data, with Wayne County having the highest percentage in any US county. Wayne County is home to the cities of Detroit and Dearborn, where much of the “Vote Uncommitted” effort is taking place. 

“In recent months, a critical question has plagued residents of Michigan: how to make our voices heard when President Biden officials ignore our pleas. This sentiment is deeply felt in the Detroit and Dearborn area, where the community is acutely aware of the devastation in Gaza – a crisis we feel intimately connected to, as it impacts our friends, families, and broader communities,” according to Listen to Michigan’s website. 

“Michigan voters are sending Biden a clear message in the February 27 Democratic primary that he can count us out. We are filling out the UNCOMMITTED bubble because we strongly reject Biden’s funding war and genocide in Gaza,” according to the website. “Uncommitted Michigan Democrats opposed to Biden’s policy in Gaza can demonstrate that we hold his margin of victory for re-election.”

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FTX Group CEO John J. Ray III listens while U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) speaks, at a U.S. House Financial Services Committee hearing investigating the collapse of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX after the arrest of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. (credit: SARAH SILBIGER/REUTERS)

Biden must earn their votes through a dramatic policy change, according to the website. 

“President Biden has been a successful candidate in the past by representing a broad coalition, but right now he’s not representing the vast majority of Democrats who want a ceasefire and an end to his funding of Israel’s war in Gaza. He’s not representing the young people who put him in office and turned out in the midterms — and are now out protesting his policies in the streets,” the website said. 

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Family ties in Michigan’s political scape

Listen To Michigan’s campaign manager, Layla Elabed, is Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s sister. 

Tlaib (D-MI) represents part of Dearborn and the majority of Dearborn Heights. Tlaib is the only Palestinian-American member of Congress and a leading voice in the ceasefire movement. Both Tlaib and Elabed did not return The Post’s request for comment. 

Tlaib encouraged Michiganders to vote uncommitted in a video posted on Listen to Michigan’s Instagram. 

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“It is important as you all know, to not only march against the genocide, not only make sure that we’re calling our members of Congress and local elected officals and passing city resolutions all throughout our country, it’s also important to create a voting bloc, something that has a bullhorn to say, enough is enough,” Tlaib said in the video. “We don’t want a country that supports bombs and destruction. We want to support life. We want to stand up for every single life killed in Gaza.”

“I want you to think of all of the amazing young children and the people whose lives were lost, and this is the way you can raise our voices don’t make us even more invisible. Right now we feel completely neglected, neglected and just unseen by our government,” Tlaib said. “If you want us to be louder, then come here and vote uncommitted.”

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Listen to Michigan and supporting organizations are driving their message on social media and through phone banking. 

Dearborn’s Mayor, Abdullah H. Hammoud, published an op-ed in the New York Times on Tuesday explaining why he’s voting uncommitted.

“I, like many of my fellow Americans, cannot in good conscience support the continuation of a genocide. This has weighed heavy on my heart, particularly as the presidential primary election in Michigan has drawn near. It is for that reason that I will be checking the box for “uncommitted” on my presidential primary ballot next Tuesday. In doing so, I am choosing hope,” Hammoud wrote. 

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However, Jewish Democrats expressed confidence in Michigan’s Arab voters showing up to the polls in November in support of Biden regardless of how they vote in the primary, banking on the shared threat of another Trump presidency as the driving factor. 

The Post spoke to a Biden campaign official in Michigan who declined to provide a comment on the matter. 

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Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer told The Post that voting “uncommitted” is playing with fire. 

JDCA endorsed Biden early on in the campaign and is leading efforts to galvanize Jewish Democratic support for him.

Soifer adamantly said that any effort to deflect or divert Democratic support for Biden is effectively electing Trump. Those who want Biden to win in November should absolutely support him in the primary, she said.  

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With Rashida Tlaib leading this effort, it’s almost guaranteed that Jewish voters in Michigan will not be listening, Soifer said. 

“Jewish voters are overwhelmingly not just supportive of Joe Biden, but very happy with his strong support of Israel in the aftermath of Oct. 7. His approval of the way he’s handling this war transcends partisan divides,” Soifer said “Not only will Jewish voters, whether they be in Michigan, or frankly any other state, be strongly supportive of Joe Biden in their primary, but they will also support him in the general.”

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“We’ve seen it happen in 2016 in Michigan and we don’t want to see it happen again,” Soifer said, referencing Bernie Sanders who won the primary. Trump won Michigan in 2016 by just over 10,000 votes, Soifer said, which was due to turnout. Biden won Michigan in 2020 by over 150,000 votes. 

Soifer described Trump as a threat to the shared values, security and freedoms of the Jewish and Arab communities in Michigan

While Soifer thinks the “Vote Uncommitted” movement isn’t going to gain much traction, she said the aftermath of the movement is dangerous for Democrats. 

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“For those who have voted uncommitted as perhaps a protest vote, what will they do in the general? Are they going to do it again in the general?” Soifer said. “Because as I said, either a non-vote, or a vote for a third party candidate or position, in this case, is a vote for Donald Trump. And we’ve seen it happen before in Michigan.”

Soifer said Democrats can bring protest voters back to support Biden in November by talking about shared policy priorities and shared threats emanating from MAGA extremism.  





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Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing

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Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing


One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week. 

“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters. 

“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”

Urban Meyer reacted to the fallout of Sherrone Moore’s shock firing from Michigan. Getty Images
The former Michigan football coach was fired for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a. staffer. AP

That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

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The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.

Sherrone Moore was charged on Friday with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors. AP

On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.


Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore


Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.

“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’

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Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland

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Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland


COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83.

Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14.

Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.

Diggy Coit made eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Terrapins (6-5, 0-2), who lost center Pharrel Payne to a right leg injury late in the first half and forward Solomon Washington to ejection after he picked up his second technical foul early in the second half.

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Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points and 22 before the break, helping to prevent Michigan from opening a lead larger than six in the first half.

The Terps lost Payne, their leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, with 4:36 remaining before halftime. Yet Maryland stretched its lead from one to 50-45 at the midpoint, then expanded it to 56-47 on Elijah Saunders’ 3.

Washington, who had a first-half technical for celebrating a 3 in front of the Michigan bench, was called for a delay-of-game technical just after Saunders’ basket. His departure left the Terps without their two most experienced and imposing interior players.

Lendeborg took advantage, scoring the next eight points. Mara’s dunk with 14 minutes left made it 64-63 and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.

Elliot Cadeau’s layup with 21.2 seconds remaining got the Wolverines to 100 points for the fifth time this season.

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Up next

Michigan hosts La Salle on Dec. 21.

Maryland visits No. 24 Virginia on Dec. 20.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools

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Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools


GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After beginning a direct admittance program at one West Michigan high school in November, Aquinas College has now expanded the program to cover more classrooms.

The guaranteed admission program, first implemented for graduates of West Catholic High School with a 2.0 GPA or above, has now been expanded to Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids and Muskegon Catholic Central High School.

The partnership will apply to students from all three schools entering college in the fall of 2026.

The direct admission program was described by Aquinas College leaders as offering high school students a “clear path to college success” while also continuing to develop partnerships.

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Aquinas College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution located at 1700 Fulton St. E, was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids in 1886.

The college has enrolled 1,262 students during the 2025-26 academic year, and its new student numbers are up, with 419 new students on campus this fall, up from 311 in 2024-25.

The college’s overall enrollment total is just slightly under the approximately 1,300 students Aquinas recorded across its campus in 2023-24, according to a press release sent out in January 2025.

This year’s partnership announcements do not mark Aquinas’ first direct admittance deal.

The college also has a direct admit bachelor’s in nursing partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy, which allows students to take core curriculum courses at Aquinas and nursing classes from Detroit Mercy faculty.

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On Nov. 14, Aquinas announced its direct admittance deal with West Catholic High School.

The school, located at 1801 Bristol Ave. NW, enrolled just over 500 students as of the 2024-25 school year, according to an online school profile.

West Catholic President and CEO Jill Wierzbicki said the initiative simplifies the college application process and offers students a straightforward path to higher education.

On Nov. 20, Aquinas then announced it had also partnered with Grand Rapids’ Catholic Central High School, 319 Sheldon Blvd SE, which enrolls 567 students and is the oldest co-educational diocesan Catholic high school in the nation.

Brian Matzke, vice president for enrollment management, said there’s “no doubt that Aquinas here has had more graduates from Catholic Central than any other school in our history.”

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On Dec. 10, the college announced another partnership deal with Muskegon Catholic Central High School, 1145 W Laketon Ave., which enrolled just under 300 students in 2023-24, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Jerry McDowell, Muskegon Catholic Central president, said both the high school and Aquinas share a “deep commitment to developing the whole student — academically, spiritually, and individually.

“This direct-admit program provides our graduates with an exceptional opportunity to transition confidently into higher education while maintaining the Catholic values that guide their formation,” McDowell said.

Aquinas’ listed price for traditional undergraduate tuition is $41,192, according to senior director of strategic communications Dave DeJonge.

Students are eligible for annual merit scholarships between $15,000-$25,000, depending on their GPA and housing status. Additional scholarships may be available. This applies to all students who are admitted to Aquinas.

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Matzke highlighted the direct admittance program’s easy transition from one West Michigan school to another, with those accepted to Aquinas able to live on campus or commute from home depending on what best fits their needs.

He also said a growing Grand Rapids job market, combined with support from the college’s career center, contributes to a 97% placement rate for graduates.



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