By Dearborn, a city labeled ‘America’s jihad capital’ by the Wall Street Journal has become fiercely divided over the war in Gaza as residents refuse to vote for either candidate in the presidential election.
Dearborn, a small city near Detroit, Michigan, is home to America’s largest Arab American community. The mood amongst locals has significantly shifted as the death toll in Gaza continues to mount, with little indication of a political solution in the near future.
Residents of Dearborn believe America’s political leaders are playing a major role in enabling the suffering caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Their apathy towards the upcoming election is dwindling by the day.
Abu Bilal, owner of Oriental Fashion – a clothing store on Dearborn’s Warren Avenue, demanded to know ‘where is the humanity’ as he discussed the killings of 90 Palestinian civilians with The Guardian. A man getting his hair cut at the Al-Rehab Barber Shop on Dearborn’s Maple Street said – in Arabic – that he doesn’t care who becomes president following the November election. “It won’t make any difference to him,” he added.
His barber agreed, saying that he didn’t vote in 2020 and doesn’t plan to this year.
Joe Biden won the battleground state in 2020 by just 154,000 votes – and the demise in political spirit could be harmful to his ability to take the key swing state come November. Election turnout in Dearborn was 10 percent higher in 2020 than the previous election in 2016 – Biden also won 10 percent more votes than Hillary did.
These statistics suggest that voters were energized in 2020, but word on the streets of Dearborn, per The Guardian, is that this year’s attitudes could not be more different.
During the Democratic primaries in February, 6,432 Dearborn voters chose Senator Bernie Sanders in protest of Biden’s support of Israel’s war.
The city held a campaign rally at a school near Dearborn on Friday – but Arab Americans interviewed by the paper rejected the campaign’s bid to win their votes.
The general community was aware that the administration had sent campaign officials to “listen to us about Palestine,” and while it says a lot, that he sees us as no more than votes or numbers, not as human beings. “Our people back home need to be killed,” Jenin Yaseen, an Arab-American who works as a cashier at the West Bank, stated.
Residents in Dearborn told The Guardian they are tired of the government’s policies and Biden’s general support for Israel. They feel betrayed and disillusioned with both political parties, leading to a growing sense of apathy and frustration.
Daily MailOnline
