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On the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which is celebrated annually on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the White House hosts a long-held Eid dinner attended by government workers from the Islamic faith, community leaders and members of the diplomatic corps from across the country, but this year the White House has canceled the long-held tradition. The reason is that President Biden supports Israel's policy of war in Gaza.
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Al Jazeera's English-language channel, citing two people familiar with the matter, said the White House decided to cancel the traditional dinner on Tuesday. Because before that, many members of the Muslim community turned down the invitation of the White House and warned its leaders not to participate in protest against Biden's support for Israel's war on the Gaza Strip.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told Al Jazeera: "The Muslim community in the United States has long said that it is completely unacceptable for us to dine with White House officials who support the Israeli government in starving and slaughtering the Palestinian people in Gaza. ”
On Monday, CNN reported that the White House would host a scaled-down iftar dinner the next day, but hours later, the White House announced that Muslim government workers would only have a smaller dinner and would hold a separate meet-and-greet for Muslim community leaders.
Palestinian children wait for food to feed on aid
Even the president's meeting with Muslim leaders did not go ahead as planned, as a result of a Palestinian American doctor withdrawing from the meeting in protest.
The emergency doctor from Chicago, who traveled to Gaza earlier this year, told CNN: "I said I was the only Palestinian here, and out of respect for my community, I was leaving." The meeting was also attended by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Vice President Kamala Harris, among other government officials.
The incident comes after a Palestinian protest vote in the primary for the Democratic presidential candidate in Wisconsin. In the vote, voters who opposed Biden's Israel policies made the choice of an "undesignated" candidate instead of voting for Biden, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, or Rep. Dean Phillips (who has since stopped running), and the voters who made this choice made exactly more than 48,000 votes, or about 8% of voters, more than the Biden campaign group expected to be 20,000, the number of votes Biden had to win over Trump in the state in the 2020 election.
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The results of the Wisconsin vote are reflected in states across the country, and it began with a "no commitment" campaign launched by Michigan's Arab and Muslim communities. The results of Super Tuesday in March also shattered the Biden campaign's expectations of the swing state, with uncommitted votes exceeding Biden's slim majority in the state in 2020.
Biden's approval ratings in the Muslim community have plummeted since Israel began its assault on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip last October. Since then, disgruntled Muslim supporters of Biden will ask Biden to call for a ceasefire as a condition of their support for his 2024 re-election bid.
But recent reports about Israel bombing an aid convoy in the area and the U.S. supplying fighter jets and bombs to Israel are unlikely to help alleviate the problem. As Michael Tomaskie wrote in the February issue of The New Republic, the president needs to change his Israel policy as soon as possible.
“Unacceptable”: White House Cancels Event as Biden Struggles on Gaza. By Hafiz Rashid on THE NEW REPUBLIC, April 3, 2024
The White House has canceled its yearly iftar banquet, a tradition where the president hosts Muslims in government, community leaders from across the country, and members of the diplomatic corps to break their daily Ramadan fast with an evening meal. And President Biden’s Gaza war policy appears to be why.
The White House decided Tuesday to cancel the meal, Al Jazeera English reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The move came after many Muslim community members declined invitations and warned leaders not to attend in protest of Biden’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
“The American Muslim community said very early on that it would be completely unacceptable for us to break bread with the very same White House that is enabling the Israeli government to starve and slaughter the Palestinian people in Gaza,” Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told Al Jazeera.
On Monday, CNN reported that the White House would be hosting a scaled-back iftar dinner the next day, but hours later, the White House announced that there would only be a smaller meal for Muslim government staffers, with a separate meeting for Muslim community leaders.
Even that meeting with the president didn’t go as planned, when a Palestinian American doctor walked out in protest.
“I said it was disappointing I’m the only Palestinian here, and out of respect for my community, I’m going to leave,” Dr. Thaer Ahmad, an emergency physician from Chicago who traveled to Gaza earlier this year, told CNN. That meeting also included national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as other administration officials.
The cancellation comes on the heels of better than expected results for a protest vote in Wisconsin’s Democratic presidential primary elections Tuesday. Voters who selected an “uninstructed” option on their ballot instead of voting for Biden or Representative Dean Phillips (who has suspended his campaign) currently make up 8 percent of the results, or just over 48,000 votes, exceeding organizers’ goal of at least 20,000 votes, which was Biden’s margin of victory over Donald Trump in 2020.
Wisconsin’s results follow similar efforts in states across the country, which began with Michigan’s “uncommitted” movement, spearheaded by the state’s Arab and Muslim American communities. The results on Super Tuesday in March shattered expectations in the swing state, also exceeding Biden’s 2020 margin of victory.
Biden’s support from the Muslim community has sharply declined since the start of the Israeli offensive against Palestinians in Gaza in October. Since then, his disaffected Muslim supporters have demanded he call for a cease-fire in the war before they agree to support his 2024 campaign.
But recent news of Israel’s bombing of an aid convoy in the territory, as well as fresh U.S. shipments of fighter jets and bombs to Israel are not likely to help matters. As Michael Tomasky wrote for The New Republic in February, the president needs to change his Israel policy, and fast.