Part of the Series
Struggle and Solidarity: Writing Toward Palestinian Liberation
An open letter to the White House sent by Muslim, Arab and Palestinian American leaders and groups informed President Joe Biden that they would not meet with him in Chicago when he requested to do so last week.
The White House had requested that these leaders visit with the president to discuss Israel’s relentless attacks against Palestinians in Gaza. Biden arrived in the city on Thursday last week.
The letter was signed by more than 40 leaders and organizations in Chicagoland, including American Muslims for Palestine, CAIR Chicago, the Muslim Bar Association of Chicago, Muslims for Just Futures, the Palestinian American Council, the Human Dignity Project, the United Holy Land Fund, and more.
“This letter is to communicate with transparency and clarity why the Palestinian American leadership of Chicagoland has unanimously decided (along with key Muslim and Arab leadership) against attending planned meetings with White House officials in Chicago this week,” the letter-writers state in the opening paragraph.
Saying that there “is no point in more meetings,” the letter-writers noted that the White House’s position on Israel’s brutal siege of Gaza is already known. The organizations and individuals who have signed on to the letter, meanwhile, have “made it abundantly clear, including in prior meetings with the White House, but also in press statements” their opposition to the U.S.’s staunch support of Israel’s genocide.
“With a genocide that has flattened Gaza, forcibly displacing 85% of its residents, and claiming the lives of 31,000 people, 13,000 of whom are children, the White House has not only refused to call for a ceasefire, but also enabled this blatant campaign of ethnic cleansing to take place by providing financial and military means, as well as diplomatic support at the United Nations,” the letter states. “A meeting of the minds is nowhere in sight.”
There is no confusion as to our consistent demand for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to end the mass murder of civilians and stave off the worst humanitarian crisis in modern times. We believe another meeting would only act to whitewash months of White House inaction followed by meek handouts. We are interested in serious action.
“We stand with a diverse coalition of our fellow Americans when we demand, at minimum, an immediate and permanent ceasefire, complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, ultimately ending the siege and blockade of Gaza, allowing the natural flow of humanitarian aid, reinstating funding to UNRWA, a cessation of weapons sales or transfers to Israel, and accountability measures for all war crimes, crimes against humanity, the crime of genocide, and justice and liberation for the Palestinians,” the letter from the coalition of leaders concludes. “That is what history will judge us by, not more token meetings when every day is of the essence.”
The letter to Biden came almost a week before the now-nominal statewide Democratic Party primary election for president. Although Biden attained enough delegates to secure his nomination status last week, the state is still an important one in the Midwest for him to secure in the 2024 general election. The primary election in Illinois will take place this coming Tuesday.
More than 100,000 Arab Americans live in the Chicago area, and more than 350,000 Muslims live within the state of Illinois.
Although Illinois is deemed likely to vote “blue” in the race, losing the support of Muslims, Arab and Palestinian American voters there and in neighboring Great Lakes states would be devastating for Biden — especially when it comes to Michigan and Wisconsin, swing states that are considered imperative for Biden to have a shot at securing a second term in the White House.
Muslim and Arab voters were indeed a major component of the electorate that helped Biden to defeat Donald Trump in Michigan in the 2020 presidential race. But as Israel’s genocide in Gaza has gone on now for several months, and with no action by the administration to pressure Israel to agree to a permanent ceasefire, Muslim voters are expressing their grief and frustration with the Biden White House through protest votes — including voting “uncommitted” in primary races.
Muslims in Illinois are a part of that movement, with pro-Palestine groups planning to turn out in droves to vote uncommitted on Tuesday. Chicago is home to the largest per capita Palestinian population in the entire country.
Even though the primary doesn’t give voters an option to have their uncommitted votes recorded, the movement is hoping that, by voting in other down-ballot races but not the presidential primary, they can showcase to Biden that they feel betrayed by his participation in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“It felt like the President did not see many Americans [in his State of the Union address] — and we want to make sure he knows he needs us,” read a flyer from the Muslim Civic Coalition encouraging an uncommitted vote in the primary.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.