DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) 鈥 Bowls of labneh and platters of za鈥檃tar bread covered the tables in a Lebanese restaurant near Detroit, yet no one seemed to have much of an appetite.
On one side were 鈥 top emissaries to the Arab American community. On the other were local leaders who were explaining 鈥 鈥 why many in the community couldn鈥檛 vote for the vice president because of the war in Gaza.
鈥淚 love this country, but I鈥檒l tell you, we have never been so disappointed in this country as we are now,鈥 said Nabih H. Ayad, chairman of the Arab American Civil Rights League. 鈥淲e wanted to give the Democratic Party the opportunity to do something, and they haven鈥檛.鈥
鈥淭he one line we can鈥檛 cross," Ayad said, 鈥渋s genocide.鈥
Nasrina Bargzie and Brenda Abdelal, who were hired by Harris' campaign to spearhead Arab and Muslim outreach, listened intently but said little in response.
If Harris loses Michigan and the presidential election next week, it鈥檚 conversations like this one that could explain why. The Detroit area has the country鈥檚 largest concentration of Arab Americans, and that Harris will pay a steep political price for U.S. support for Israel, which rejects allegations that its military operations in Gaza constitute a genocide.
Community members who normally back Democrats said they face an impossible decision. Either they punish Harris for what they view as complicity in the deaths of at least 43,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry, or they endure 's return to the White House, which they fear would revive discrimination toward their community.
A reminder of the situation's complexity came in Ann Arbor on Monday night, when Harris held a campaign rally. Assad Turfe, one of the few Arab American officials in Michigan to endorse the vice president, said his community needs someone 鈥渨ho sees us, who understands us and who will give voice to our pain," adding that "without a doubt that Kamala Harris is that leader.鈥
But as Harris began her remarks, pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted by chanting, 鈥淚srael bombs, Kamala pays, how many kids have you killed today?鈥 Harris responded, 鈥渉ey guys, I hear you鈥 and 鈥渨e all want this war to end as soon as possible.鈥
It's unclear how many skeptics Harris will be able to win over, especially since she has not proposed any concrete changes on U.S. policy toward Israel or the war in Gaza. Four years ago, Joe Biden won by a 3-to-1 margin in Dearborn, where nearly half of the 110,000 residents are of Arab descent. Now Democrats are concerned some of these voters will go to Trump or third-party candidates like Jill Stein.
"They're split. There are those who will vote for Harris, recognizing that they could get a seat at the table," said U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who convened the recent meeting at the Lebanese restaurant in his efforts to help the Harris campaign. "But there's a chunk that will vote for Stein or stay at home. Then there's a minority who will vote for Trump.鈥
Trump has secured a from Muslims in the area, including from two Democratic mayors who represent Muslim-majority cities outside Detroit. He brought several Muslims on stage at a rally in metro Detroit on Saturday.
He argues he will put 鈥渁 stop to the endless wars鈥 and notes the Abraham Accords that Israel signed with several Arab nations during his presidency. He has also mocked Harris' embrace of former Rep. Liz Cheney, a conservative Republican whose father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, was a key force behind the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Harris is campaigning with Liz Cheney to try to pull away moderate Republicans turned off by Trump in Michigan and elsewhere.
But many top Arab American leaders 鈥 even those who have not endorsed Harris 鈥 are still deeply negative toward Trump and say his endorsements don't reflect a majority of the community. They also remember his call for a 鈥渢otal and complete shutdown鈥 on Muslims entering the country and his travel restrictions on visitors from Muslim-majority countries. And some point out that Trump has suggested that he would give Israel even more leeway to attack its rivals in the region.
Harris wins over someone who backed the 鈥榰ncommitted鈥 movement
Turfe, a Lebanese American and the deputy executive of Wayne County, is among the few Arab American leaders in Michigan to have endorsed Harris. He says it鈥檚 to ensure the community doesn鈥檛 return to a Trump presidency that 鈥渙pened up old wounds for the generation that lived through those post 9/11 years.鈥
Turfe said he was jolted awake by immigration agents in 2005 when they came to detain his wife, who had come to the country when she was 2 years old and was unaware that she didn鈥檛 have legal citizenship.
鈥淭hey came for her and they ripped my family apart,鈥 he said.
Then in 2006, Turfe鈥檚 two grandmothers were killed in Lebanon as Israel fought with Hezbollah in a war backed by President George W. Bush.
Turfe said his community was primarily Republican until those years. But members moved toward the Democrats during Barack Obama鈥檚 presidency and then helped Biden beat Trump in 2020.
Those political bonds are now ruptured.
Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping more than 200 hostages. Israel launched its offensive shortly afterward with military and diplomatic support from Biden's administration.
As civilian casualties mounted in Gaza, anti-war Democrats in Michigan and elsewhere launched a protest vote movement in the Democratic primary. They garnered over 100,000 , with the majority coming from the state鈥檚 Muslim-majority cities like Dearborn.
Turfe was part of the 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 movement while Biden was running for reelection, but he said he when Harris became the nominee. He endorsed her in August and met her before a rally near Detroit in October.
He said he told Harris about his grandmothers鈥 deaths nearly two decades ago, and 鈥淚 felt her empathy.鈥
鈥淪he felt my pain,鈥 Turfe said.
Turfe鈥檚 endorsement has sparked a backlash. On social media, photoshopped images accuse him of endorsing atrocities in Gaza. He's also received text messages labeling him a traitor. Longstanding relationships in his hometown of Dearborn have become strained.
Dearborn resident Suehaila Amen is accustomed to having her community in the national spotlight, having starred in the 2012 TLC reality series 鈥淎ll-American Muslim.鈥 A lifelong Democrat, Amen said she won't be voting for Harris.
鈥淭hey want to send their people to come and scope and see how we鈥檙e feeling because now they鈥檙e scared that they鈥檙e going to be losing a swing state,鈥 said Amen, who lived in Lebanon from 2017 to 2021. 鈥淏ut, you know, if she loses, it鈥檚 by her own doing, by her own hand, and she鈥檒l deserve it.鈥
Amen said she doesn鈥檛 want Trump to win but 鈥淚 have to, at the end of the day, sleep at night."
Harris makes her closing argument to Arab Americans
Harris made a rare reference to Israel鈥檚 fight against Hamas and Hezbollah during a recent speech in Oakland County, outside of Detroit.
鈥淭his year has been very difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon,鈥 she said. The death of , she said, 鈥渃an and must be a turning point.鈥
Harris also said she is 鈥渧ery proud to have the support鈥 of Turfe and other Muslim leaders.
But Harris has not called for any reduction in the flow of U.S. weapons to Israel, and her campaign did not allow a pro-Palestinian speaker to take the stage at August's Democratic 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Convention, a key demand of the 鈥渦ncommitted鈥 movement.
Khanna, a progressive Democrat from California, has stayed in close contact with Arab American leaders in metro Detroit for months and received the 鈥淧rofile in Courage鈥 award from the Arab American Civil Rights League this summer. Khanna is Hindu but said his family鈥檚 background has given him shared experiences with Arab Americans.
During the Oct. 26 meeting with Arab American leaders, Khanna sat next to Harris' Arab and Muslim outreach directors while acknowledging that 鈥渘ot enough鈥 has been done by Harris to help end the Israel-Hamas war.
鈥淚f Trump is elected, people like me won鈥檛 be in any of the rooms,鈥 Khanna said. 鈥淗arris gives people like us a seat at the table to advocate for you."
It's the kind of message that resonates with Mike Musheinesh, a Palestinian American who runs his own auto parts store and attended the meeting. He said the community should vote for Harris 鈥渆ven if we have to hold our nose.鈥
鈥淚f we want a seat at the table, we need to help her over the finish line,鈥 he said.
___ Associated Press writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.
___
This story has been updated to correct Assad Turfe鈥檚 position to delete the reference to being elected. He was appointed, not elected.
