Join the Arab Caucus
FROM: NCDP Arab Caucus Officers
Date: 2024-10-08
RE: Statement from the Arab Caucus of the North Carolina Democratic Party Regarding the 2024 Elections
October 8, 2024 - At this difficult time, we feel compelled to remember our foundation. We came together in February of this year for 3 main reasons: (1) to increase the participation of Arab Americans in the political process, (2) to create a space for Arabs inside the North Carolina Democratic Party, and (3) to build toward helping members of our community run for office. With those three goals in mind, we write this statement.
Please vote. We are committed to advancing the Arab vote. The government keeps your specific candidate selections private and does not release that information to the public. Your voting/non-voting status, however, is published and can be accessed on various platforms. Candidates for office and political parties track the names and demographics of registered voters and take them into consideration when developing their policies. Your last chance to vote in North Carolina is November 5, 2024. Your last chance to request an absentee ballot is October 29, 2024. And if you are not registered to vote, your last chance to register is November 2, 2024. Arab.Vote helps you check your voter registration; and we will gladly assist if you want information on any of the candidates on the ballot.
We are issuing down ballot endorsements. We are committed to building power from the ground up. The Arab Caucus is endorsing Frank Pierce for the U.S. Congress, Eugene Myrick for Raleigh Mayor, Mary Black and Christina Jones and Reeves Peeler for Raleigh City Council. We proudly encourage you to vote, donate, and volunteer for these principled candidates. Every one of them has spoken up for housing rights, education equity, environmental justice, and most importantly for our community: an end to the U.S.’s funding of the ongoing genocide on Palestinians. The Palestinian cause is a multi-issue cause; it’s about settler colonialism, human rights, and racism. Our endorsements are not done; we will be rolling out more in the coming weeks.
We stand against the Biden-Harris administration’s decisions regarding Palestine and Israel. With the help of our tax dollars, we have witnessed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza killed and a population of two million made destitute over the last twelve months. Since our establishment, the Arab Caucus has done everything within our power to stop this nightmare and to ensure everyone’s safety. We issued statements, held meetings, and sent letters; our repeated demands for an immediate ceasefire and a stop to sending weapons to Israel have been ignored by the current leadership. Today, Israel has escalated this war, attacking Lebanon, Yemen, and Syria, and the U.S. is yet to impose an arms embargo on Israel. We condemn any attack on any civilian, whether they be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or of any other religion or no religion. We are also disappointed that the DNC did not allow a Palestinian American to speak at the 2024 DNC Convention.
All politics is local. Despite our grave disappointment with the Biden-Harris administration, we have decided to stay within the Democratic Party and continue building with a long-term vision. This decision was shaped in large part by 1:1 conversations with prominent members of the Democratic Party nationally and in North Carolina. We have experienced first hand that Democrats are consistently more supportive of Palestinian rights and the studies agree. According to recent polling, 49% of Democrats support the rights of Palestinians, whereas Republicans are twice as likely as Democrats to favor providing military aid to Israel. We are also grateful to and proud of the North Carolina Democratic Party Chair, Anderson Clayton, who has expressed her support for a ceasefire, for student protestors, and for the Palestinians who sought to speak at the DNC. A look back at American history will show that abolition, suffrage, labor rights, and other crucial improvements to the country were won by organizing and the activism of mass movements, not by silver-bullet voting schemes.
We are concerned with the consequences of a second Trump presidency. Voting is only a small part of a vibrant democratic culture. When elections arise, the main task is to take a few minutes to help avert the worst outcome. We did not forget the harmful policies that Trump instituted which directly impacted Arabs and Muslims worldwide; including the Muslim Ban, the decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and the implementation of Executive Order 13899, which is weaponized on a daily basis to silence pro-Palestinian students on college campuses. Trump’s positions on healthcare, climate change, nuclear treaties, democratic institutions, reproductive rights, and unions are extremely dangerous. We are committed to voting against Donald Trump.
Change is a long journey we are walking. Change doesn’t happen overnight; it happens by building coalitions and partnerships and working through multiple strategies. The pro-Palestine movement must grow and continue, while keeping electoral choices in their proper perspective. The Uncommitted Movement, for example, has brought attention to key concerns that many Democrats in North Carolina share. And the countless protestors, who risk their safety to speak out for Palestinian lives have also been key to holding elected officials accountable. All of these different strategies have strengthened our collective voice. We need diverse approaches within our community; outside agitation and inside instigation.
Vote and Join us! Voting is an important piece of the puzzle. But the time between elections is when democratic organizations like trade unions, independent media, political clubs, and community organizations are built and strengthened. Let’s continue to build together, with our community and within the Democratic Party, even as we work to address its flaws.