Hamtramck voters send President Biden a clear message

On Sunday, a rally was held in Zussman Park where voters were urged to vote “uncommitted” in Tuesday’s election as a way to send President Biden a message to end military support for Israel’s invasion in Gaza.

By Charles Sercombe

Hamtramck voters got the message about voting “uncommitted” in Tuesday’s presidential primary.
A whopping 61 percent of voters sent President Joe Biden a strong message to back off from supporting Israel and its invasion of Gaza.
Biden still won the Democratic primary election here in Hamtramck with 32 percent of the vote.
Hamtramck voters, however, were out of step with state voters who overwhelmingly supported him, with 13 percent of state voters voting “uncommitted,” which is within the range of past elections.
Former President Donald Trump easily won the Republican primary presidential election. In Hamtramck, 18 percent of Republican voters marked “uncommitted” on their ballot.
Muslim community leaders and progressives had been urging voters to vote “uncommitted.”
On Sunday, a rally was held in Zussman Park, urging voters to send Biden a protest message by voting “uncommitted.”
Leading the charge for voters to vote “uncommitted” has been Hamtramck’s State Rep. Abraham Aiyash, who is a Yemeni-American. Aiyash is a Democrat, and the Majority Floor Leader in Lansing.
At the rally, Aiyash said:
“Now we vote uncommitted because no matter what the pundits will tell you, we are voting uncommitted because we are not giving up on America. We are the true patriots that stand and believe in a democracy, because in a democracy you are told when things are not going right, you use the ballot box to send your message.”
He has told media outlets that his hope is that this protest message will get Biden to reset his position on Israel.
Biden has increasingly become critical of Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu, and has been demanding there be a ceasefire to allow Israeli hostages to be freed, and to get Hamas to rethink its strategy, according to media reports.
Local and national media zeroed in on the Michigan anti-Biden movement being led mostly by Arabs, Muslims and young political progressives.
The media attention has also focused on Michigan being a critical swing state in the November election, and how these protest votes could lead to Trump winning a second term as the Republican candidate.
The Arab/Muslim vote totals about 150,000 in the state. Biden beat Trump in 2020 by 150,000 votes.
While Biden has received the brunt of criticism for his support of Israel, Trump has warned that if he is elected he will deport immigrants who support Hamas, the military and political arm of Palestinians.
Hamas invaded Israel back in October, killing about 1,200 people and taking a couple of hundred as hostages.
That prompted Israel to retaliate by invading Gaza. So far about 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, many of them women and children.
The U.S. has long supported the right for Israel to exist and defend itself. Trump is also a supporter of Israel and Netanyahu.
While there was a significant protest vote against Biden, he still won the state’s primary election as the Democratic candidate for president.
In Hamtramck, Biden received 433 votes, or 32 percent of the Democratic vote, and Trump received 264 Republican votes, or 67 percent. Both Biden and Trump have long been the presumed the front runners for their respective political parties.
Media attention was particularly interested in what voters will do in Dearborn, where there is a large population of Arab and Muslim voters.
According to media reports, Dearborn voters also sent Biden a strong protest vote. Over half of those who voted in Dearborn, 56 percent, also voted “uncommitted.”
Hamtramck’s population is now a Muslim majority, most of whom are from Bangladesh and Yemen.
The city’s mayor and city council are comprised of all males who are all of the Muslim faith. The mayor and councilmembers were also urging voters to vote “uncommitted.”
In Hamtramck, there were no other issues on the ballot.

Updated on March 1. 2024