Biden Faces Backlash from Arab-Americans Over Israel Position

Survey on Arab American Support for Biden
2020: 59% → This Year: 17.4% Decrease

Support for President Joe Biden, seeking re-election next year, has significantly dropped among Arab Americans. This decline comes as the U.S. fully backs Israel, which is at war after an attack from the Palestinian militant group Hamas, causing resentment among Arab-Americans to grow. The political burden on President Biden is also increasing due to the war in Israel following the war in Ukraine.

According to a poll conducted by the Arab American Institute (AAI) on May 31 (local time), only 17.4% of the 500 Arab Americans surveyed between May 23 and 27 said they would vote for President Biden if the election were held today.

Responses in favor of former President Donald Trump, a Republican, stood at 40%, leading President Biden by 22.6 points. Independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. had a support rate of 13.7%, while independent candidate Cornel West recorded 3.8%. A notable 25.1% of respondents said they were unsure.

Support for President Biden among Arab Americans was as high as 59% in 2020. This means support has dropped by 42 points in just three years. Support for former President Trump increased by 5 points over the same period, and support for third-party candidates also rose by 13 points. This suggests that those who withdrew their support from President Biden mainly moved to third-party candidates rather than former President Trump.

Party affiliation also saw a significant drop for the Democratic Party, to which President Biden belongs. Respondents who identified with the Democratic Party dropped by 17 points from a survey conducted in April to 23%. This is the lowest level ever in polls achieved since 1996. Respondents who identified with the Republican Party stood at 32%, while independents were at 31%.

President Biden’s foreign policy also received harsh reviews. Regarding ‘President Biden’s response to the current violence between Israel and Palestine,’ 67% of all respondents were negative. 68% of respondents were also against U.S. weapon support for Israel.

President Biden has taken a conciliatory stance toward Iran, including efforts to restore the Iran nuclear deal that his predecessor, former President Trump, scrapped. However, criticism of President Biden’s policy toward Iran has intensified as Hamas, which Iran supports, launched a surprise attack on Israel.

In the midst of this, the White House announced on the same day that Israel and Hamas should consider a temporary cessation of hostilities. Israel has been expanding its operations by deploying ground troops to the Gaza Strip since May 27.

John Kirby, the National Security Council’s (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communications, said, “It’s not the time for a general ceasefire,” but added that “a humanitarian temporary cessation of hostilities could be valuable.” He argued that it’s time to consider temporarily halting hostilities for humanitarian aid, although he opposed a formal ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

He criticized the Republicans, the majority in the House of Representatives, for trying to handle the Israel support proposal separately from the Ukraine-Israel package support proposal recently requested by the White House, saying, “We should not play political games with national security.” He continued, “The president will not do anything that does not meet our core national needs,” hinting that he could veto the Republicans’ separate Israel support proposal even if it passes through Congress.

By. Kwon Hye Young