US: Rashida Tlaib encourages Michiganders to vote against Biden in the primary

US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is encouraging Michigan residents to vote "uncommitted" in the upcoming Democratic presidential primary.

Tlaib, the first Palestinian Muslim woman to serve in Congress, is voicing a sentiment of growing disapproval of President Biden among her constituents, many of whom are Arab and Muslim, over the president's support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

"If you want us to be louder, then come here and vote uncommitted," Tlaib said in a video shared on X by the Listen to Michigan campaign on Saturday, in which she was filmed wearing her keffiyeh while standing in front of the Ford Center in Dearborn on a cold and windy day.

"This is the way you can raise our voices, to make us even more visible," Tlaib said adamantly, noting that early voting has already started in the state. "Right now, we feel completely neglected — neglected and just unseen by our government."

As the group's name indicates, many voters in the swing state of Michigan, home to significant populations of Arabs and Muslims, are trying to make their voices heard. They plan on doing so at the ballot box on 27 February by voting "uncommitted" in the presidential primary in response to what many see as Biden's complicity in Israel's war in Gaza.

The war, which has seen more than four months of Israeli bombardments of Gaza, has left more than 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank dead or wounded. More than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians.

NEW ENDORSEMENT: “If you want us to be louder, come here and vote uncommitted.” -@RashidaTlaib pic.twitter.com/8pxuUjq5QG

— #ListenToMichigan (@Listen2michigan) February 17, 2024

Many residents in the Dearborn area have lost family in the conflict, an issue that has largely overtaken all others as Biden campaigns for a second term in what will likely be a rematch against former President Donald Trump, who has promised to reinstate a Muslim ban if elected.

Meanwhile, Our Revolution, a progressive group founded by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders has diverged from him with their position on a ceasefire for Gaza.

Sanders, arguably the senate's most vocal critic of Israel, has consistently denounced Israel's military campaign in Gaza, yet he has not added his name to the growing list of Congress members who support the position, nor has he come out strongly against Biden's position on the conflict.