Several pro-Israel organizations and their allied media in the United States renewed their condemnation last week at the inclusion of The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani in discussions aimed at restoring the confidence of the Arab and Muslim American voters in the Democratic Party’s candidate for the White House, Kamala Harris, in the November elections.

Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the national director of Harris’ campaign, recently visited Michigan, where she discussed with several Arab and Muslim American leaders — including Siblani — the prospects of bridging the gap between the Democratic Party leadership, the Harris presidential campaign and the Arab American and Muslim communities in Michigan. These communities refrained from voting for President Biden in the primary elections in February due to his support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since October 7.

Rodriguez’s visit to Detroit came ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from August 19 to 22, where the party’s candidate for the presidency will be announced. The discussions also focused on ensuring the Arab and Muslim American vote in Michigan for Harris after Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was quick to criticize Rodriguez’s meeting with Siblani due to his rejection of labeling the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) as a terrorist organization and his description of Israel as a “terrorist state” and both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Biden as “war criminals” in several events held in the Detroit area since last October, according to the ADL statement.

The frustration of the pro-Israeli organizations and their attack on me and other leaders like me, is because they are losing the debate and the public opinion of the American people is shifting in support of the Palestinian rights for freedom and self determination and against Israeli genocide, occupation and oppression. And the ADL’s statements are part of a failing campaign to discredit Arab American leaders and stifle the debate.– Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News

An ADL spokesperson reiterated that Siblani is a “wrong choice” for Democrats in their dialogue with the Arab American community in Michigan, recalling the same statements made by the ADL after Biden administration officials met with The Arab American News publisher in February.

“Anyone who denies that Hamas is a terrorist organization should not meet with appointed and elected officials to discuss U.S. foreign policy,” an ADL spokesperson said.

A senior political delegation from the Biden administration had met with Siblani in February during a meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders in the Detroit area. Siblani presented them with a list of demands urging the president to work seriously for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the occupied territories and all conflict zones in the Middle East. The demands also included providing immediate aid to Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and resuming financial support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The document, which Siblani handed over to the delegation consisting of USAID Administrator Samantha Power, White House Intergovernmental Affairs Director Tom Perez, Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer and Director of Public Engagement Steve Benjamin, also emphasized that future dialogues with the Biden administration would depend on the progress made on the ground in Gaza and efforts to find real and just solutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict to achieve comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East.

The ADL spokesperson, who monitors all media coverage of Jews and regularly reports to U.S. politicians and members of Congress, pointed out that Siblani stated on October 10, three days after the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, “We will not be intimidated when they say Hamas is a terrorist organization, because it is not, and we must tell them that the terrorist is Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.”

Siblani once again refused to condemn Hamas during a television interview, which he shared on his X (formerly Twitter) page, according to the ADL spokesperson, who added that The Arab American News publisher described both Hamas and Hezbollah as “freedom fighters protecting their people and their countries from occupiers and occupation.” The spokesperson also noted that Siblani told a crowd that he was invited to participate in a dialogue with senior White House officials, emphasizing that he “will not apologize for Hamas launching rockets at Israel.”

In this context, the Republican Jewish Coalition condemned Rodriguez’s meeting with Siblani and published an article about the meeting on X, titled: “The American Jewish Community Cannot Trust Kamala Harris”, who has stated in several media and electoral appearances that she supports an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to secure the release of hostages still held by Palestinian factions in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Meanwhile, former President Trump exploited the intense disagreements within the Democratic Party over the genocidal war on Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories to attack the Democratic party, describing it as “institutionally anti-Semitic.” He told his supporters at a rally last Saturday that “there has never been a more dangerous time for Jews in America since the Holocaust”, portraying Harris as trying to prevent Israel from achieving a decisive victory in Gaza. Trump told his supporters in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, “From the beginning, Harris has worked to tie Israel’s hands behind its back and has always called for an immediate ceasefire”, explaining that this “would give Hamas time to regroup and launch a new attack similar to the one on October 7.”

Earlier this month, pro-Palestinian activists said that Harris expressed her openness to discussing an arms embargo on Israel. However, Harris’ national security advisor, Phil Gordon, later issued a statement saying that the presidential candidate opposes an arms embargo on Israel.

“Vice President Harris has been clear: She will always ensure Israel’s ability to defend itself against Iran and the terrorist groups it supports,” Gordon said in the statement. “Harris does not support an arms embargo on Israel, but will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and uphold international humanitarian law.”

It should be noted that some Jewish organizations and several pro-Israel American media outlets, such as the ADL, Jewish News Services, Fox News Network, Washington Free Beacon, and the Middle East Media Research Institute quickly expressed their “outrage” at Siblani’s meeting with White House officials following the outbreak of the war in Gaza, falsely citing his support for groups classified by the United States as terrorist organizations, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Siblani insists that his support is for people’s rights to resist occupation and oppression regardless of who is their occupier and oppressor. In this case the occupied and oppressed are the Palestinians and the occupier are the Israelis.

“I stand for freedom, peace and justice and against occupation and oppression,” Siblani said.

“The frustration of the pro-Israeli organizations and their attack on me and other leaders like me is because they are losing the debate and the public opinion of the American people is shifting in support of the Palestinian rights for freedom and self determination and against Israeli genocide, occupation and oppression,” Siblani added. “And the ADL’s statements are part of a failing campaign and a desperate attempt to discredit Arab American leaders and stifle the debate.”