Apparent Israeli airstrike kills at least 18 people at a mosque in central Gaza

TO THE FACT. Monday marks a year since Hamas launched its violent attack on Israel, killing hundreds of people at a music festival, and Israel began its deadly response. MICHIGAN IS 6,000 MILES FROM THE FIGHTING, BUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE BIGGEST CONCERN FOR TEN THOUSANDS OF VOTERS IN THIS BATTLEGROUND STATE. MICHIGAN'S ARAB-AMERICAN POPULATION EXCEEDS 300,000. THE LARGEST IN THE USA, AND IN DEARBORN THIS COMMUNITY IS NOW THE MAJORITY. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN WON MICHIGAN Narrowly in 2020, THANKS IN PART TO ARAB AMERICANS WHO VOTED FOR HIM BY ABOUT 70%. Well, now the community is threatening to withdraw its support for the Democratic presidential ticket. Our correspondent DINA DEMETRIUS traveled to Dearborn to speak with Arab American leaders who say they feel backed into a political corner. FREE, FREE, FREE PALESTINE. FREE FREE FREE PALESTINE. There is sadness and anger about the war in Gaza. AT A RALLY OUTSIDE THIS YEAR'S ARABCON. We don't need to be so defensive in a debate about how this should affect the Arab-American vote. We should be really rigorous and strategic to ensure that our voice is not wasted. THERE IS A LOT OF FRUSTRATION IN THE COMMUNITY. AYOUB heads the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Really, they are tired of their voice and voice being taken for granted. DEARBORN IS BEST KNOWN AS THE HOME OF FORD HEADQUARTERS. NOW IT IS ALSO KNOWN FOR ITS ARAB-AMERICAN COMMUNITY. For decades they were aligned with conservative Republicans, but Nine Over Eleven and the War on Terror swung the pendulum firmly toward the Democrats. OSAMA SIBLANI IS EDITOR OF THE ARAB-AMERICAN NEWS. WE SUPPORTED REPUBLICANS. WE ALSO SUPPORTED DEMOCRATS. WHAT'S DIFFERENT NOW IS AT THE TOP OF THE TICKET AND PROBABLY AT THE SENATOR LEVEL: WE WILL NOT VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN OR A DEMOCRAT. WE PROBABLY WILL NOT VOTE IF 40,000 GAZANIANS ARE KILLED. They are frustrated by the Biden-Harris administration's continued aid to Israel, but also see a danger in former President Trump and his so-called Muslim ban in 2017, creating a moral and political bind. We want America to be in good hands. I don't believe in Donald Trump as president, and that's not support for Kamala Harris. DONALD TRUMP IS A THREAT TO OUR COUNTRY. So he is out of the question. We will not vote for genocide this November. And that's the difficult situation, right? WHERE NOW YOU HAVE THE DOMESTIC ISSUES THAT YOU REALLY NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS, AND THERE IS NO EASY ANSWER, BUT THE DIFFERENT FEELING IN ALL OF THESE CONVERSATIONS: GENOCIDE IS THE RED LINE. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE PEOPLE IN GAZA ARE SIMPLY NOT PALESTINIANS. THEY ARE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND BESIDES, I AM A HUMAN BEING. I am an American. I don't want my tax dollars to be used to kill innocent men, women and children. THESE LEADERS OF THE DISENGAGED NATIONAL MOVEMENT HAVE FOOT AN ANTI-WAR BID WITHIN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY ELECTIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. They campaigned for non-binding protest votes. IT WORKED AND THERE WAS A MESSAGE AT THE TOP OF THE TICKET. We went to the administration and said we were ready to mobilize our voters. WE REPRESENTED 101,000 VOTERS IN MICHIGAN, which means almost a million voters nationwide. WE ARE READY TO MOBILIZE THIS BASE FOR YOU IF YOU PARTICIPATE IN CONVERSATIONS AND ACTIONS THAT SHOW A CHANGE IN POLICY AND THAT POLICY COULD LOOK LIKE MAINTAINING LEAHY LAW, OUR OWN AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM, AS WELL AS MAINTAINING HUMANITARIAN INTERNATIONAL LAW. We need a complete halt to arms transfers and aid to Israel, which is carrying out collective punishment of Palestinians. BUT EVEN WITH 30 DELEGATES AT THE Democratic Convention, the group saw no signs of a policy change and no Palestinians were invited to speak. NOW UNCOMMITTED HAS WITHHOLD AN ENDORSEMENT FROM HARRIS WHILE ALSO WARNING ABOUT TRUMP OR A THIRD PARTY WHO COULD HELP HIM WIN. But doesn't it also depress the vote that could potentially bring Trump into office to not mobilize Arab-American voters here in Michigan, where they are so important, right? Might that not be the case, apart from the vote on why we blame voters for the party's failure to do its job as a candidate? IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE PEOPLE BELIEVE IN THE VISION YOU REPRESENT? AND IF YOU DON'T DO THIS JOB AND PEOPLE DON'T VOTE FOR YOU, IT'S NO ONE'S FAULT BUT YOUR OWN. WE UNDERSTAND THE RISKS OF NOVEMBER, AND WE WANT TO PURCHASE OUR ENERGY NOW TO HELP OUR COMMUNITIES UNDERSTAND WHAT IS RISK AND WHAT IS AT PLAY. Would you say the Arab American community now feels politically homeless? I THINK SO. I think politically homeless is a good description. I will say this. I think that third party complaints must be taken seriously. Maybe not in this election, but I think, two years from now and four years from now, what are we doing on November 6th? THE RESULTS WILL NOT BE SURPRISING THAT JILL STEIN IS NO LONGER. WHAT DO WE DO? Can we make a statement without compromising our political commitment? CAN YOU? I think we can do that. I really do. If we don't vote for the president, we won't be marginalized. And I think that they need to think about the fact that we can easily create this point or a point. LET THEM SWEAT OUT A LITTLE