Union leaders and Democratic officials weren’t the only ones waiting Thursday to greet President Joe Biden on his trip to Michigan. So, too, were about 200 protesters calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza against Hamas.
Biden was back in Michigan to join with members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in Warren, a week after the union formally announced its endorsement of him for reelection. The UAW has called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
But as he made his way to the UAW Region 1 building in Warren, protesters outside the Simple Palate restaurant nearby waved Palestinian flags, chanting “Genocide Joe,” “How many kids have you killed today” and “F— Joe Biden.”
Among them was 34-year-old Amir Naddaf, who told the Associated Press he traveled with friends from Ann Arbor to join the protest.
“We came here to send a clear message to the administration that they’re not welcome in Michigan,” said Naddaf, who said he voted for Biden in 2020.
The protest came just hours after Biden sanctioned four Israeli settlers in the West Bank, part of an effort to curb civilian casualties in the region as the Israel-Hamas war continues.
The order comes amid pressure from progressive activists for the Biden administration to work to end the war that erupted after the militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
While Biden administration officials have affirmed Israel’s right to respond to the attack, they have increasingly demanded more attention to minimizing civilian casualties.
“Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold accountable those responsible for it,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a Thursday news release on the sanctions.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during the trip that while the president had no plans to meet with Arab American leaders on this trip, senior administration officials would be traveling to Michigan this month “to hear directly from community leaders on a range of issues that are important to them and their families, including the conflict in Israel and Gaza.”
That news came less than a week after some Arab American leaders declined to meet with Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who had come to Michigan in an effort to try and smooth over relations that had ruptured in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and Israeli response.
Among those who refused to meet with Chavez was Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, a Democrat and former state representative, who said discussions about saving lives had to be made with policymakers, not campaign staff.
“I will not entertain conversations about elections while we watch a live-streamed genocide backed by our government,” he said.
Biden’s visit also came just a day after local pro-Palestinian groups held a rally Wednesday night at Fordson High School in Dearborn, including signs that said “Abandon Biden.”
A group by that name also has formed to oppose the president’s reelection in nine swing states: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Nevada.
“We will save America from itself and punish Mr. Biden at the ballot box,” said National #AbandonBiden coalition leader and Community Leader Jaylani Hussein.
That point of view could spell trouble for Biden politically as Arab Americans make up approximately 5% of the electorate in Michigan, while the president’s margin of victory over former President Donald Trump was less than 3 percentage points in 2020.
Trump, the GOP frontrunner, has been a strong ally of right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem to the anger of Palestinians.
“There was no bigger advocate and defender of Israel than President Trump,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in October after the Hamas terrorist attack.
UAW President Shawn Fain was asked last week about his union endorsing Biden despite criticism over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
“The alternative’s even worse,” Fain said. “Trump moved the [Israeli] embassy when he was president. Obviously, he’s not going to do anything.”
Originally published by Michigan Advance. It is republished with permission.
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