A private meeting between the president Joe Biden and Muslim community leaders at the White House highlighted tensions between the two camps as the war between Israel and Hamas rages.
A Palestinian doctor walked out of Tuesday evening’s closed-door session, which was part of scaled-back events organized by the administration to mark the holy month of Ramadan.
Dr. Thaer Ahmad told ABC News contributor and NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid that he left the meeting to “bring the protest to the forefront of the president.”
“I also wanted to be able to communicate what I had witnessed,” Ahmad said, emphasizing that he wanted to convey what was happening in Gaza as someone who had been there since October 7.
“So it was difficult. I wanted to communicate that message,” he continued. “But at the same time, I also wanted to make it clear that so far, what the White House has done is not enough.”
Ahmad also gave the president a letter from a little girl in Rafah pleading for Biden to help end the conflict.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was peppered with questions about the incident during Wednesday’s press briefing.
“He understands that this is a painful moment for many Americans across the country,” she told reporters of Biden’s reaction to the walkout. “And so he respects their freedom to peacefully protest.”
The closed-door meeting with Muslim community leaders was followed by a small iftar dinner to mark the end of the daily Ramadan fast with members of the Muslim administration. These scaled-down events are a departure from years past, when the president hosted hundreds of people for a reception and delivered remarks to guests and the press.
Jean-Pierre stressed that the private setting had been requested by leaders of the Muslim community and that the White House had been listened to.
During the meeting, she said, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris told the leaders they were committed to working toward an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of an agreement to free hostages held by Hamas, as well as to increase aid to Gaza. the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen there.
“And the president made it clear that he mourned the loss of all the innocent lives in this conflict, Palestinian and Israeli,” Jean-Pierre added. “The President and Vice President are committed to continuing to engage with these leaders in the future.”
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the March jobs report, during a speech in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, April 1, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Biden has faced growing anger from Arab-American and Muslim communities over his continued support for Israel in its fight against Hamas, as aid organizations comprehensively warn of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and risk of imminent famine in Gaza.
The Biden-Harris campaign and administration have ramped up outreach to these communities in recent months, although some attempts to hold meetings have failed. been pushed back.
The war in Gaza is approaching its sixth month after Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack on Israel on October 7. More than 1,200 people were killed in the attack, according to Israeli officials. In Gaza, more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 74,000 injured during ongoing Israeli ground operations and aerial bombardments on the Strip, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
Dr. Ahmad told Khalid that he was the first to speak with Biden at the meeting and described seeing Nasser Hospital, where he worked, become unusable and people flee to Rafah, a town in southern Iran. Gaza where 1.4 million Palestinians are believed to have taken refuge. . Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces were planning a military operation in Rafah to eliminate Hamas.
“I also said that I am disappointed to be the only Palestinian-American here and that, out of respect for my community and all those who grieve and mourn all the loss of life in the Gaza Strip, I must “I apologize. myself and I’m leaving,” Ahmad said. “And then I handed him (Biden) a letter from an 8-year-old orphan in Rafah, basically begging (Israel) not to invade. He took the letter. He looked at it and then he said that ‘he understood.’
Ahmad shared a photo with ABC News of the 8-year-old girl holding the letter. In this document, she claims to have lost “her entire family” in the war and expresses her fear of being displaced to Rafah. She wrote: “This scares me a lot because there is no place left to go.”
The letter also included a direct message for Biden: “Amanah Amanah ya Biden,” which translates to “Save us, save us oh Biden.”
A young girl from Gaza holds up a letter expressing fear of a possible Israeli invasion of Rafah and imploring President Joe Biden to help end the conflict.
Obtained by ABC News
When asked Wednesday whether Biden had read the letter, Jean-Pierre declined to share further details about the contents of the meeting. She also declined to directly clarify whether the meeting was the first time Biden spoke to someone who had been in Gaza since October 7 and declined to say how the list of participants was put together.
Asked specifically about Israel’s plans for Rafah, Jean-Pierre said the administration was continuing discussions on the issue, including virtual discussions which took place on Monday. Administration officials said they planned to have an in-person meeting with Israeli officials next week.
“Our hope is that we can get to a point where we actually protect innocent lives in Rafah,” she said.
ABC News’ Nadine Shubailat contributed to this report.
