DEARBORN – On the eve of the Michigan primary elections, dozens of pro-Palestinian supporters protested Monday in front of the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn to condemn Israel’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip. The protesters also denounced the assassination of Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr in southern Lebanon and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital of Tehran on July 30 and 31.

The protest was organized the Dearborn Community Council  and supported by The Arab American News, the American Human Rights Council, Project Palestine 1948, New Generation for Palestine, Doctors Against Genocide, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Arab American Civil Rights League, the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) and the Arab American and Muslim Political Action Committee (AMPAC), among others.

During the protest, which featured Palestinian flags and placards condemning U.S. policies supporting Israeli war efforts in the Palestinian occupied territories, speakers emphasized the need for popular support for Palestinian rights to be reflected in the ballot boxes the next day, on August 6. They urged voters to support candidates who had called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and a ban on military and financial aid to Israel.

Amer Zahr, the president of New Generation for Palestine, explained that Monday’s protest was part of the Arab and Muslim communities’ efforts in the Detroit area to achieve justice and peace in the occupied territories and all areas targeted by Israel in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

“We are here to tell the Israelis and American administration to take their hands off our lands and stop policies that aim to destroy the Arab and Palestinian spirit, whether by killing our children and women or by assassinating their leaders and kidnapping and torturing their people,” Zahr said.

He stressed that Arab American organizations and civil rights activists would continue their struggle until the crimes of ethnic cleansing and apartheid policies in occupied Palestine are stopped.

Protesters at the Dearborn rally against Israeli aggression, genocide and assassinations in the Middle East, Monday, August 5. – Photos by Shehab’s Pro Media

“We will continue our protests against genocide until our voices are heard,” he said, noting that attempts to divide and demonize those who support the Palestinian cause would fail miserably.

Zahr pointed out several attempts to label those advocating for the liberation of Palestinians “from the river to the sea” as supporters of terrorists, encouraging protesters to chant the slogan that angers pro-Israel supporters. Protesters chanted loudly and repeatedly, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Dr. Alaa Ali from Doctors Against Genocide pointed to the continuous daily losses suffered by the residents of Gaza, who have lost more than 100,000 victims, including dead, wounded and missing, in the past 10 months. Ali, who hails from Gaza City and lost his brother and 128 other relatives during the first months of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, noted that his relatives refused his offers to help them escape the devastation of the war and leave the Gaza Strip for a safe place in Egypt until the war stops. They considered leaving their land during the Israeli attacks as “betrayal of Palestine and the Palestinian cause.” Ali stated that Gaza residents fulfill their national and pan-Arab duty by standing firm on their land, and as Arab Americans, we must support them in every way, including active participation in local and national elections.

The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani expressed his disappointment with the low number of protesters, which does not reflect the largest Arab community outside the Middle East. However, he stressed that real reliance is on “those who continue the war there with unwavering determination and resolve”, referring to the determination of Arab resistance factions in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq to resist Israeli occupation of Palestine.

“We will win as long as we continue to fight for the rights of our Palestinian people,” Siblani added. “When we give up, our losses will begin, and this should not happen in Dearborn a day before one of the most important elections of our time.”

He confirmed that voting is the strongest option to ensure the election of our friends and to thwart the candidates bought by lobbyists, money.

Siblani highlighted the keen interest of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) in translating and broadcasting his statements on Arab TV channels. Addressing the pro-Israel research institute, he said, “I am speaking here in clear English, and I say to you, go to hell, and take Netanyahu and his government, and Biden and his administration with you”, rejecting the label of terrorism against the Palestinian resistance.

Protesters at the Dearborn rally against Israeli aggression, genocide and assassinations in the Middle East, Monday, August 5. – Photos by Shehab’s Pro Media

Siblani said that the real terrorists are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government and President Biden and his administration.

“If this statement is considered a crime, I am ready to pay the price. Come and arrest me, but I will not remain silent while I see the children being torn to pieces by Israeli army with American-made bombs against innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

Local activist Wissam Charafeddine considered the protest an integral part of Americans’ struggle to protect American values.

“While we protest here, and next to us are memorials to American martyrs killed during the Vietnam and Korean wars, our protest today is one hundred percent consistent with American values,” he said, explaining that protesting against Israeli attacks in the Middle East means fighting for democracy, self-determination, freedom of expression and opposition to war and genocide, “which are American values for which thousands of Americans have died over the years.”

Charafeddine addressed the protesters, emphasizing that protesting against the U.S. government aims to “correct the American path.”

“Americans protested against the war in Vietnam and Korea, and the American people celebrated them as true heroes. We protest today against the genocide committed by Israel in the occupied territories, and we will be celebrated in the future as American heroes.”

Protesters at the Dearborn rally against Israeli aggression, genocide and assassinations in the Middle East, Monday, August 5. – Photos by Shehab’s Pro Media

Charafeddine added that protests in support of the Palestinian cause mean defending America so that it is not hijacked by the  American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its political and financial arms, which spent more than $100 million in the past months to promote the interests of a foreign state, Israel, not the interests of our country, America.

Charafeddine pointed out that 86 percent of American respondents supported a ceasefire during the first week of the Israeli war in the occupied territories, condemning the unanimous vote of the U.S. Senate against a decision to stop the war.

“Who truly represents the American nation? Is it the people or these employed by AIPAC?” he asked, referring to the U.S. senators and representatives who opposed a resolution for ceasefire in Gaza.

Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) Executive Director Mariam Charara condemned the ethnic cleansing crimes that are committed by the Israeli right wing government  against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“We are here to protest Israel’s ongoing crimes for the tenth consecutive month and to demand an end to the war and violence that have claimed the lives of tens of thousands of innocent civilians,” she said.

Charara explained that the Palestinian issue is no longer just an Arab issue, but has become a humanitarian one. She called on the American people to take a decisive stand against the continuous repression, injustice and violence in the occupied territories. She emphasized that the protest’s goal revolves around the values of peace, justice and dignity, in addition to solidarity with our families in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.