Some prominent Lebanese Americans on Friday endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris for president, saying in a letter that the U.S. had been "unrelenting" in its support for Lebanon under the Biden administration and they expect additional backing if Harris wins in November.
Signatories include former members of Congress Donna Shalala and Toby Moffett, former President Barack Obama's onetime transportation secretary Ray LaHood, academics, CEOs and investors.
The endorsement came amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon. According to the Lebanese health ministry, more than 1.2 million people have been displaced. The Hezbollah terror group has also fired on Israel killing soldiers and civilians. On Saturday, over 150 rockets targeted Israel, killing at least one man and wounding others.
A number of Arab Americans and Muslims are abandoning the Democratic Party over the Biden administration's support for Israel in its war with Hamas.
Some Arab Americans and Muslims have declined to endorse Harris, while others are backing her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, or third-party candidate Jill Stein of the Green Party.
The letter was organized by Ed Gabriel, president of the American Task Force on Lebanon, a Washington policy group, in his personal capacity. Gabriel is one of several Arab American and Muslim leaders who met with Harris when she visited Flint, Michigan, on Oct. 4.
The signers wrote they had been reassured that their concerns about the violence in Lebanon and the need for economic and political reforms would be supported if Harris won the Nov. 5 election. Her views stood in "stark" contrast to Trump, they wrote, without elaboration.
“This year has been very difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon,” Harris said on a visit to Michigan, home to the largest Arab American community in the United States. She said the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “can and must be a turning point.”
“Everyone must seize this opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, bring the hostages home and end the suffering once and for all,” she said.
Trump's campaign had no immediate comment, but a source close to the campaign said it planned more outreach events in Michigan next week. Trump also stopped by a campaign headquarters in Hamtramck, a suburb of Detroit, on Friday.
Trump, meanwhile, avoided any specifics about his plans for the Middle East, but he said he didn’t think the Arab American community would vote for Harris “because she doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
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