Arab-American support for Biden plummets in four key states, poll finds

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If the US presidential elections were held today, only 18 per cent of Arab Americans in four key states would vote for President Joe Biden, a poll published on Thursday suggests.

This is a significant drop from the nearly 60 per cent recorded four years ago.

The poll, conducted by the Washington-based Arab American Institute, highlights how Mr Biden's handling of the Israel-Gaza war has cast a heavy shadow over his re-election prospects.

“The simple reason why Biden’s numbers and ratings are so low is, in a word, Gaza,” the report said.

According to the poll, 60 per cent of those surveyed said the war in Gaza was one of their most important issues, and 88 per cent said they have a negative view of the way Mr Biden has handled it.

Muslim and Arab Americans, some of whom have relatives in Gaza, have been horrified by his policies since October 7, when Israel launched a massive retaliatory campaign in the enclave after a Hamas attack killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities.

Since then, more than 36,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza, according to local health authorities.

Mr Biden, a self-proclaimed Zionist, has refused to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza or place conditions on military aid to Israel – two central demands of Arab Americans.

Many Arab Americans have vowed never to vote for him again.

The poll surveyed voters in Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia – four states with sizeable Arab-American populations.

Michigan and Pennsylvania are another two of a handful of must-win states for both candidates.

According to the poll, 17 per cent of Arab Americans view Mr Biden favourably, a sharp decline from the 74 per cent in 2020.

Hundreds of thousands in Michigan, Virginia and other states cast “uncommitted” or blank votes during the Democratic primaries this year in protest against Mr Biden’s position on Gaza.

But despite international and domestic pressures, he has shown little sign of changing his policies on the eight-month-old war.

Israel has intensified its operations in the southern Gazan city of Rafah and said the war was likely to continue throughout this year.

More than 50 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes in the past 24 hours, local authorities report, many of them displaced people living in makeshift tent camps.

The Biden administration has for weeks said it does not support a ground operation in Rafah, and that attacking a densely populated area would lead to a change in US policy towards Israel.

But so far, Washington has said that Israel's assault on Rafah was not a major operation.

Meanwhile, in the US, the most recent polls show Donald Trump, the putative Republican nominee, leading slightly over Mr Biden in a head-to-head contest.

The AAI poll found that 32 per cent of Arab American voters would vote for Mr Trump.

Sixty per cent of Arab Americans said they were not very enthusiastic or unenthusiastic about voting in the presidential election.

Mr Trump, Mr Biden's predecessor, has vowed to reinstitute an order barring entry to the US for people from several Muslim countries if he wins.

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Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).

Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).

Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).

Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).

Standby player: Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC).

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Teaching your child to save

Pre-school (three - five years)

You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.

Early childhood (six - eight years)

Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.

Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)

Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.

Young teens (12 - 14 years)

Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.

Teenage (15 - 18 years)

Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.

Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)

Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.

* JP Morgan Private Bank

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Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

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