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WASHINGTON - Some Muslim and Arab American groups are threatening to withhold donations and votes towards US President Joe Biden's 2024 reelection unless he takes immediate steps to secure a Gaza ceasefire.
The National Muslim Democratic Council, which includes Democratic Party leaders from hotly contested states that can decide elections, such as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, urged Biden to use his influence with Israel to broker a ceasefire by 5pm ET on Tuesday (Oct 31) (5pm GMT+8 on Wednesday).
In an open letter entitled "2023 Ceasefire Ultimatum", Muslim leaders pledged to mobilise "Muslim, Arab, and allied voters" to "withhold endorsement, support, or votes for any candidate who endorses the Israeli offensive against the Palestinian people".
"Your administration's unconditional support, encompassing funding and armaments, has played a significant role in perpetuating the violence that is causing civilian casualties and has eroded trust in voters who previously put their faith in you," the council wrote.
Emgage, a Muslim American civic group, found that nearly 1.1 million Muslims voted in the 2020 election. Associated Press exit polls showed 64 per cent of Muslims voted for Biden, a Democrat, and 35 per cent for his Republican rival, Donald Trump.
The Arab American Institute estimates 3.7 million Americans "trace their roots" to an Arab country; its poll results issued on Tuesday show support for Biden and Democrats has dropped significantly in this group.
Biden's reelection campaign had no immediate comment.
The White House has scrambled to address concerns raised by community members and political appointees within the administration. Biden met with a handful of Muslim leaders last Thursday, a White House official said.
Biden has spoken out against rising antisemitism and Islamophobia, but Muslim leaders say the war must end.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Minnesota, said he had no option but to vote against Biden in 2024 unless he called for fighting to stop. He said he was speaking as an individual, not on behalf of CAIR.
Biden plans to visit Minnesota on Wednesday.
Arab and Muslim American communities have voiced frustration that Biden has not condemned Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip after an Oct 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants from Gaza that Israel says killed 1,400 people and took 240 hostages.
Biden has said Israel has a right to defend its citizens but should protect innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza who are victims of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Gaza health authorities say that 8,525 people, including 3,542 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct 7. UN officials say more than 1.4 million of Gaza's civilian population of about 2.3 million have been made homeless.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he would not agree to any cessation of the attacks on Gaza. US national security spokesman John Kirby said, "Hamas is the only one that would gain from that right now."
Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American lawmaker from Michigan, on Monday released a 90-second video on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, decrying Biden's support of what she called "Israel's genocidal campaign in Palestine," adding "Don't count on our vote in 2024."
Biden won Michigan's 16 Electoral College votes by 2.8 percentage points in 2020.
Source: Reuters
穆斯林美国人告诉拜登，加沙没有停火，没有选票
华盛顿 - 一些穆斯林和阿拉伯裔美国团体威胁要扣留对美国总统乔·拜登 2024 年连任的捐款和投票，除非他立即采取措施确保加沙停火。
全国穆斯林民主委员会成员包括密歇根州、俄亥俄州和宾夕法尼亚州等可以决定选举的竞争激烈的州的民主党领导人，他们敦促拜登利用他对以色列的影响力，在美国东部时间周二（10 月 31 日）下午 5 点之前促成停火（ 周三下午 5 点（格林尼治标准时间 + 8 点）。
在一封题为“2023 年停火最后通牒”的公开信中，穆斯林领导人承诺动员“穆斯林、阿拉伯和盟友选民”“停止对任何支持以色列对巴勒斯坦人民进攻的候选人的认可、支持或投票”。
该委员会写道：“你们政府的无条件支持，包括资金和军备，在造成平民伤亡的暴力行为长期存在方面发挥了重要作用，并削弱了以前对你们抱有信心的选民的信任。”
美国穆斯林民间团体 Emgage 发现，近 110 万穆斯林在 2020 年大选中投票。 美联社出口民意调查显示，64%的穆斯林投票给民主党人拜登，35%的人投票给他的共和党竞争对手唐纳德·特朗普。
阿拉伯美国研究所估计，有 370 万美国人“寻根”于阿拉伯国家； 周二发布的民意调查结果显示，该群体对拜登和民主党的支持率大幅下降。
拜登的连任竞选团队没有立即发表评论。
白宫已忙于解决社区成员和政府内部政治任命人员提出的担忧。 一名白宫官员表示，拜登上周四会见了几位穆斯林领导人。
拜登公开反对日益高涨的反犹太主义和伊斯兰恐惧症，但穆斯林领导人表示战争必须结束。
明尼苏达州美国伊斯兰关系委员会 (CAIR) 执行主任杰拉尼·侯赛因 (Jaylani Hussein) 表示，他别无选择，只能在 2024 年投票反对拜登，除非他呼吁停止战斗。 他表示，他是作为个人发言，不代表 CAIR。
拜登计划周三访问明尼苏达州。
10 月 7 日，来自加沙的巴勒斯坦哈马斯武装分子发动袭击，以色列称此次袭击造成 1,400 人死亡并劫持了 240 名人质，之后，阿拉伯和美国穆斯林社区对拜登没有谴责以色列对加沙地带的袭击表示失望。
拜登表示，以色列有权保卫其公民，但也应该保护加沙的无辜巴勒斯坦平民，他们是以色列和哈马斯之间冲突的受害者。
加沙卫生当局称，自10月7日以来，已有8,525人在以色列袭击中丧生，其中包括3,542名儿童。联合国官员称，加沙约230万平民中，有超过140万无家可归。
以色列总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡周一表示，他不会同意停止对加沙的袭击。 美国国家安全发言人约翰·柯比表示：“哈马斯是目前唯一能从中受益的组织。”
来自密歇根州的巴勒斯坦裔美国议员代表拉什达·特莱布 (Rashida Tlaib) 周一在社交媒体网站 X（前身为 Twitter）上发布了一段 90 秒的视频，谴责拜登支持她所谓的“以色列在巴勒斯坦的种族灭绝运动”，并补充道“不要” 不要指望我们在 2024 年的投票。”
2020年，拜登以2.8个百分点的优势赢得了密歇根州的16张选举人团选票。
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