Rachida Tlaib urges Democrats to protest Biden over Gaza
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Tlaib spoke to supporters outside the Ford Civic Center in Dearborn, Michigan, calling on voters to "vote uncommitted" in order to have their voices heard.
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Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich, speaks during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on October 18, 2023, near the Capitol in Washington. (AP)
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) has asked her fellow Democrats to vote "uncommitted" in the party's 2024 presidential primary, challenging US President Joe Biden's support for "Israel's" aggression in Gaza.
Tlaib spoke to supporters outside the Ford Civic Center in Dearborn, Michigan, calling on voters to "vote uncommitted" in order to have their voices heard.
“It is important as you all know to not only march against the genocide, not only make sure that we’re calling our members of Congress... It’s also important to create a voting bloc, something that is a bullhorn to say ‘enough is enough’,” Tlaib proclaimed.
The Congresswoman told supporters that it was necessary that “we don’t want a country that supports wars and bombs and destruction. We want to support life. We want to stand up for every single life killed in Gaza."
The Palestinian-American congresswoman is the most visible of more than 30 state and local politicians who have backed the Listen to Michigan campaign, which seeks to persuade thousands of Democrats to vote "uncommitted" in their party's February 27 primary. The organization aims to pressure Biden to demand an end to "Israel's" military assault, which has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians in Gaza in four months.
Tlaib has previously accused the US President of sponsoring genocide in Gaza, and she co-sponsored a resolution calling for a ceasefire in October.
70% of voters disapprove of Biden's handling of Gaza war
The White House's continued support for "Israel" has resulted in Biden's loss of substantial support from important 2020 demographics. An NBC survey done in November indicated that seven out of 10 voters under the age of 35 disapproved of his handling of the Gaza war.
In December, Muslim organizations in swing states, such as Michigan, warned that Biden's remaining support among Arab-American voters would be eroded if he continued to oppose a ceasefire in Palestine.
While he received 59% of the Arab-American vote in 2020, an October poll by the Arab-American Institute revealed that just 17% would vote for him again.
Biden won the 2020 presidential election by 2.8% in Michigan, the state with the biggest number of Arab-Americans in the United States. Arab Americans account for 5% of the state's electorate, which means they might influence the outcome of this year's election by staying home or supporting a different candidate. Wisconsin and Arizona have bigger Arab-American populations than Biden's 2020 margin of victory.
Last week, protests erupted against "Israel's" attack on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Protesters, including NGOs and university students, waved Palestinian flags and chanted against US President Joe Biden with banners saying: "Hands off Rafah," "Biden: Rafah Is On You Stop This Slaughter," "Save Rafah", and "End All US Aid To Israel."
