Arab Americans disappointed but vindicated after Trump triumph

Community members in places like Michigan have for months been calling on Kamala Harris to move away from Joe Biden's policy on the Middle East

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The day after election day for Mohammad Qazzaz is business as usual – he potters around his family-owned coffee shop in Dearborn, Michigan, greeting customers and answering phone calls on what is likely to be a busy day.

Republican Donald Trump was announced the winner of the swing state of Michigan on Wednesday, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris.

Mr Qazzaz, who is Palestinian American, voted for third-party candidate Jill Stein this year, saying President Joe Biden's continuing support for Israel amid the wars in the Middle East was a factor in his decision.

Like many Arab Americans in Dearborn, he had enthusiastically cast his vote for Mr Biden four years ago, and was pleased when he won. Amid a bout of coronavirus, he had received a phone call from then-presidential candidate Mr Biden, who was running against Mr Trump.

What should have been five-minute call exchanging pleasantries as part of a campaign effort to reach out to Americans during the pandemic, turned into a 20-minute discussion about Palestine, Israel and US efforts to broker peace in the region. Mr Biden promised at the time that should he win, he would advance peace in the Middle East through a two-state solution to the prolonged Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But for Mr Qazzaz and other Arab Americans, Mr Biden has not done enough to end the Gaza war and his backing of Israel following its invasion of Lebanon early last month has only increased the community's ire.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who moved to the top of the ticket after the President ended his re-election bid, was seen by many as likely to continue the Biden administration’s policy of strong support for Israel.

“I am disappointed because I do remember when he [Mr Trump] was in office, he moved the [US] embassy to Jerusalem, he gave them [the Israelis] the Golan Heights in a ceremony at the White House,” Mr Qazzaz told The National.

“But I am also happy because the Democratic Party neglected us. They didn't care about our votes, they didn't care about our voice.”

In Dearborn, where more than half of the residents are Arab Americans, Mr Trump won with more than 42 per cent of the vote, according to city results released on Wednesday. His challenger Ms Harris received a little more than 36 per cent, while third-party candidate Jill Stein got more than 18 per cent.

Michigan was one of seven swing states this election. In 2020, Mr Biden won it by 150,000 votes. On Tuesday, results show Ms Harris lost it by nearly 81,000 votes.

The results were a stunning reversal from the 2020 presidential election, when nearly 69 per cent of people in the area cast their vote for Joe Biden while Mr Trump received 30 per cent. In the south end of Dearborn, an area with a large Arab population, Mr Biden received 88 per cent of the vote.

Officials noted that many residents who voted for Mr Trump, voted for Democrats in races further down ballot.

“It's vindicating,” Mustapha Hammoud, a Dearborn Dearborn City Council member, told The National. “Anybody here could have told you this was gonna happen. People here are OK with Trump winning. No one here is stressed at all.”

Walid Murad said he voted for Mr Trump this year, though four years ago he voted for Mr Biden.

“Arab Americans voted for Trump because he has the ideology that the US should not be sending money for wars abroad,” he told The National. “I think this was the main reason. And unfortunately, the Democrats caused the US to lose influence when they were seemingly unable to stop the killing of civilians. It makes no sense to me, could we as America really not stop at least the killing of civilians?”

When Mr Trump was president four years ago, he passed the so-called Muslim travel ban, enabled the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. There is concern that he may enact another Muslim ban, cut US humanitarian aid to Palestinians and criminalise anti-war protests.

Residents of the Michigan city say their priority is the Israel-Gaza war, which has killed more than 43,300 Palestinians, and the invasion of Lebanon, which has killed about 3,000 people. No place in the US has the impact of the conflicts been felt more than in Dearborn, where dozens of residents have lost relatives and loved ones.

Mr Trump had seized on Arab-American anger with the Biden administration and increased his outreach to the community through the aid of Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-American businessman whose son is married to the President-elect's daughter.

The President-elect has promised the community that he will end the wars in the Middle East and bring peace to the region – without providing details.