Arab Americans who backed Trump disappointed by pro-Israel picks for cabinet and senior roles

President-elect has nominated loyalists and pro-Israel candidates to key positions in charge of foreign policy

The Trump campaign's overtures to the Arab-American community gained him some support in key swing states. AP

During his campaign, Donald Trump reached out to Arab Americans with promises that he would bring about peace in the Middle East – but to the chagrin of many in the community, recent nominations to top foreign policy posts have included staunchly pro-Israel figures.

The Trump campaign's overtures to the Arab-American community gained him some support in key swing states among voters who wanted to punish the Democrats over their support for Israel in the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. The nominations to top posts so far, however, have caused great concern and disappointment among some Arab Americans who backed him.

“They're so pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian, it's disgusting,” an Arab-American voter who supported Mr Trump told The National. “It’s a disaster for us.”

The Trump voter also lamented the fact that so far, no Arab or Muslim American has been nominated to any high-profile position.

This week, Mr Trump nominated Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor who supports Jewish settlements in the West Bank and who has said in the past that there is “no such thing” as Palestinians, as US ambassador to Israel. Steven Witkoff, a real estate investor with no known diplomatic or regional experience, was nominated as special envoy to the Middle East.

Mr Trump chose Marco Rubio, a senator who has backed military aid to Israel and endorsed moving the US embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, for his secretary of state, and Elise Stefanik, who has opposed a ceasefire in Gaza, as ambassador to the UN.

Since October 7, Arab Americans have said that President Joe Biden has not done enough to end the Gaza war. His backing of Israel after its invasion of Lebanon early last month has only increased the community's anger.

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

In response, many Arab-American voters in Michigan in cities such Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Hamtramck and the Detroit suburbs – areas that previously leaned towards the Democrats – stayed home on election day or voted for Mr Trump.

Mr Trump enlisted the help of Richard Grenell, a former ambassador to Germany and former acting director of national intelligence, and Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-American businessman who is also the father-in-law of Mr Trump's daughter, to reach out to the community during his campaign.

The two held dozens of meetings with Arab Americans in Michigan, emphasising that Mr Trump was dedicated to forging peace in the Middle East – although he had declined to give details as to how.

Osama Siblani, publisher of Dearborn’s influential Arabic and English weekly newspaper The Arab American News, was not moved by the effort and his paper did not endorse a presidential candidate this year.

“[Trump] did not have meetings, he had photo ops,” Mr Siblani told The National. “They don't want to talk, all they want is our votes – they're not interested in our stories, they're not interested in our opinion.”

Others, however, welcomed Mr Trump's message and, despite the nominations, are optimistic about the future.

Yahyia Basha, a Syrian-American physician and community leader in Michigan who endorsed Mr Trump, said the appointments reflect the president-elect's strongman personality, and he still had some hope that the Republican leader will deliver on his promises.

From his many meetings with Mr Trump's representatives, Dr Basha was assured the president-elect would promote “strength-based peace”.

“The president will control the vision,” Mr Basha told The National. “We will see how it's going to pan out because at the end of the day, the appointments looks like he will run the show by himself, and the people in his cabinet will respond to his wishes. It's very hard to guess what he will do.”

This week, the MENA American Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn published a letter addressed to Mr Trump calling on him to fulfil his campaign promises.

“Dearborn, Michigan, among other pivotal areas, turned red in this election due to president-elect Trump’s genuine outreach and promise to address our community’s concerns,” Faye Nemer, chief executive of the organisation, said in the letter.

“We look forward to seeing that promise actualised through immediate peace measures in Lebanon and Palestine.”