The Arab voter’s dilemma in the US elections

With the US presidential elections just days away, I find myself still struggling to choose between two candidates I view as two unavoidable evils.

Perhaps the day I’ve dreamed of since childhood—the day a woman becomes president of the country I live in—may finally come. Yet, such a “feminist” victory for women’s rights feels secondary and fragile compared to the civil and fundamental rights of the people of Palestine and Lebanon.

I wonder how an Arab voter like me could cast a vote for Harris, knowing her policy and stance on the genocide in Gaza and the war on Lebanon. If Gaza has exposed the depth of the American-Zionist alliance and laid bare Israel's insatiable thirst for vengeance after more than a year of bloodshed and oppression—and by proxy, America’s agenda to reshape the rules of the game in the Middle East—how can we not measure our voting decisions by Gaza, and now by Lebanon as well?

The Arab voter’s dilemma

I wonder how an Arab voter like me could cast a vote for Harris, knowing her policy and stance on the genocide in Gaza and the war on Lebanon. If Gaza has exposed the depth of the American-Zionist alliance and laid bare Israel's insatiable thirst for vengeance after more than a year of bloodshed and oppression—and by proxy, America’s agenda to reshape the rules of the game in the Middle East—how can we not measure our voting decisions by Gaza, and now by what’s being done to Lebanon as well?

The Arab vote in American elections depends on several factors, including foreign policy and candidates’ stances on Arab and Middle Eastern issues like the genocide in Gaza, the Israeli war on Lebanon, American complicity in both, the war in Syria, and relations with major players in the Middle East region.

The rhetoric is familiar and repetitive. We keep hearing the same words without the United States forcing Israel's hand off our region. And here we return to the pivotal question: Where should the Arab vote go?

Following this, other concerns are prioritized differently by each voter, such as domestic issues. These include civil rights, discrimination, and social justice—matters that significantly impact the lives of voters, especially for Arab communities in the United States.

Candidates' histories, reputations, past and current actions, and future governance plans, particularly their stance on human rights and issues of concern to Arab communities, weigh heavily on voters’ choices. Personal and cultural considerations, as well as voters’ individual and collective experiences as immigrants, refugees, expatriates, or students, also play a significant role, as many Arab-Americans have endured forms of abuse and restriction under current presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump.

Trump and a history of racism

These issues have an impact on Arab voters’ decisions. The Arab voter cannot forget or overlook Trump’s foreign policies, especially his blind support for Israel. This was most evident in his decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2017, when he declared, “It is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” and sparked outrage among Arabs at the time.

Even if the day a woman becomes president of the country finally arrives, this long-awaited feminist milestone would feel secondary and fragile compared to the civil and fundamental rights the people of Palestine and Lebanon deserve.

In actions as well as words, Trump’s rhetoric is marked by discrimination, incitement, and provocation against Arabs, immigrants, refugees, women, and all marginalized groups, thus placing him in a contentious light. His words and attitudes reveal a deep-seated disdain and arrogance toward entire communities.

This hostility and the portrayal of “the other”—anyone who isn’t white—as an enemy shaped Trump’s immigration policies, such as the US travel ban he imposed on citizens from several Muslim-majority countries soon after taking office.

His disregard for humanitarian crises both in our region and globally, alongside his continued discriminatory policies in civil and human rights, has further tainted his image. His administration’s efforts to cut budgets for human rights agencies, including the Department of Justice, have hampered these agencies’ abilities to combat discrimination. This has contributed to a cultural movement marred by blind persecution and hatred of “the other,” leading to numerous hate crimes recorded across the US targeting innocent Arab Americans.

In actions as well as words, Trump’s rhetoric is marked by discrimination, incitement, and provocation against Arabs, immigrants, refugees, women, and all marginalized groups, thus placing him in a contentious light. His words and attitudes reveal a deep-seated disdain and arrogance toward entire communities.

Moreover, Trump also indirectly opposed social movements advocating for racial justice, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. He rolled back protections for minority rights, including laws against discrimination in the workplace and education, while blatantly overlooking human rights violations.

Harris: Another face for Israel’s support

As for Kamala Harris, she seems impressive only on paper, as the American idiom goes. She is currently the first woman to hold the position of Vice President of the United States and the first woman of Indian and African American descent to reach such a high office in the country. She had previously served as a senator from California.

In reality, Harris's policies do not differ significantly from those of her fellow Democrat, Biden; she is, in effect, merely a polished version of some of Trump's policies mentioned above. While she claims to support the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples, she has not budged an inch from her unwavering, unconditional support for Israel, even as she calls for the necessity of humanitarian assistance.

Here lies the tragic farce, as the United States attempts to patch up the wounds of the burned Palestinian with a mere band-aid, offering a sip of water to those who have seen their loved ones buried, their homes bombed, and their dignity and humanity stripped away by Israel.

As the first woman to hold the position of Vice President of the United States and the first woman of Indian and African American descent to reach such a high office in the country, Kamala Harris seems impressive only on paper. In reality, Harris's policies do not differ significantly from those of her fellow Democrat, Biden; she is, in effect, merely a polished version of some of Trump's controversial policies. While she claims to support the Palestinian and Lebanese people, she has not budged an inch from her unwavering, unconditional support for Israel.

Harris’s record may not be as dark as Trump’s regarding some issues. She has expressed her commitment to equal rights and her belief that access to abortion is an essential aspect of women’s equality, advocating that abortion services be available to all women regardless of economic or social background. She has also supported measures to expand access to healthcare and criticized restrictions on abortion imposed by some states.

However, it seems the rights of tens of thousands of martyred women and children—victims of genocide—have not reached Harris’s ears. On multiple occasions, she refused to allow some speakers of Arab descent to participate when the opportunity arose, instead choosing to restrict and silence them. Harris shields herself behind diplomatic rhetoric as a way to address difficult, complex, and sensitive issues like Israel’s violent wars on Gaza and Lebanon.

She has expressed her support for Lebanese sovereignty and the well-being of the Lebanese people, especially in light of the economic and political crises they are facing. The rhetoric is familiar and repetitive. We keep hearing the same words without the United States forcing Israel's hand off our region. And here we return to the pivotal question: Where should the Arab vote go?

While Kamala Harris has expressed her commitment to equal rights and access to abortion, it seems the rights of tens of thousands of martyred women and children—victims of genocide—have not reached Harris’s ears. On multiple occasions, she refused to allow some speakers of Arab descent to participate, instead choosing to restrict and silence them. Harris shields herself behind diplomatic rhetoric as a way to address difficult, complex, and sensitive issues like Israel’s violent wars on Gaza and Lebanon.

Zero hour

Due to the structure of the Electoral College system in the US, the president is not elected directly by the people. Each state has a set number of electors proportional to its population, and the candidate who wins the majority in a state typically receives all its electoral votes.

Another issue is the lack of opportunities for candidates outside the Democratic and Republican parties due to the dominance of these two parties in the political scene, making it extremely difficult for candidates from smaller parties or independents to compete effectively. This is in addition to biased media coverage, and the enormous funding, financial backing, and support the two-party system receives. For instance, a staggering $10.5 billion was spent on campaign ads in the 2024 election cycle, according to data collected by the ad-tracking company AdImpact.

In these final days leading up to the election, both sides are working to win over the undecided voter, making the Arab vote particularly valuable today. Voters are regularly told that casting a vote for a candidate outside the two-party system indirectly aids Trump. So what should they do? Should they cast a blank ballot and write the words “Gaza and Lebanon” in bold? Should they choose between dark evil and a lighter shade of evil? The answer will be revealed on November 5.

* The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Raseef22