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naraburns  nihil supernum  6mo ago (text post)   12708 thread views

Israel-Gaza Megathread #3

This is a refreshed megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.

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White House scrambles to repair relations with Arab, Muslim Americans

One ripple effect of the Israel-Gaza war is the warp-speed unraveling of relations between President Biden and some of his most loyal voters: Muslims and Arab Americans. The open disdain toward Biden from many in a reliably Democratic bloc is among the many signs the conflict is quickly remaking U.S. domestic politics, with public fury over a Hamas attack that killed 1,400 Israelis colliding with the horror of entire families in the Gaza Strip being wiped out in Israel’s retaliatory strikes.

“It’s really crazy to me that the Democratic party destroyed 20-years … worth of good will with Muslims and Arabs in just 2 weeks, losing an entire generation that was raised in the progressive coalition, possibly forever,” Eman Abdelhadi, a University of Chicago professor of comparative human development who studies Palestinian Americans, wrote Thursday on X, formerly Twitter.

In an interview, Abdelhadi said community members weren’t surprised Biden was supportive of Israel. But “the degree, the blank check,” is scary, she said, especially given the mounting civilian casualty toll. Young people already are talking about sitting out the election in protest, she said. At a recent campus event that drew hundreds of students, Abdelhadi said, she told the audience, “I think Biden has lost the Muslim vote.”

“The entire room erupted into clapping,” she recalled. “This generation was raised in a time when Muslims and Arabs were constantly in contact with Democrats, felt and were part of the progressive coalition. Now that is completely disillusioned.”

Gallup polling showed that in early 2022, for the first time in more than 20 years, more Democrats said that “their sympathies” lie with the Palestinians than with the Israelis, 49 percent to 38 percent.

Publicly the administration has been fully supportive of Israel, while behind the scenes they're attempting to restrain them; the blackout in Gaza ended after barely over a day because US officials pressured the Israelis. Biden's response has been pretty reasonable, but this may turn into a bigger domestic issue if the invasion drags on.

“It’s really crazy to me that the Democratic party destroyed 20-years … worth of good will with Muslims and Arabs in just 2 weeks, losing an entire generation that was raised in the progressive coalition, possibly forever,”

I'll believe it when I see it. If Palestine is your central issue you're not gonna get much help from Republicans.

If you are a socially conservative set of voters which sees no difference between democrats and republicans on your top issue while democrats are widely blamed for the erosion in your purchasing power, however...

Trump will inevitably get questions from Evangelicals during the campaign about Israel and is going to go full “the Israelis should do whatever they want to them, they gotta teach them a lesson they won’t forget” or something, and that’ll be that. Plus there’s the “Muslim ban”, the “Sharia come to USA soon????” Fox News stories etc. Plus Trump’s immigration plan is going to at least promise (he won’t do anything in reality, but he’ll promise) to crack down on ‘chain migration’ which is one of the largest ways Muslim Americans bring over family members.

Whatever their differences with Biden, they will hold their nose and vote for him. Even sitting it out is less and less likely the more Trump’s rhetoric heats up, which it will.

It's not equal though. People like Nikki Haley are going around saying "finish them" like this is a video game. Trump moved the embassy to Jerusalem. From any Palestinian perspective, one side is much worse than the other.

Right - Biden is going around hugging Netanyahu, but the Democratic party also contains Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. The antisemetic faction is not in control, but it actually exists in real numbers compared to the Republicans. It's like libertarians - the centre of gravity in both parties shits on your ideals constantly, but you actually have a toehold in one of them.

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