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At the forefront of concerns are the Zionist entity’s 10 months of military operations in Gaza, which have devastated the Palestinian enclave. Michigan, home to the “big three” automakers — Ford, General Motors and Chrysler — has long been an essential stop for White House aspirants. Economic downturns in the 1970s led many to leave the so-called “Rust Belt” state, just as unrest in the Middle East brought new waves of Lebanese, Iraqi, Yemeni and Palestinian immigrants.

“We’re a global city, where nearly 55 percent of our residents are of Arab background,” said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud in a recent interview. “For many of us, when you talk about what’s happening in Gaza, these are our family and our friends.” Famous as the birthplace of Henry Ford, Dearborn appears at first glance just like any small US city, with its wide thoroughfares and strip malls.

But it is also home to the Islamic Center of America — the largest mosque in the country — and countless Middle Eastern supermarkets, eateries and coffee shops. When Siblani first started his newspaper in the mid-1980s, he remembers the then-mayor campaigned on a platform to address the “Arab problem”. But as the community’s numbers grew, and the children of blue-collar factory workers took up positions as lawyers, doctors and businesspeople, so too did their political influence.

Historically socially conservative, Arab and Muslim Americans heavily favored George W Bush in the 2000 election. Years of the US “War on Terror” — which saw wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan and Muslim American communities put under stricter law enforcement scrutiny — swung them firmly to the Democratic camp. — AFP

In 2018, southeast Michiganders elected Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress — a milestone for the community. Three Arab-American mayors have also recently been elected in suburbs known for historic racism towards non-whites. Angered by former president Donald Trump’s travel ban on Muslim countries, support for Zionist settlements in the occupied West Bank and more, Dearborn voters overwhelmingly backed Biden in 2020, helping secure Michigan for the Democrats by a slim margin.

Residents here are tired, however, of being asked to vote for the “lesser of two evils” and instead want candidates who will deliver on demands, such as a permanent ceasefire and an end to the supply of weapons to the Zionist entity. “I think VP Harris has a window of opportunity,” said Faye Nemer, a community activist and CEO of the MENA American Chamber of Commerce. “She can either continue President Biden’s legacy or set her own agenda.”

Arab Americans in Dearborn have been impressed by Harris’ pick of Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz has taken a conciliatory approach to opponents of the war, unlike Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who took a hard line against college protesters. But demands are hardening. “We don’t want crumbs anymore,” declared Soujoud Hamade, a business lawyer and long-time Democrat, who vowed to vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein if Harris did not deliver on the campaign trail. – AFP