Demonstration in Michigan in solidarity with the Palestinians (French)

In Dearborn, in the northern United States, where Arabic is often used in stores, many residents confirm that the Gaza war hits them to the core and intend to punish President Joe Biden at the ballot box because of his support for Israel.

In the Detroit suburb, Samra Luqman stood distributing flyers, telling the worshipers coming out of the mosque after Friday prayers, “Vote for Palestine, not for Biden,” and many people responded, “Absolutely.”

A brown woman is an official in the “Abandon Biden” campaign in Michigan, one of the main states that weighs the outcome of the presidential elections, and where every vote has weight.

Samra's goal is simple: to overthrow Biden in the elections in which he is trying to win a second term on the fifth of next November.

The primaries are an opportunity for Americans of Arab descent to show their position on Biden (French)

The Yemeni-born activist confirms that this Democratic president “is not only complicit in genocide, but also commits genocide and finances it” by providing aid to Israel.

In 2020, Biden won the state of Michigan against Republican Donald Trump, but an opinion poll showed a short time ago that Biden is lagging behind his opponent this year.

The activist adds, "The only way for me to vote for Biden is for him to bring 30,000 people back to life," referring to the number of martyrs of the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Free Palestine

The activist urges voters not to choose Biden during the Democratic primary elections on February 27 in Michigan, but rather to vote with a blank paper or write “Free Palestine” on the card.

"The goal is to put pressure on the president to demand a permanent ceasefire" and to show him that the voters who contributed to his victory can withdraw their support for him, Abbas Alawiya, spokesman for Listen Michigan, told AFP.

This initiative - which made a call to boycott Biden during the primary elections - was formed by many people, including Laila Al-Abd, the sister of the Democratic Representative from Michigan, Rashida Tlaib, who is of Palestinian origin.

“Within this group, many people were directly affected by the war,” says Alawiyah, a Lebanese-born Democratic strategic affairs expert who was director of the office of leftist representatives in Washington for several years.

He warns that Democrats "may lose this group not just in November, but perhaps for a generation."

As for Muhammad Al-Ammara, a medical student of Iraqi origin (23 years old), he voted in 2020 for Biden, but he says today, “That was the worst mistake of my life,” noting that “You cannot kill 30,000 people and expect us to vote for you,” and stressed that he had decided. His order regarding the November elections, stressing that “I will never vote” for Biden again.

Yes to Trump?

Although she voted for the Democrats in the last elections, nurse Fatima Al-Saghir (27 years old) confirms that she is ready to vote for Trump, and explains, “I think I will choose the lesser of two evils, and Trump is the lesser of two evils.”

In the face of the lack of understanding that often arouses the choice of voting for Trump, who during his previous term issued a controversial decree on immigration that targeted Islamic countries, Samra Luqman says that she is well aware of the bet, and asserts, “We are not stupid. My goal is to punish Biden. I survived Trump’s ban, except that The children of Gaza did not survive Biden.”

Addressing those who doubt the validity of this option, Alawiya says, "How dare you tell me that later you will bear responsibility for what Trump does. Do not come to me. Call your representatives and tell them that you want a ceasefire. When the bloodshed stops, we can talk about the political repercussions."

A leaflet distributed by activists calling for voting against Biden in the primary elections (French)

In this region, which is considered the cradle of the automobile industry, many workers, the majority of whom are members of unions - with leftist leanings - also express their anger.

Marwan Baydoun works in a steel factory and is a member of the Automobile Workers Union, which announced its support for the current president. Baydoun confirms that he is “very angry” at Biden’s support for Israel and announced that he will stop contributing to the Political Action Fund of the Labor Union, but that he will remain a member of it.

Beydoun remained “very supportive of the Democrats” for a long time and a major supporter of the union movement, but he prefers not to say how he will vote in the presidential elections, and stresses that Biden “must wake up” and change his policy if he wants to obtain his support.

However, this seems unexpected now, as the US administration yesterday once again used its veto power in the Security Council to disrupt a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Source: Al Jazeera + French