Some Arab American And Muslim Leaders Meet With Biden Officials In Wayne County Amid Protests

 

Dearborn — Protesters gathered outside a Dearborn hotel Thursday as several local leaders from Metro Detroit's Arab American and Muslim communities met with high-ranking officials from President Joe Biden's administration to ease tensions and discuss policy issues, including a possible cease-fire in Gaza.

Multiple officials, including the mayor of Dearborn, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and a state lawmaker from Hamtramck, met with White House officials in Wayne County for several hours on Thursday. But some local leaders, including the mayor of Dearborn Heights, refused to be a part of the meetings, saying many still feel "hurt, betrayed and disrespected."

"Until there’s a cease-fire in place, and until the genocide has stopped, people didn't want us to meet with anyone at this present time," Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun told The Detroit News of his decision not to go.

Those expected to have participated in the meetings in Wayne County included Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development; Tom Perez, director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs; Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer; Director of the Office of Public Engagement Steve Benjamin; and White House liaison to American Muslim Communities Mazen Basrawi, the sources said.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday that the meetings were part of the ongoing outreach by the administration to Arab and Muslim Americans. The aim was to hear directly from the community, she said while declining to discuss the agenda or other details.

"We want to make sure there’s privacy in these meetings, and it’s crucial for these participants to be able to do that, to speak freely," Jean-Pierre said.

The sit-downs were held as a growing number of leaders in Metro Detroit's Arab American community, including Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, a Democrat, and other leaders in the community have stepped up their public criticism of Biden in recent weeks. They say they won't support him in the 2024 election unless he calls for a cease-fire in Gaza and restricts military aid to Israel.

Hammoud met with the White House officials at Dearborn City Hall for two hours in the morning, he said. “The mood was real," Hammoud said. “No one was there for jokes. Any other meeting, I would have brought sweets and food from the community. None of that was present.

"We made our positions very clear, very firm. We did our duty. We've expressed directly to those who have the ability to influence decision making about what's unfolding in Gaza. Now it’s in the president’s court."

In the afternoon, more than 75 protesters gathered outside The Henry, a Dearborn hotel where meetings were held. They called out Democrats for not supporting a cease-fire in Gaza, where the death toll has reached more than 27,000.

"Democrats, don’t you see?" they chanted. "You support a killing spree!"

Among those leading the crowd in chants was Lexis Zeidan, 31, a Dearborn resident from a Palestinian Christian family who voted for Biden four years ago.

Now, she's part of the grassroots group called Project 1948, which is pushing for Democrats to vote "uncommitted" in the upcoming Michigan primary.

'Frank discussion'

Besides Duggan and Hammoud, at least four other local officials met with Biden officials during the meetings, including Wayne County Judge Miriam Bazzi, Chief Deputy Attorney General of Michigan Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Commissioner Al Haidous.

Michigan House Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash, who also was part of the meetings, met with the White House officials for roughly two hours.

The Hamtramck Democrat described the meeting as a “frank discussion” meant to convey the feelings of the Arab American community and what they expect to see moving forward.

“It’s long overdue that the U.S. changes course and works through diplomatic channels rather than bombing our way to peace,” Aiyash said.

Aiyash said the group conveyed demands for a permanent cease-fire, an end to U.S. military aid and expediting of humanitarian aid. If the community doesn’t see change, there will be no second meetings with the administration, he said.

“If none of these things have happened, one has to interpret that as our concerns weren’t actually listened to and move forward,” he said. 

Deputy Wayne County Executive Assad Turfe also was a part of the meetings. After, he said the decision by Arab American and Muslim leaders to engage in dialogue with Biden officials was not taken lightly but to ensure that their voices are heard.

“Our community's pain must be acknowledged. This was about ensuring the administration sees the real impact of its policies, not just on foreign soil but right here, affecting our people, our families,” Turfe said.

“We made it clear that any future engagement with the administration is conditional upon real action," he said. "The developments in Gaza will serve as the benchmark for evaluating the effectiveness of the administration's actions. The Biden administration must act swiftly and decisively to end this violence, honoring the principles of justice and human rights.”

But at least two local officials, including Bill Bazzi, Dearborn Heights' mayor, declined to be a part of the meetings at all.

Bazzi said he declined the invitation because it's "unconscionable" to engage in talks while the violence continues.

"I cannot in good conscience sit down today to discuss the dire humanitarian crisis with President Biden’s officials, on the same day that conversations continue to take place in Washington to further fund the distribution of yet more armaments that will be used against civilians," Bazzi said in a statement.

Hammoud, in a statement, said those who attended were "uncompromising in our values and our demands for a permanent cease-fire, ending unrestricted military support to the State of Israel, and expediting humanitarian aid and funding to (the U.S. Palestinian agency), among others."

Hammoud told The News that "he didn't engage" in talk about Biden's campaign.

Working 'around the clock'

Jean-Pierre said Thursday that Biden is working "very hard, around the clock" to "stop the suffering of innocent Palestinians who have been caught in the middle of this conflict."

"We mourn the innocent lives that have been taken," Jean-Pierre said. "We are doing everything we can to get another humanitarian pause so we can get these hostages home to their families and friends, and get that much needed, critical, critical humanitarian aid into Gaza."

 Imam Imran Salha of the Islamic Center of Detroit also was invited to meet with White House officials but didn't because "I have political intelligence to know when a game is being played," he said amid the protest.

"When the main topic is the cease-fire and then you add four other items to the agenda that are un-related to a cease-fire and are obvious 'yes' answers then what you're trying to do is create a conversation where you can walk away and say, 'We met with Muslims, we met with Palestinians, we met with Arabs, we said yes on four things but didn't agree on the fifth thing."

Salha said the other issues beyond cease-fire that were expected to be discussed were the creation of a Palestinian state, more diversity of high-ranking staff in national security and the Leahy Laws. The latter refers to U.S laws prohibiting the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense from providing military assistance to foreign security force units that violate human rights with impunity.