Dearborn's mayor has a message for Biden: Change course on Gaza or lose presidency

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud has vowed that, unless US President Joe Biden ends his administration's unwavering support for Israel, it will cost him the Arab American vote and re-election later this year.

Speaking to Middle East Eye in Dearborn, home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the US, Hammoud said that, for the next two weeks, he and several other dissenting voices in Michigan will be encouraging voters to select "uncommitted" in the state's Democratic primary, which is slated for 27 February.

Citing continued US support for Israel's devastating war on Gaza, Hammoud said the grassroots "Vote Uncommitted" campaign would try to spur Arab and Muslim Americans in Michigan, 146,000 of whom voted for Biden in 2020, to vote "uncommitted" in an act of protest.

Last week, 30 other elected officials announced they would be voting "uncommitted" in the primary in a bid to make Biden change course on the Middle East.

"We did this because no presidential candidate has earned our vote," Hammoud told MEE.

"President Biden's administration [has] continued to make destructive policy decisions [on Gaza]. ... If he continues this course, he will be remembered for sacrificing American democracy in 2024."

Read more: Dearborn's mayor has a message for Biden: Change course on Gaza or lose presidency