On Saturday, dozens of Lebanese Americans signed a letter supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Lebanon, while other Lebanese Americans have criticized the Biden-Harris administration and vowed not to support the Democratic ticket in this year’s election.
The letter comes after weeks of Israeli bombings in Lebanon, as Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has expanded to target Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group. Southern Lebanon has been most hit, with Israeli airstrikes killing 15 people in the town of Qana on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
Over the past year, 2,377 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, with more than three-quarters of them killed in the past month since Israel’s offensive. Over 1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon, including some 400,000 children, according to the AP.
Hezbollah has repeatedly launched rocket attacks into Israel since the war’s outbreak following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, with the AP reporting that nearly 60 people in Israel have been killed from Hezbollah’s rockets, around half of them identified as soldiers.
Israeli forces took out longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in late-September, and on Wednesday killed Hamas’ leader Yahya Sinwar.
The Biden-Harris administration has faced criticism over its approach to the war, with some accusing it of being too lenient on Israel, while others say it hasn’t shown enough support for the country. The war has become a significant voting issue for some groups, including Arab Americans. Over 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war started.
A letter from “Lebanese Americans for Harris,” dated October 19, was shared on X, formerly Twitter, and said, “We, Lebanese Americans, wholeheartedly endorse Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States and Governor Tim Walz as the Vice President.” Newsweek reviewed the letter prior to it be taken down on X over incorrect information about a signatory.
The letter continues: “During the past three years, under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, the United States has been unrelenting in its support for the people of Lebanon, which has included,” and goes on to list military aid, maritime border negotiations, and immigration support, among others.
In conclusion, the letter says: “We have been reassured that the concerns expressed by our community and issues outlined in this letter will be supported and strengthened under a Harris-Walz administration. Their views stand in stark difference to those of the Trump campaign. We encourage our fellow Lebanese Americans to join with us in this effort to elect Kamala Harris.”
The letter has just over 60 signatures, which include former U.S. Representatives Donna Shalala and Toby Moffett, as well as former President Barack Obama’s transportation secretary Ray LaHood.
Reuters reported that the letter was organized by former U.S. ambassador to Morocco, Edward Gabriel. He currently serves as the president of the American Task Force on Lebanon (AFTL), a nonprofit organization that seeks to strengthen ties between the United States and Lebanon. He is also a board member of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).
Newsweek has reached out via email on Sunday to the ATFL and USIP to contact Gabriel.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
However, other Lebanese Americans disagree with the letter’s argument, with many Arab Americans having said they’re not voting for the Democratic Party over the administration’s support for Israel.
Former four-time independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader has vocally criticized the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of Israel’s military offensives in Lebanon and Gaza.
Nader, the son of Lebanese immigrants, warned the administration in an X post on Saturday that Lebanese Americans could potentially swing the extremely tight presidential election that is quickly approaching.
“There are two million Lebanese Americans in the U.S. with relatives over there. They are in swing states like Michigan and Pennsylvania. If enough of them boycott the Lebanon-destroying Biden/Harris in November, the Democrats can pay dearly for their ‘iron bond’ with the genocidal Israeli government. Wake up Bibi Biden! Strike Netanyahu’s chains around you! The Trumpsters are coming!” he wrote.
Harris and former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee, have been campaigning in the battleground state of Michigan in recent days, which has a large Arab American population. On Saturday, Harris held a rally in Detroit where Trump held one on Friday.
Over 1 million people in Michigan have already voted by mail in the November 5 election.
Meanwhile, Harris and Trump are running neck-and-neck in Michigan. The vice president has a slight lead of 47.4 percent compared to Trump’s 47.2 percent, according to poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight’s stateaverages.
Newsweek has submitted a contact request form on Nader’s official website on Sunday afternoon.
Some Lebanese Americans are expressing their frustration with the administration at the polls, as documented by a Friday NBC News segment that featured Lebanese American voters in Dearborn, Michigan, that feel “betrayed” and “dehumanized” by the Biden-Harris administration.
Of the four voters interviewed, none said they would vote for Harris, and a majority said they would support Green Party candidate Jill Stein. One voter, who said she would vote for Trump, said it was a “vote against Kamala Harris,” and not an endorsement of the former president.
Newsweek has reached out to Harris’ and Trump’s campaign for comment via email on Sunday afternoon.
An Arab American Institute poll released earlier in October suggested Trump is gaining ground among voters in the demographic. The poll showed him receiving 42 percent of the vote, compared to Harris’ 41 percent. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent who has exited the race and endorsed Trump, received 6 percent of the vote. Stein and independent Cornel West received 5 percent and 1 percent respectively, according to the poll.
The poll surveyed 500 Arab American voters between September 9 and September 20. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
The Arab American Political Action Committee said on Monday that it won’t endorse either the Democratic or Republican presidential nominee, the first time the group has ever done so.
