Biden officials visit Dearborn for intense meetings on Gaza with advocates, politicians

Several high-ranking officials in the Biden administration on Thursday visited the city with the highest percentage of Arab Americans for a series of meetings with politicians, community advocates and faith leaders for discussions about the war in Gaza that has impacted many in Michigan.

Outside one of the meetings at The Henry Hotel in Dearborn, a group of protesters chanted "Free, free Palestine," calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Many of those who attended the four meetings held throughout the day echoed the calls for an end to the war and pressed the Biden administration to change its policies, according to people who attended. It was an unprecedented day for Dearborn in terms of the number of senior White House officials directly involved in overseeing U.S. policy toward Palestinians meeting with its residents.

The Biden officials who attended included Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer, who serves under National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and Samantha Power, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and author of an influential book: "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide." In recent months, some Arab American advocates have criticized Power for her stance on what they describe as a genocide currently taking place in Gaza.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who has been hammering the Biden administration for months on the war, was at the first meeting, hosting the U.S. officials at Dearborn City Hall. Hammoud last month declined a meeting with Biden's campaign manager, saying his administration should be sending policy makers, not campaign officials, to Dearborn. His message was heard and this time, the officials were those who focus on foreign policy issues, not electoral politics.

More: Dearborn protesters say Biden not welcome ahead of campaign visit

"This meeting was held to ensure that the White House and those with the ability to change the course of the genocide unfolding in Gaza very clearly hear and understand the demands of our community - directly from us," Hammoud said in a statement after the meeting. "We remained uncompromising in our values and our demands for a permanent cease-fire, ending unrestricted military support to the State of Israel, and expediting humanitarian aid and funding to UNRWA, among others."

Hammoud added that "we represented the voices of Dearborn in a two-hour-long policy discussion with senior advisors - not campaign staff - from the Biden Administration."

After the meeting with Hammoud, Biden officials held a meeting with Palestinian Americans; a meeting with other elected officials that included Majority Floor Leader State Rep. Abraham Aiyash, D-Hamtramck, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Wayne County Circuit Judge Mariam Bazzi, among others; and then a fourth meeting in the late afternoon with community and faith leaders that included Osama Siblani, publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News, Dearborn attorney Ali Dagher and two leaders in Detroit's African American Muslim community. Siblani later had a second meeting with some of the officials.

The meetings came as the U.S. and Israel continue to launch strikes in parts of the Middle East where many in Dearborn have roots, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Gaza.

"They were very receptive," Siblani said of the Biden officials. "They were very attentive and I think they got the message."

More: Dearborn community leaders condemn history of bigotry targeting Arab Americans

Siblani said he conveyed seven points that he read and distributed to the officials. The points called for: a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Yemen and other areas; the release of all hostages and prisoners on both sides; assistance for Palestinians to rebuild lives; a resumption of aid to UNRWA, and tangible steps to create a Palestinian state.

"Our community is rightfully angry and will not accept future engagements or dialogues with this administration unless and until an immediate cease-fire is implemented," Siblani said he told the officials.

Dagher said Power spoke during the meeting about UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), to which the U.S. recently suspended funding amid accusations some of its members were linked to terrorism. Power said the U.S. "will not be abandoning UNRWA," Dagher said. "They're waiting for UNRWA to complete its investigation."

Dagher also said that during the meeting, Finer apologized for how the Biden administration at times has talked about Palestinians.

"They were apologetic," Dagher said. "Jon Finer specifically apologized for the language being used. He apologized for the administration's failure to stop the dehumanizing of Palestinians. He apologized for ... how the President has talked about the Palestinians."

More: Joe Biden reaches out to Michigan's Arab American, Muslim community as he faces criticism over Gaza

Siblani said the officials at the meeting acknowledged some mistakes they have made in their tone. In November, Biden apologized at a private White House meeting with Muslim American leaders for how he spoke about Palestinians, including at one point saying he doesn't trust their death toll figures.

Other Biden officials who attended the Dearborn meetings were: Steve Benjamin, senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Engagement; Tom Perez, senior adviser to Biden and director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs; Dan Koh, Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Mazen Basrawi – National Security Council (NSC) director for Partnerships and Global Engagement.

A group of about 50 protesters gathered outside The Henry Hotel in Dearborn late Thursday morning, many wearing black-and-white keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags. Chants broke out among the crowd, including "stop the genocide" and "cease-fire now." A handful of police gathered nearby as did hotel staff, but the protest remained peaceful.

Ali Sobh, 22, of Dearborn, was among the protesters, saying: "If you have any ounce of empathy, you can feel for the Palestinian people."

He also added that Biden should not expect the support of Arab Americans and Muslims in this year's election, including in Michigan, a key swing state. "We trusted him. We thought during the election four years ago we were voting for the lesser of two evils," Sobh said. "We obviously, we made a big mistake."

The night before the meetings, the Dearborn-based Arab American Political Action Committee released a statement urging officials not to attend the meetings and also to vote for anyone but Biden in the Feb. 27 presidential primary, said Abed Hammoud, a Dearborn attorney who helped establish the committee in 1997.

Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi said he declined an invitation to attend a meeting with the visiting Biden officials. "It is unconscionable to engage in diplomatic discussions while innocent civilians are being torn apart and killed by this senseless violence," Bazzi said in a statement.

Biden visited Michigan last week, but didn't go to Dearborn, instead holding a rally at a UAW hall in Warren. The question of Arab American feelings about the Gaza war is very much on the minds of administration and campaign officials: A couple of weeks ago, top campaign officials met with some local leaders, though some, like Mayor Hammoud, refused to attend the meetings.

At a Thursday White House briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to discuss what message, if any, the officials were taking to local leaders, saying the meetings were intended to be private.

"We want to give them the space (to allow for) candor," she said. "We don't want to get too far into what will be discussed ... (but) we want to hear their concerns."

She framed the meetings as consistent with those held with other groups across the country and said the president — who has urged Israel to be cautious in its counterattack — not only mourns those in Gaza who have died but has been "working around the clock ... to stop the suffering of innocent Palestinians who have been caught in the middle of this."

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at a Detroit event Thursday morning said she sees the officials' visit as a "positive" development that shows the Biden administration is listening.

At the Dearborn meeting, Dagher said he "explained to them that this to us is an incredibly traumatic and personal experience," for many in Dearborn. "I explained to them that our relationship with this administration has been severely breached, to where it may be irreparable. I explained to them that we need a resolution that would bring about an immediate cease-fire, immediate humanitarian aid."

In brief remarks about Gaza made Thursday night at the White House, Biden described Israel's military response to the Oct. 7 attacks as "over the top."

"I've been pushing really hard, really hard to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza," Biden said. "There are a lot of innocent people who are starving, a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying, and it's got to stop."

Free Press staff writer Clara Hendrickson contributed to this report.

Looking for more on Michigan’s elections this year? Check out our voter guide, subscribe to our elections newsletter and always feel free to share your thoughts in a letter to the editor.

Contact Niraj Warikoo:nwarikoo@freepress.com or X @nwarikoo

Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pro-Palestinian protesters rally as Biden aides visit Michigan