Republican ads in Arab-majority Michigan areas highlight Kamala Harris’s Israel ties

A group aligned with the Republican party is running digital advertisements in Muslim and Arab majority areas of Michigan, highlighting Kamala Harris’s husband’s Jewish faith and her ties to Israel, amid accusations of antisemitism.

The move is an apparent effort to dissuade Muslim and Arab Americans from voting for Harris in the battleground state.

There has been growing frustration with the Biden-Harris administration’s continued support for Israel in the ongoing war on Gaza among Arabs and Muslims.

The group, Future Coalition PAC, has been running ads on social networking sites including YouTube and Facebook, highlighting that Harris’ husband, Douglas Emhoff, is Jewish. In one ad, he is shown celebrating Hannukah.

"Emhoff, making history, standing up for what’s right, supporting Israel," the narrator says in one ad.

The Future Coalition PAC was established in July, and has already run six ads since September, according to the Google Ads Transparency Centre. Three of those ads have focused on Emhoff’s Jewish faith, and the others on Harris’s support for Israel.

The data shows that all the ads were only shown in Michigan, and the most money was spent in districts with significant Arab and Muslim populations, including Dearborn. The group has spent just under $6,000 on the ads, according to Google.

Many of the ads contained images of the Israeli flag and refer to Emhoff as Harris’s "top adviser" and reiterate that he would be the first Jewish presidential spouse ever.

"Vice President Harris has chosen a side, the right side. Harris has made herself clear: She stands with Israel and the Jewish people. She has, again and again. She understands the unbreakable bond between the US and Israel," another ad states.

Another ad sheds light on Harris ties to Israel, saying: “so when [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu came to DC, Harris hosted the prime minister at the White House. And when supporters of a free Palestine stood up for Gaza, Harris put them in their place”.

Polls this year have shown close competition between Harris and former President Donald Trump in Michigan.

The Future Coalition PAC has not yet filed a report stating who its donors are; however, filings suggest it has Republican Party links.

It also lists Chain Bridge Bank, which Reuters reported has worked with many Republican campaigns, as its bank.

Cabell Hobbs is listed as the group’s assistant treasurer and he previously served as the treasurer for a super PAC supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential bid.

According to the HuffPost, a Michigan Democratic Party operative said the ads were nothing more than a ploy by Republicans to "get low-information and low-engagement Arab-American and left-leaning voters to oppose Harris".

He added that the PAC was helping a former president who "uses Palestinian as a slur".

Earlier this year, the New York Times reported that Trump allies were planning an effort in Michigan to amplify Muslim voters’ concerns about Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza, particularly in Dearborn.

A survey published in August by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) found that just under a third of American Muslims said they were planning to vote for Harris, with a similar number saying the plan to vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.