World
‘War criminal’: Arab Americans rebuff Biden campaign outreach over Gaza
Arab Americans are angry.
And they let United States President Joe Biden know it when they shunned his campaign manager as she visited Michigan to reach out to their communities this week.
Many elected Arab-American officials, including municipal leaders and state legislators, declined to meet with Julie Chavez Rodriguez, arguing that as long as there are mass killings in Gaza, they will not discuss the elections.
“It’s unfathomable at this point in time that we’re trying to talk about electoral politics with a genocide unfolding,” said Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, a Detroit suburb.
“This is not a time to talk about politics. This is a time for our humanity to be recognised, and for us to be sitting down with decision-makers and policymakers to talk about a change of course of what’s unfolding overseas. And it does not happen with campaign staff.”
Arab-American local officials in Southeast Michigan told Al Jazeera that their constituents are furious and frustrated with Biden’s policies in Gaza – anger that could prove detrimental to the president’s reelection chances.
Dearborn – home to large Palestinian, Lebanese, Yemeni and Iraqi communities – is known as the capital of Arab America. Hammoud noted that all four countries are being bombed by the US and its Israeli allies.
The mayor added that Arab Americans and the broader community in Dearborn feel “betrayed” by Biden’s unwavering support for Israel.
“I have residents who have had to dig their grandmothers up from under the rubble after Israeli fighter jets bombed their homes,” Hammoud told Al Jazeera.
“We have residents who hail from Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem, which is being ethnically cleansed. What do I tell them? What is the message to them?”
Michigan’s importance
The meeting that was being organised between Arab-American leaders and Chavez Rodriguez was subsequently cancelled after pushback from the community, several officials told Al Jazeera.
Arab Americans in Dearborn and other Michigan cities could play an outsized role in the US presidential elections, where the system is based on winning individual states.
Michigan, home to more than 10 million people, is a key “swing state” – not guaranteed to vote Republican or Democrat – and it is often won by fine margins.
In 2016, former President Donald Trump beat his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in the Midwestern state by fewer than 11,000 votes. So the estimated hundreds of thousands of Arab Americans in Michigan could sway the outcome of the election.
In recent election cycles, presidential candidates, particularly Democrats, started acknowledging the importance of the Arab vote: running ads in Arabic, meeting with community advocates and addressing Arab Americans’ specific concerns.
In 2020, Biden released a platform for Arab-American communities, promising to recognise the equality of Palestinians and Israelis and protect civil rights at home. He also sent his wife Jill Biden and running mate Kamala Harris to Dearborn to reach out to the Arab community there.
Despite grievances with his staunch support for Israel, Arab voters appeared to back Biden overwhelmingly. For example, in predominantly Arab polling locations in Dearborn, Biden won more than 80 percent of the votes, city data shows. That support helped him reclaim Michigan for the Democrats.
But as we head to the 2024 elections in November, which will likely be a rematch between Biden and Trump, Biden’s popularity among Arab Americans is tanking.
An Arab American Institute poll in October showed Arab American support for Biden plummeted to 17 percent after the war and some activists suspect that it may have sunken even further since then.
While Arab-American advocates stress their communities are not driven by a single issue, they say the scale of the carnage in Gaza and Biden’s uncompromising role in it makes it difficult – if not impossible – to support the 81-year-old president again.
“Arab Americans will not vote for Joe Biden, no matter what. That’s it. They’re done with Biden,” Sam Baydoun, a Wayne County commissioner who also declined to meet with Chavez Rodriguez, told Al Jazeera.
“That’s the bottom line. Joe Biden is not going to be able to regain the trust of the Arab-American community.”
Biden’s support for Israel
Biden has provided unconditional political and financial support to Israel since it started its war on Gaza on October 7. The president is requesting more than $14bn in additional aid for the US ally and the White House is still working with Congress to secure the funds.
Moreover, Palestinian rights advocates have accused him of contributing to the dehumanisation of Palestinians. In October, Biden described the thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza as “the price of waging war”.
In a statement marking the 100th day of the conflict earlier this month, the US president focused on Israeli captives in Gaza, failing to mention Palestinians altogether.
The Biden administration has also vetoed two United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for de-escalation in Gaza where more than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed.
This week, the Biden administration also suspended funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) based on unconfirmed Israeli allegations that some UNRWA workers participated in Hamas’s October 7 attack against Israel.
At the same time, Washington has categorically ruled out halting or conditioning aid to Israel, even after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly defied Biden in rejecting the two-state solution.
Still, the Biden administration argues that it is pushing Israel to minimise civilian casualties and trying to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza where the population is on the verge of famine according to rights groups.
Abraham Aiyash, the majority leader of the Michigan House of Representatives, dismissed Washington’s claims that it is trying to help the people of Gaza.
“‘Trying’ has led to nearly 30,000 dead, massive destruction of civilian infrastructure and a more emboldened far-right, fascist government in Israel. So if the United States is ‘trying’, I would be afraid of what it would look like if the US wasn’t trying,” Aiyash, who is of Yemeni descent, told Al Jazeera.
The Biden campaign did not return Al Jazeera’s request for comment by the time of publication.
‘War criminal’
Osama Siblani, the publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News, did meet with Chavez Rodriguez this week to deliver a scathing message to her face, he said.
“Biden is telling Israel, ‘Here is the money; here’s ammunition; here’s the political power; here’s whatever you need, go and kill.’ That is a war criminal. That’s how we see it,” Siblani said he told the campaign manager.
He added that he had received dozens of phone calls urging him to cancel the meeting but that he felt it was necessary to confront the Biden campaign.
“I told her I wanted to meet with you, but I wanted to relay a very strong message: If this man wants our vote, he has to do more than Jesus Christ – bring a lot more dead back to life. Thousands of people’s blood is on his hands,” Siblani told Al Jazeera.
Beyond the crisis in Gaza, Siblani said Biden has not lived up to his broader promises to the Arab community.
In his 2020 platform, the US president said he would reopen a consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem. That has not happened.
He also promised to protect free speech despite his opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. But his administration has done little to address the state-level crackdown on supporters of Palestinian rights.
Siblani said Arab Americans were also promised a seat at the table but they have been largely sidelined by the administration. “This is exactly why people are angry. They’re angry because he did not respect our vote. He didn’t even care. He still doesn’t care.”
Aiyash, who is one of the highest-ranking Arab and Muslim officials in the country, said neither the White House nor the Democratic Party has reached out to him for input since the war began.
The lawmaker said the White House’s disregard for those calling for a ceasefire in Gaza is “ill-advised” and “disrespectful”.
“It’s just shocking to me – given how significant Michigan is, and how much work the Arab and Muslim communities put in in 2020, to guarantee President Biden’s victory,” Aiyash told Al Jazeera.
What about Trump?
When asked about the Arab and Muslim vote, Biden and his aides have waved the prospect of Trump’s return to the White House, suggesting that the US president remains a far better option than his predecessor, who imposed a travel ban on several Arab and Muslim-majority countries. They have also argued that by November, Gaza may not be a leading issue.
Biden outlined that rationale earlier this month, saying, “The former president wants to put a ban on Arabs coming into the country. We’ll make sure we understand who cares about the Arab population, number one. Number two, we got a long way to go in terms of settling the situation in Gaza.”
Baydoun, the county commissioner, rejected both arguments. “We will not forget. This is a genocide,” he said. “We can no longer accept the lesser of two evils.”
Mainstream Democrats, including liberal commentators, Congress members and governors, have been emphasising the need to vote for Biden to stop Trump, whom they argue is a threat to democracy.
“Donald Trump is a threat to democracy,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told CNN earlier this month. “That’s why we need to re-elect Joe Biden, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” he added.
However, Mayor Hammoud said the question about preserving democracy against Trump should be posed to the White House, not those who oppose the war on Gaza.
“Some folks are asking, ‘How could the Arabs not vote for Biden? Trump is on the ticket’,” Hammoud said. “But my question is: If American democracy is under threat by the re-election of Trump, why is the US alignment with Benjamin Netanyahu worth threatening American democracy?”
Aiyash echoed that argument, stressing that large segments of the Democratic base, including young voters and people who care about human rights – not just Arabs and Muslims – are frustrated with Biden’s position on Gaza.
“If democracy is so important – and I believe it is – why is this administration allowing Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s extremist ideologies and genocidal military to take precedence over protecting democracy, over preserving the Republic?”
World
Intense Israeli strikes hit Iran and Lebanon as US warns the bombardment will ‘surge dramatically’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Intense Israeli airstrikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon early Friday as the U.S. apparently struck an Iranian drone carrier at sea in its unrelenting campaign against the Islamic Republic’s fleet of warships.
Iran launched new retaliatory attacks in the Middle East at the end of a full week of bombardment, which U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned was “about to surge dramatically.”
Israel’s military said Friday morning it had begun “a broad-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran, Iran’s capital. Witnesses described the Israeli airstrikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.
The Israeli military said strikes have already destroyed most of Iran’s air defenses and missile launchers.
The war has escalated to affect countries across the Middle East and beyond. Early Friday, Iran fired missile and drone attacks into Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries that host U.S. forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
In Lebanon, where the war has rekindled fighting between Israel and Iran-allied Hezbollah militants, Israel launched a series of airstrikes late Thursday into Friday in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas. Motorists jammed roads trying to flee or seek shelter.
The U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program.
In addition to Israel, Iran’s attacks have targeted their Arab neighbors, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed.
US says it struck an Iranian drone carrier
The U.S. military said early Friday that it struck an Iranian drone carrier, setting it ablaze.
The U.S. military’s Central Command released black-and-white footage of the burning carrier. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
The drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship with a 180-meter-long (yard) runway for drones. The vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports, reports said at the time of its 2025 inauguration.
Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, described the carrier as “roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier.”
“And as we speak, it’s on fire,” Cooper told reporters.
Earlier in the week, an American submarine sank an Iranian frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka as it was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian navy that the U.S. also joined. The sinking killed at least 87 sailors.
Under cover of darkness Friday morning, B-2 stealth bombers dropped dozens of 2,000 pound “penetrator” bombs on deeply buried ballistic missile launchers inside Iran, Cooper said.
“We’ve also struck Iran’s equivalent of Space Command, which degrades their ability to threaten Americans,” Cooper said.
Speaking alongside Cooper, Hegseth gave few details when he promised an upcoming surge.
“It’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities,” Hegseth said. “And it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.”
Iran targets country’s hosting US forces
Qatar’s Defense Ministry reported early Friday it intercepted a drone attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command.
Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles fired early Friday toward Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh, which hosts U.S. forces, said a spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, where the Interior Ministry said Iranian strikes targeted two hotels and a residential building. It said there were no casualties. In Kuwait, where the six U.S. soldiers were killed Sunday, the Kuwaiti army said its air defenses were activated when missile and drone attacks breached Kuwait’s airspace.
Cooper said Iranian attacks had now hit a dozen countries, who would be welcome to play a more active role in the conflict.
“Those 12 countries are none too happy and I look forward to working with all the partners who are willing to join us,” he said.
Trump again urges Iranians to “take back” their country
In brief remarks at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump again urged the Iranian people to “help take back your country.” This time he promised the U.S. would grant them “immunity” amid the war and ongoing dangers under the current Iranian regime.
“So you’ll be perfectly safe with total immunity,” Trump said, without giving any details about what that meant. “Or you’ll face absolutely guaranteed death.”
Cooper and Hegseth cautioned Iranians not to take to the streets while the conflict is still raging, however.
“It’s common sense, don’t go out and protest while bombs are dropping” Hegseth said.
“The best thing for them to do now is just to lay low,” Cooper added.
In an interview with the news website Axios, Trump said he should be involved in choosing Iran’s new supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trump spoke dismissively of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, being a front-runner to replace his father, calling him “a lightweight.”
“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said.
Iranian officials meet to discuss new leadership
Iranian state television reported Friday that a leadership council had started discussing how to convene the country’s Assembly of Experts, which will select the new supreme leader.
The leadership council includes President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi and cleric Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi.
The statement provided no timeline on the selection of the supreme leader, nor information on whether the Assembly of Experts would meet in person or remotely for the vote.
Buildings associated with the Assembly of Experts, a 88-member clerical panel, have been attacked during the Israeli-U.S. airstrike campaign.
Israel hits Lebanon with multiple airstrikes around Beirut
Israel carried out at least 11 airstrikes late Thursday and early Friday, targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut. Fires broke out near a gas station.
The Israeli army issued a warning Thursday evening, urging residents to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately.” Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff. No casualties were immediately reported.
The Lebanese health ministry said the death toll has risen to 123 since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which struck Israel in the opening days of the war.
A spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, Tilak Pokharel, said Thursday that peacekeepers had seen and heard clashes, including ground combat, in southern Lebanon as more Israeli forces have moved across the border.
___
Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia, Rising from Bangkok and Abou AlJoud from Beirut, Lebanon. AP journalists around the world contributed.
___
This version has corrected the date of the ship’s inauguration to 2025, not 2005.
World
Private flights account for 30% of departures from Oman airport as wealthy evacuate Middle East
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Long border crossings, SUV convoys and six-figure jet charters have become the new escape route out of the Middle East as Operation Epic Fury intensifies, with private flights now accounting for nearly a third of all departures from Oman’s main airport.
FlightRadar24, a real-time flight tracking platform, reported that while Oman continues to be a “vital” hub for evacuation and repatriation flights, private flights accounted for 31% of operations Wednesday at Muscat International Airport.
As of Thursday afternoon, the platform reported more than 30% of all movements at the airport were private flights.
Semafor reported earlier this week that airports in Oman and Saudi Arabia were drawing ultra-wealthy travelers looking to leave the countries.
Oman continues to be a “vital” hub for evacuation flights at its Muscat International Airport. (Christopher Pike/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
People familiar with the matter told the outlet that private security companies have been booking fleets of SUVs to take people on the 10-hour drive from Dubai to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where private flights are available.
The clientele evacuating the region are a mix of senior executives at global finance firms and wealthy travelers in the region for business or vacation, according to Semafor.
LIV golfer Jon Rahm, a two-time major winner, was just one of the wealthy who arranged flights amid the turmoil.
MIDDLE EAST CRUISE NIGHTMARE DEEPENS AS IRAN AIRSTRIKES LEAVE PASSENGERS STRANDED
Rahm arranged a charter flight through his partnership with VistaJet, a private aviation company, to fly the seven stranded LIV golfers and a caddie from Oman to Hong Kong after their flights were canceled.
After a more than four-hour drive to Oman, the crew flew to Hong Kong.
A spokesperson for Air Charter Service, a company that acts as a global broker for private jets and freight transport, told FOX Business the company has arranged more than 10 evacuation flights, with more scheduled, mainly out of Oman with passengers looking to flee Dubai.
AMERICAN STUCK IN MIDDLE EAST ESCAPES IN RACE TO REACH CRITICALLY ILL HUSBAND IN CALIFORNIA
FlightRadar24 shared flights flying in and out of Muscat airport. (@Flightradar24 via X)
“We evacuated some of our own staff who were just visiting the region, and we arranged transport via the Hatta crossing into Oman from the UAE to get them to Muscat from where they flew out of the region,” the spokesperson said. “The border crossing time at Hatta took around 3–4 hours, as of Sunday, but I suspect this has increased now, as more people look at this option.”
Light flight jet trips from Muscat, Oman, to Istanbul, Turkey, are reportedly going for more than $93,000, according to Forbes, which said the price was about double the usual rate.
The outlet added the same route on heavy jets can cost up to $140,000.
AMERICANS IN MORE THAN A DOZEN MIDDLE EAST NATIONS URGED TO FLEE
This map shows the targets of Iran’s retaliatory strikes. (Fox News)
The U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran Saturday, triggering retaliatory attacks targeting countries in the region that host U.S. interests.
Mora Namdar, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, advised U.S. citizens to leave Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
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The limited number of available aircraft has pushed up prices, as citizens and travelers attempt to flee.
Fox News Digital’s Ryan Morik and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
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