CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Muslim community leaders from several swing states pledged to withdraw support for U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday at a conference in suburban Detroit, citing his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrats in Michigan have warned the White House that Biden\u2019s handling of the Israel-Hamas war could cost him enough support within the Arab American community to sway the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Leaders from Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania gathered behind a lectern that read \u201cAbandon Biden, ceasefire now\u201d in Dearborn, Michigan, the city with the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza on Saturday updated the death toll in the Israel-Hamas war<\/u><\/a> to 15,200 Palestinians, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors. Some 1,200 Israelis have been killed, most during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas that triggered the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>Biden\u2019s unwillingness to call for a ceasefire has damaged his relationship with the American Muslim community beyond repair, according to Minneapolis-based Jaylani Hussein, who helped organize the conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>\u201cFamilies and children are being wiped out with our tax dollars,\u201d Hussein said. \u201cWhat we are witnessing today is the tragedy upon tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hussein, who is Muslim, told The Associated Press: \u201cThe anger in our community is beyond belief. One of the things that made us even more angry is the fact that most of us actually voted for President Biden. I even had one incident where a religious leader asked me, \u2018How do I get my 2020 ballot so I can destroy it?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n White House spokesperson Andrew Bates previously said the Biden administration has pushed for humanitarian pauses in the fighting<\/u><\/a> to get humanitarian aid into Gaza, adding that \u201cfighting against the poison of antisemitism and standing up for Israel\u2019s sovereign right to defend itself have always been core values for President Biden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were critical components of the \u201cblue wall\u201d of states that Biden returned to the Democratic column<\/u><\/a>, helping him win the White House in 2020. About 3.45 million Americans identify as Muslim, or 1.1% of the country\u2019s population, and the demographic tends to lean Democratic, according to Pew Research Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But leaders said Saturday that the community\u2019s support for Biden has vanished as more Palestinian men, women and children are killed in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are not powerless as American Muslims. We are powerful. We don\u2019t only have the money, but we have the actual votes. And we will use that vote to save this nation from itself,\u201d Hussein said at the conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Muslim community leaders\u2019 condemnation of Biden does not indicate support for former President Donald Trump, the clear front-runner in the Republican primary<\/u><\/a>, Hussein clarified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have two options. We have many options. And we\u2019re going to exercise that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n