When Samraa Luqman voted for Donald Trump last November, she believed that even the remote possibility of his calling for a cease-fire in Gaza made him a better choice than Democrats who had done nothing to stop the killing.
Now, as Trump prepares to return to the White House, a cease-fire has been imposed between Israel and Hamas, in one of the most significant changes to take place in the Gaza Strip, where over 46,700 Palestinians have been killed over the past 15 months.
Yet Luqman isn’t celebrating; instead, she’s furious with outgoing President Joe Biden for not concluding the deal sooner. “It’s infuriating that Trump, who’s no longer even in office, was able to get the ceasefire deal done so quickly,” she said, labeling Biden’s legacy as “Genocide Joe” due to the ties of his administration to Israeli actions in Gaza.
Arab American voters have traditionally supported Democrats, but many abandoned the party in this election, citing dissatisfaction over the party’s handling of Israel’s military strikes. In Michigan, for example, Vice President Kamala Harris secured less than 20 percent of the vote in predominantly Arab neighborhoods.
Amer Ghalib, the Yemeni American mayor of Hamtramck, endorsed Trump citing the ceasefire negotiations as a top demand from Arab and Muslim supporters. Both Trump and Biden took credit for the cease-fire, though it was not immediately apparent how much back-channel diplomacy Trump was engaged in.
While the announcement of a ceasefire brought joy in Gaza, Arab American advocates remain skeptical as to whether Israel will adhere to the agreement. Past history has shown a pattern of ceasefires that have not held, and for many in this community, political affiliations mean little when innocent lives are at stake.
