CNN
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Senior White House officials plan to meet with leaders of the Arab, Muslim and Palestinian-American communities in Chicago on Thursday, several sources familiar with the meeting told CNN. President Joe Biden continues to grapple with anger and concern across the country over the Israel-Hamas War.
Thursday’s meeting would mark the latest ongoing effort by the Biden White House to hear directly about concerns about the situation in Gaza, although it is not expected to be the only issue discussed. Officials are also expected to discuss concerns about Islamophobia in the United States more broadly following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.
Among those expected at the meeting, according to sources, are: Tom Perez, White House director of intergovernmental affairs; Steve Benjamin, White House director of public engagement; Mazen Basrawi, White House liaison to American Muslim communities; Curtis Ried, chief of staff of the National Security Council; and assistants Dan Koh and Jamie Citron.
Vivian Khalaf, board chair of the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, told CNN she was invited to Thursday’s meeting with White House officials but declined to attend. attend it. In an interview, she made clear her deep dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s handling of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“Under current conditions, for every life we save by dropping food, at least 10 more are killed by dropping bombs,” Khalaf said, referring to recent U.S. efforts to drop aid. humanitarian in Gaza. “I know this, because I experience it every day through the organization that I lead. »
Several other community leaders familiar with Thursday’s meeting told CNN that some were actively working to boycott meetings with White House officials in order to pressure Biden to call for a permanent ceasefire in the war. A large group of activists from the greater Chicago area sent a letter to the White House before the meeting, lambasting the outreach.
“There is no point in having more meetings. The White House already knows the position of the aforementioned groups and our allies across the country,” the letter read.
The letter continues: “There is no confusion about our continued demand for an immediate ceasefire to end the massacres of civilians and avert the worst humanitarian crisis in modern times. We believe another meeting would only serve to whitewash months of inaction from the White House followed by modest gifts. We are interested in serious action.
The letter was signed by a few dozen coalitions and community leaders. Tarek Khalil, an attorney and board member of American Muslims for Palestine-Chicago, was among the activists behind the letter. Khalil was not personally invited to the White House meeting, but suggested that “a good portion” of the signatories were.
It was not immediately clear who would be represented at the meeting and the White House declined to provide a list of participants.
“You can’t play both firefighter and arsonist,” Khalil said of White House policy on the conflict.
Khalil added: “If this community had felt that this would be fruitful and beneficial, we would have accepted the invitation. But this is a cynical invitation, which is not based on a fundamental moral position, but rather on political expediency.”
Asked for comment on the letter, a White House official told CNN: “Senior officials are in Chicago for a series of meetings with community leaders, part of an ongoing process to engage with affected communities by the conflict in the Middle East.
The Chicago area has significant Muslim and Arab populations. Residents of the city are still in shock over the recent death of a 6-year-old child. Wadea Al-Fayoume, who was stabbed 26 times in October, allegedly by his family’s landlord. Authorities said he was targeted because he was Muslim.
Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other senior US officials have increased calls for a temporary ceasefire and increased humanitarian aid to Gaza in recent weeks, urging Israel to do more to protect the civilians. But negotiations remain at a standstill, even as the humanitarian toll of the war between Israel and Hamas increases.
Biden faces growing discontent within his own party over his handling of the conflict, particularly among young progressive voters and voters in battleground states who will be key to his 2024 coalition.
On Thursday, White House officials and community leaders are expected to discuss concerns ranging from war to the growing wave of Islamophobic incidents. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it received 3,578 complaints of anti-Muslim or anti-Palestinian incidents in the last three months of 2023, an increase of 178% compared to the previous year.
The expected meeting takes place the same day Biden visits Michigan, his first return to the state since the Democratic primary that gave rise to it. more than 100,000 “uncommitted” votes – largely fueled by fury on the president’s handling of the war.
Last month, senior Biden administration officials — including U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power and principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer — met with members of Arab-American communities in Michigan, home to one of the largest Arab and Muslim communities in the country. Muslim populations.
Thursday’s meeting is part of the White House’s ongoing efforts to reach out to Arab and Muslim communities. The White House said it had more than a hundred conversations with local and state leaders about the Israel-Hamas conflict. It also addresses concerns internally; Chief of Staff Jeff Zients held a listening session with Muslim, Arab and Palestinian-American staff, and he directed Biden’s cabinet to reach out to its own Muslim, Arab and Palestinian-American staff.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
