(UnitedHeadlines.com) – Unless President Joe Biden takes steps immediately to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, Muslim Americans are saying they will call on Muslim voters to withhold votes and donations.
The National Muslim Democratic Council called on Biden to secure the ceasefire by 5 p.m. Oct. 31. The council, in a letter titled “2023 Ceasefire Ultimatum,” stated it would ensure Muslim voters “withhold endorsement, support, or votes” from candidates that support “the Israeli offensive against” the people in Palestine.
The letter states that the Biden administration’s “unconditional support, encompassing funding and armaments” have helped perpetuate the violence against Palestinians.
The organization includes Democratic Party leaders from key battleground states. Its founding co-chairs are Indiana Rep. Andre Carson and former U.S. Representative and Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison, who was the first Muslim elected to Congress.
The letter comes as Arab and Muslim American communities are growing increasingly frustrated that Biden has failed to condemn Israel’s attacks on Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. According to medical authorities in Gaza, 8,306 people, including 3,457 children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its airstrikes.
On Oct. 30, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who is a Palestinian American, posted a 90-second video on Twitter about Biden’s support of what she said was “Israel’s genocidal campaign in Palestine.” Tlaib added, “Don’t count on our vote in 2024.”
Muslim votes may be crucial to Biden’s 2024 reelection bid, according to Basim Elkarra, who is the Sacramento Valley CAIR (Council American-Islamic Relations) executive director. In 2020, Biden won Michigan by 2.6 percent, Elkarra noted.
Minnesota CAIR executive director Jaylani Hussein stated that Muslim American leaders in other key battleground states will be demanding Biden take steps to call for a ceasefire. Hussein said that in 2020 close to 70 percent of Muslim Americans supported Biden.
In Minnesota, Muslim Americans planned a protest for Biden’s Nov. 1 visit to the state.
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