WASHINGTON, Sept 19: Arab-American and Muslim voters angry at U.S. support for Israel's offensive in Gaza are shunning Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential race to back third-party candidate Jill Stein in numbers that could deny Harris victories in battleground states that will decide the Nov. 5 election.
A Council on American-Islamic Relations poll released this month showed that in Michigan, home to a large Arab American community, 40% of Muslim voters backed the Green Party's Stein. Republican candidate Donald Trump got 18% with Harris, who is President Joe Biden's vice president, trailing at 12%.
Stein also leads Harris among Muslims in Arizona and Wisconsin, battleground states with sizable Muslim populations where Biden defeated Trump in 2020 by slim margins.
Harris was the leading pick of Muslim voters in Georgia and Pennsylvania, while Trump prevailed in Nevada with 27%, just ahead of Harris' 26%, according to the CAIR poll of 1,155 Muslim voters nationwide. All are battleground states that have swung on narrow margins in recent elections.
Biden won the 2020 Muslim vote, credited in some exit polls with more than 80% of their support, but Muslim backing of Democrats has fallen sharply since Israel's nearly year-long action in Gaza.
About 3.5 million Americans reported being of Middle Eastern descent in the 2020 U.S. Census, the first year such data was recorded. Although they make up about 1% of the total U.S. population of 335 million, their voters may prove crucial in a race that opinion polls show to be close.
On Tuesday, Harris called for an end to the Israel-Gaza war and the return of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. She also said Israel must not reoccupy the Palestinian enclave and backed a two-state solution.
But at closed-door meetings in Michigan and elsewhere, Harris campaign officials have rebuffed appeals to halt or limit U.S. arms shipments to Israel, community leaders say.
"Decades of community organizing and civic engagement and mobilizing have not manifested into any benefit," said Faye Nemer, founder of the Michigan-based MENA American Chamber of Commerce to promote U.S. trade with the Middle East.
"We're part of the fabric of this country, but our concerns are not taken into consideration," she said.
Stein is aggressively campaigning on Gaza, while Trump representatives are meeting with Muslim groups and promising a swifter peace than Harris can deliver. —REUTERS
