Arab Americans pleased Biden is dropping out and want change of policy on Gaza

Community leaders say a new candidate in the White House may not mean an immediate change in policy

Pro-Palestine protesters rally at the White House in early June. Reuters

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Arab Americans, who have for months been furious with President Joe Biden over his support to Israel during the war in Gaza, welcomed his decision to abandon his bid for re-election.

Mr Biden said on Sunday that he would serve the remainder of his term but would not run for re-election.

He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on top of the Democratic ticket to face Republican former president Donald Trump in November.

“I'm ecstatic. I'm very happy that he's leaving and will pass on the baton,” Mohammad Qazzaz, a Palestinian American from Michigan, told The National.

“But I don't know if Harris is the right person, if she's popular enough to beat Trump.”

The move came after weeks of pressure from his own Democratic Party after a June 27 debate where Mr Biden, 81, struggled to answer coherently or to confront Mr Trump on key policy issues and falsehoods.

For months, Arab Americans have been advocating for Mr Biden to lose the election, as many accuse him of complicity in the reported deaths of about 39,000 people in Gaza and the continued suffering of tens of thousands of Palestinians in the strip.

“Genocide Joe is out,” one post being circulated by Arab Americans on social media read.

They are particularly angry that their tax dollars are being used to fund weapons shipments and military aid to Israel.

But they say a change of candidate may not immediately mean a change in policy.

“I think it comes as no surprise, it was expected and the right thing to do under the circumstances for him and his health situation,” Imad Hamad, director of the American Human Rights Council, an Arab-American organisation based in Michigan told The National.

“I think to us, changing the name, changing the person, doesn't make much difference. What makes a difference is the position, the stance, the substance.

“So now we wait and see."

The decision comes as the Democratic Party is due to hold its convention in Chicago in August to nominate a new candidate for the November 5 election.

“Dems have an opportunity to be bold this convention,” Abdullah Hammoud, the Lebanese-American mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, wrote on X.

“To nominate a candidate who can usher historic policy domestically and abandon the genocidal course charted in Gaza and beyond.

“America needs a candidate who can inspire voters to come out to the ballot box this November.”

Arab Americans have said that Mr Biden’s position has dehumanised Palestinians and Arabs in the US, contributing to a rise in Islamophobia, anti-Arab sentiment and racist attacks.

The Abandon Biden campaign, an effort by activists to ensure that Mr Biden loses in key swing states over his policies on Gaza, said they take issue with Democratic leaders who called on Mr Biden to step aside only because of his age and apparent decline in acuity.

“It is clear that the DNC machinery pressured Joe Biden to step down only after losing confidence in his ability to lead due to his cognitive decline,” the group wrote in a statement.

“This action came not when he was enthusiastically supporting and sponsoring the genocide in Gaza, but when his declining capabilities could no longer be concealed.”

During the Democratic primary elections, hundreds of thousands of Arab Americans and their allies cast “uncommitted” ballots in protest against Mr Biden's leadership.

“Supporting genocide is not a winning campaign strategy, nor will it ever be,” Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the Arab Anti Discrimination Coalition, said in statement.

“President Biden's choice to withdraw is commendable, and we hope it paves the way for a nominee who advocates for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, while upholding universal human rights."