FLAME.HOTLINE.
February 20, 2024
Biden courts pro-terrorist Muslim voters in desperate bid to rescue election campaign
Dear Friend of Israel, Friend of FLAME:
If members of the Ku Klux Klan vote overwhelmingly Republican, should Republican politicians adopt policies that curry favor with white supremacists? Certainly not. It would be morally wrong. It would also offend the vast majority of American voters, who are not white supremacists.
Similarly, if voters who support terrorists vote overwhelmingly Democrat, should Democrats craft policies to attract them? Definitely not. It would be immoral and unethical—and would alienate the overwhelming majority of Americans who oppose terrorism.
Yet, as the U.S. presidential election draws closer, President Biden is aggressively courting voters who support terrorism—specifically against U.S. ally Israel—thus risking support of most American voters, who do not. Team Biden is particularly looking to solidify the votes of Muslim and Arab Americans, many of whom support the goals of terrorist organizations like Hamas and oppose Israel’s self defense.
For example, according to a Cygnal poll conducted between October 16th and 18th last year, more than half of U.S. Muslim voters said the October 7th massacre in southern Israel, in which Hamas methodically butchered 1,200 people, mostly Jewish civilians, and took more than 200 people hostage, was at least somewhat justified.
More pointedly, American Muslim leaders, especially in Michigan, are militantly opposing Biden’s active support of Israel’s self defense. They instead call for a Gaza ceasefire, thus supporting Hamas’s efforts to cling to power. Unless Biden cooperates, these leaders threaten, they will withhold Muslim votes in the November election.
In a panicked response, Biden has recently unveiled initiatives he hopes will bring Muslims back into the Democrats’ fold. In addition, Mr. Biden’s seemingly schizophrenic mood swings regarding Israel’s war strategy against Hamas—especially his outbursts of harsh criticism of the Israel Defense Forces—also seem designed to mollify Muslim voters.
However, Team Biden’s cynical attempt to win both sides on this volatile issue seems treacherous, since, according to a Harvard CAPS-Harris poll, fully 80% of American voters side with Israel in its war against Hamas.
While possibly losing a portion of 300,000 Muslim voters in Michigan may hurt Biden’s performance in that state in November, his caving in to outspoken terrorist supporters could cost him more—by alienating tens of millions of Israel lovers nationwide.
Why does Biden believe Arab and Muslim voters are so critical to his sinking campaign? Because they proved crucial to his win in 2020. Biden won 80% of the Muslim vote in the 2020 election. These votes helped him win swing states that were vital to his victory.
In Michigan, where Arab Americans represent 5% of voters, Biden won the state by only 2.8 percentage points. (Trump beat Clinton in Michigan by just 3 percentage points.) Biden also narrowly won Wisconsin, a state with about 25,000 Muslim voters, by about 20,000 votes. In Arizona, which also boasts 25,000 Muslim voters, Biden won by just 10,500 votes.
But in the midst of the Israel-Hamas war, Biden’s popularity with Muslim and Arab voters is at an all-time low. For example, while 59% of Arabs supported Biden in 2020, only 17% support him now. Worse still, according to Emgage, an organization that works to mobilize Muslim voters, just 5.2% of these voters would vote for Biden.
Shockingly, polling also shows Muslim Americans view Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh more favorably than Biden. Who would have thought a terrorist leader could command more support among certain Americans than the U.S. President?
Biden’s confused new initiatives reflect his dangerous desire to win Muslim trust by betraying Israel. At one moment, Biden could be praising Israel, and at another, he could be condemning the Jewish state. While Biden continues to supply weapons to Israel, he also, contradictorily, keeps pushing for a ceasefire with Hamas that would hamper the Jewish state’s ability to win the war and destroy the terrorist group.
In another anti-Israel stunt, Biden imposed sanctions on “settlers” in Judea and Samaria, aka, the West Bank, accusing them of violence against Palestinians. Recent data, however, indicates that violence by “settlers” has actually decreased. By comparison, Palestinian-on-Jewish violence is overwhelmingly more prevalent—though we see no sanctions against Palestinian terrorists.
In November, Biden announced his administration would develop a national strategy to counter Islamophobia—a meaningless gesture resembling his hyped-up, toothless national strategy to combat antisemitism. None of this is likely to assuage Muslim voters. Indeed, there is now an Abandon Biden campaign, which began in Minnesota and spread to other states like Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida. The hashtag #AbandonBiden is trending on X (formerly Twitter).
As Team Biden becomes more desperate, it is making plays for the votes of outright terror supporters. For example, Biden has made overtures to publisher Osama Siblani, an overt terrorism supporter, who called Hamas and Hezbollah “freedom fighters” and rallied Arabs to fight Israel with “stones” and “guns.” He also called the President a “war criminal.” As we get closer to the election, who can predict the radical measures Biden might resort to in order to entice American Arabs and Muslims back to his camp?
By allowing terror-supporting voters to affect his policies, Biden contradicts America’s interests—as well as his own election prospects. A ceasefire or anything else that hampers Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza is not in America’s interest.
Even if the votes of Muslim and Arab Americans were crucial for Biden in the last presidential election, it still doesn’t make sense for him to cozy up to terrorist-supporters—the vast majority of American voters are not supporters of terrorism.
Increasingly, President Biden has trouble remembering things—like who America’s real friends are and what America’s best interests are. His overtures to domestic fans of Hamas can only lead to bad foreign policy and even greater disaffection from already dubious voters come November.
Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that if Biden wants to get re-elected, he’d be smarter to stop pandering to voters who support Islamist terror groups. He’ll have greater success by implementing policies that serve the values of the overwhelming majority of Americans—who support Israel and not Hamas.
Best regards,
Jason Shvili, Contributing Editor
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)
P.S. The events of October 7 have changed our world forever—and especially the world for Israel and the Jewish people. Likewise, the words “Never Again” will never be the same for us. October 7 has shown us that despite all promises of equity and commitments against hate on campus and on our streets, we can never depend on it. We will likely never be free of the scourge of antisemitism, fueled by the most outrageous slanders. I hope you’ll agree that we opponents of Hamas and its savage massacre—and of all who support Hamas, against all humanitarian values—need to speak out. FLAME’s new hasbarah—explanatory message—“Enemies of Israel Tell Five Big Lies”—refutes today’s most vicious lies against Israel and the Jewish people. I hope you’ll review this convincing, fact-based editorial, which FLAME published in the Washington Post, New York Post, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. This piece will also be sent to all members of Congress, Vice President Harris and President Biden. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel’s behalf is critical, I urge you to support us with a donation.