Post by POA on Jun 3, 2004 14:51:59 GMT -5
Ashraf Fahim: Kerry's Support for Israel Repels Arab Voters
Wednesday, June 02 2004 @ 09:14 AM EDT
"The relatively small Arab-American community - estimated at 3.5 million - has gained prominence beyond its numbers due to its generally high voter turnout.."
By Ashraf Fahim
NEW YORK - The battle for the hearts and minds of Arab-American voters has taken a decidedly negative turn for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry.
A raft of statements by Kerry lauding President George W. Bush's unequivocal support of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has alienated some in a community that, though relatively small, is strategically situated in certain states expected to be closely contested in the November election.
Kerry has recently endorsed Sharon's Gaza disengagement plan as well as Bush's April 14 commitment to Sharon, acquiescing to Israel's retention of large West Bank settlements, and the denial of Palestinian refugees' right of return. Previously, Kerry has expressed support for Israel's assassinations of Palestinian leaders, the construction of its separation barrier and the isolation of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
The only area in which Kerry has been willing to criticize Bush is for his "lack of engagement" in the peace process, and failure to dispatch a high-level mediator to the region, something Kerry says he would do immediately upon assuming office.
While there is widespread dissatisfaction with the Bush administration among Arab-Americans on issues like Iraq and civil liberties, Kerry's support for Sharon is leading some to draw back from him for the time being.
New York resident Sarab al-Jijakli says that although most Arab-Americans oppose Bush's policies, Kerry has not yet provided "clear leadership" on Palestine or Iraq. "Why should Arabs vote for Kerry?" he asks. "Just because he's not Bush?"
The relatively small Arab-American community - estimated at 3.5 million - has gained prominence beyond its numbers due to its generally high voter turnout and preponderance in several "battleground" states - notably Michigan.
A majority of Arab-Americans voted for Bush in 2000, partly due to a perception that, like his father, he would be relatively evenhanded on the Arab-Israeli issue.
But, polls now give Kerry a double-digit lead over Bush, with a large number undecided or leaning toward independent candidate Ralph Nader, who many supported in 2000 and who is of Lebanese descent.
Judge William Shaheen, the head of the Kerry campaign in New Hampshire, is the senator's unofficial liaison with the Arab-American community and the husband of former New Hampshire governor Jeanne Shaheen, Kerry's national campaign chair. Judge Shaheen is adamant that a Kerry presidency would offer hope on Palestine.
It would bring "a breath of fresh air" to the peace process Shaheen told The Daily Star.
Shaheen maintains that Kerry's individual positions are less important than his willingness to mediate. According to Shaheen, the real problem is "that we have a president who's not engaged in the peace process.
"Can you imagine any worse scenario for the Arabs, for the Palestinians, to do four more years of what we've just had?" he asks. "I think the only chance they have is to support Kerry. And to have faith that he wants to be a great president, and great president's bring peace."
Many Arab-Americans have faith that, although it is perhaps the lesser of two evils, a Kerry presidency offers some hope.
"It's hard to get a president into office who's evenhanded on Palestine," says Philadelphia resident Ribhi Mustafa, "but the Democrats do tend to work a little bit harder for peace."
Long-time observers of the Arab-Israeli conflict like Henry Siegman, the director of the Council on Foreign Relations' US/Middle East project, are skeptical of Kerry's approach.
Applauding the Bush administration's policies while simply offering to send a high-level envoy is "meaningless," says Siegman, "because emissaries mean nothing unless they are emissaries with a mandate to implement a new policy."
Siegman underlines, however, that presidential hopefuls walk on eggshells when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian issue for fear of alienating the pro-Israel constituency. Therefore, he says: "One cannot take seriously anything Kerry says about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
Kerry's recently expressed views have been a letdown to community leaders like James Zogby, president of the Arab-American Institute (AAI), who is in close contact with the Kerry campaign. At an AAI conference in October, Kerry had won plaudits for labeling Israel's separation barrier "provocative and counter-productive." But he has since called it a "legitimate act of self-defense."
Zogby says that Kerry's views on Israeli-Palestinian issues risk alienating those for whom that issue is paramount. "There is a significant portion of the community - about 30 percent - that is not convinced that there is a fundamental difference (between Bush and Kerry) on this issue," he says, "which is a critical issue that they care a great deal about, maybe to the exclusion of others."
A poll commissioned by the AAI in late April in four battleground states that have sizeable Arab-American populations - Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio - found that while Kerry leads Bush by 45 to 28 percent, the remainder intend to vote for Nader or are undecided.
The number of Arab-American voters in those states - 510,000 - is approximately equivalent to the combined margin of victory in all four in 2000. Some 170,000 of those votes are still up for grabs, says Zogby, and convincing undecided voters to support Kerry hinges on his stance on Palestine.
Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report, says the Kerry campaign is simply deferring to Jewish supporters, who provide significant funding for the Democratic party. And Jewish voters are turning to Bush in unprecedented numbers because of his pro-Israel policies, he says.
"There's no question that President Bush is going to get a bigger percentage of the Jewish vote than Republicans normally get, and maybe than a Republican has ever gotten," says Cook. Kerry's campaigns are "just trying to cut their losses."
Still, Zogby has not given up hope that Kerry's position could evolve to win over wavering Arab-Americans.
Source: The Daily Star
