U.S. Presidential nominee Kamala Harris has hired an Egypt-origin lawyer Brenda Abdelall to woo Arab American voters. Abdelall is also a former Department of Homeland Security official. The campaign said that Arab American voters hold sway in some states and could help decide Harris’ fate in the Nov 5 elections.
Abdelall joined the agency in January, 2021, shortly after Trump left office, to be chief of staff for the department’s civil rights office. She grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan and previously ran a food website focused on Middle Eastern cuisine. She has taught Middle Eastern cooking classes at a culinary school in northern Virginia.
Abdelall’s task now would be to gather support from a community that is frustrated with the U.S’ support for Israel. Harris has made other hires too, for outreach to specific communities. She hired Afghan American lawyer Nasrina Bargzie to reach out to Muslim Americans.
Outcome from Muslim and Arab Americans could help in deciding the outcome of elections from battleground states. This will be true in especially states like Michigan where streets are witnessing protests over the Israel-Gaza war. Harris is in a tight race with Republican candidate Donald trump.
In 2020 during Biden’s campaign, he won a large share of Arab and Muslim votes. However, his support for Israel despite the huge death toll in Gaza has frustrated many community members. They launched an “uncommitted” campaign against him in the Democratic nominating contests.
Michigan, where Harris is due to visit next week, is home to one of the largest Muslim and Arab American populations in the United States. More than 100,000 voters cast their ballot “uncommitted” instead of Biden, who stepped aside as candidate on July 21, in the state’s primary.
Some activists say they hold Harris responsible for the Biden administration’s Israel policy and the crisis in Gaza.
Following last week’s Democratic convention, pro-Palestinian activists said Harris had failed to demonstrate any break from the status quo.
Pro-Palestinian voices are not expected to vote for Trump and have indicated no support for the Republican. However, some activists have launched a campaign to “Abandon Harris” and have urged their supporters to back third-party candidates.
