As Israel continues its ground invasion of Gaza, sympathy for the Palestinians – who voted Hamas into power as the Gaza government in 2005 – has increased. Gone are the images of Hamas terrorists on gliders landing in southern Israel to begin rape, murder and kidnapping of Jewish civilians.
FBI research shows that Jewish citizens make up about 2.4% of the American public but represent 60% of religious-based hate crimes, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate committee this week.
A day after Wray shared that statistic, Vice President Kamala Harris announced a "national strategy" to embrace Muslims and combat "Islamophobia" in the United States. It comes after a similar "strategy" was announced by the Biden-Harris administration to address antisemitism, she said.
Citing the past few weeks, referring to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Harris said Muslims in America are afraid of being "targeted, profiled or attacked simply because of who they are."
"We look forward to continuing our work with community leaders, advocates, members of Congress, and more to develop the strategy – which will be a joint effort led by the Domestic Policy Council and the National Security Council – and counter the scourge of Islamophobia and hate in all its forms," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday.
Oddly, it’s antisemitism that has surged not only on American college campuses but throughout the world.
The new strategy announcement comes a day after a John Zogby Strategies poll showed President Joe Biden rapidly losing the support of Arab-Americans, who have been reliable Democrat voters.
Many Arab and Muslim Americans say they feel betrayed by Biden's financial, political and military support for Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip after an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists that Israeli officials say killed 1,400 people and took 239 hostages, Reuters reported.
Support for Biden has plunged from more than 50% to just 17%, the poll shows.
Arab-American voters are prominent in hotly contested states like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, states that could greatly impact the 2024 presidential election.
Democrats could lose on both sides of the Muslim-Jewish voter question. Jewish Americans have traditionally voted Democrat for the party’s views on social issues. They may choose to pause and consider who they’re supporting on election day.
While Republicans have typically voiced strong support for Israel it’s the Democrats, in particular their far-left wing, that is voicing opposition.
"I'm telling you right now, President Biden, not all America is with you on this one, and you need to wake up and understand that. We are literally watching people commit your genocide killing a vast majority just like this," Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) shouted, swinging her arm over the crowd at a pro-Palestinian rally.
"We will remember this, but all of you, you need to know. I swear to God, He is Allah, you are on the right side of history," she said, pointing to the people.
“We would hope that Americans see them for who they are, for what they’re trying to do," Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) said on Washington Watch Wednesday. "They’re two-faced. They have the politics of personal destruction. They're trying to destroy what we're doing with our greatest friend, our ally. They’re trying to make this sound like it's about the Israelis attacking Hamas."
A House move to censure Tlaib failed Wednesday with 23 Republicans joining Democrats to vote against it.
The vote was 222-186 to table, or kill, a censure resolution against Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress. The resolution, offered by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R-Georgia), accused Tlaib of “antisemitic activity” and referred to the Oct. 8 protest as an “insurrection.”
At least one Republican lawmaker, Chip Roy of Texas, took issue with Tlaib’s actions being called an insurrection. Roy called the measure “deeply flawed.”
“In January of 2021 the legal term insurrection was stretched and abused by many following the events at the Capitol. We should not continue to perpetuate claims of ‘insurrection’ at the Capitol, and we should not abuse the term now,” Roy wrote on the social media platform X.
Weber told show host Tony Perkins that increased hate crimes against Jews and the rise of antisemitism on U.S. college campuses should set off warning bells for Americans who value religious freedom.
“We absolutely ought to be sounding this clarion bell that we'd better be paying attention. We have a great friendship, great relationship with Israel. There are Judeo-Christian roots in our constitution. We better have their backside, and they have our backside,” Weber said.
