Community leaders criticize administration for unwavering support of Israel, citing broken promises, failure to halt Gaza genocide
Hakan Copur |05.10.2024 - TRT/AA
WASHINGTON
American Arabs and Muslims, who fiercely denounced the US’ unwavering support for Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip, feel "betrayed" by the Biden-Harris administration as the first anniversary of the ongoing tragedy approaches.
As many dynamics have shifted in the Middle East during the last year, the administration appears to be losing significant credibility with American Arabs and Muslims.
Demands from non-governmental organizations urging the Biden administration to take action for a cease-fire and halt arms shipments to Israel have resonated in Washington, but have not resulted in any concrete policy changes.
"We’re very frustrated and angry with this president who has put Israeli interests over humanitarian interests and over American interests, and also, he betrayed the trust that we have given him as a president," Nihad Awad, head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told Anadolu.
He said Biden has become the worst American president, adding that a genocide has been committed under his watch. Biden opposed all kinds of ceasefires, and participated in parroting the Israeli talking points, said Awad.
"Our feelings as American Muslims, is just like the feelings of all people's conscience around the world seeing the devastation, the carnage, the genocide committed by the extremist Israeli government's army in Gaza and now into Lebanon and threatening to engulf the region into a major war," said Awad.
"We're looking at an extreme Israeli government that is planning to annex and ethnically cleanse the entire Palestine, fulfilling a false religious narrative. So, it is more painful for us because this is happening and supported by our own government, sending arms and using and exploiting and misusing our tax dollars that should go to rebuild America, to build infrastructure, finance, education and healthcare," he said. "We are angry at him, we are angry at (Vice President) Kamala Harris, at the entire Biden administration and also (Donald) Trump for their one-sided policies. And we believe that they will pay for it at the at the ballot box in November" in the presidential election.
'Disappointed with our government'
Oussama Jammal, general secretary of the United States Council for Muslim Organizations (USCMO), lamented that there was not a lot of effort focusing on Gaza and the cease-fire deal that will bring the genocide in the enclave to end.
"As American Muslims, we feel so disappointed with our government, especially with President Biden, who has in his power to bring this genocide to stop, he can easily pressure Israel, who lives on American support and assistance to forces to make a deal and stop the genocide and resolve this in a peaceful way. Unfortunately, we have not seen enough pressure put on Israel," Jammal told Anadolu.
"So, after a full year of atrocities, of genocide, innocent people, we can sense that the whole objective of this is really not about hostage or anything else. It is about ethnic cleansing. It is about completely destroying Gaza, not making it a livable place," he said.
Noting that Biden is being called "Genocide Joe" by those who criticized him for his inaction on the plight of Palestinians, who have been under an Israeli onslaught for one year, he said, "I don't think this is a good legacy for Joe Biden, with the few days left in his presidency to be remembered as such."
Jammal also voiced disappointment about promises by Biden, saying the outgoing president has not delivered any. "What we take from him is empty statements ... nobody believes Joe Biden's -- any promise that he made."
"They are unfortunately capable of allowing the Holocaust to happen back in the 40s, and now they are allowing genocide to happen in the 21st century. It is a shame," Jammal added.
Executive Director of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Basharat Saleem said there is large-scale devastation and death and destruction in the Palestinian enclave.
"So, there is definitely a lot of human suffering going on in Gaza for about a year now. ISNA really is calling for peace from the beginning. You know, we are calling for peace in the region. We are calling for a cease-fire from Israel. We are calling to stop this," said Saleem.
"The United States government has not shown any type of action that can prevent these things. We have not seen that from President Biden, although they talk about many efforts for a cease-fire, but we have not seen any concrete plans," he added.
'Huge list of mistakes'
Khalil Jahshan, the executive director of Arab Center Washington DC, said it has been "hell" for Palestinians in Gaza in the past 12 months, amid continued attacks.
He believes developments in Lebanon, where Israel is carrying out frequent strikes against Hezbollah, are a result of the same logic and aggression applied in Gaza by the Israeli government.
Jahshan said Israel wants to keep control of northern Gaza, keep it lightly inhabited under its control, by allowing "some people maybe to come back."
"This (Biden) administration has made a huge list of mistakes since the beginning of this conflict," he said.
"On the one hand, Mr. Biden keeps preaching about the need of a cease-fire and the need to end the fighting and to protect the civilian population. At the same time, he continues to commit to unlimited armaments and aid to Israel to continue the war.
"You cannot continue to add fuel to the fire at the same time pretend to be extinguishing the fire," said Jahshan.
He said for some communities, Harris also has not made "sufficient attempts" to distance herself from Biden's policies such as arming and participating in Israeli genocide.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, 2023. More than 41,800 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed.
The military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.
Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
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