Grassroots Roles The Only Way To Shift US Middle East Policy – OpEd
History tells us that US presidential election results mean little in terms of how the country deals with two key audiences: the Middle East, including its current and future conflicts, and the role of Arabs in America. No matter the outcome of votes like this week’s, American policy will continue to follow the same path, although it may be more nuanced and have a different tenor and tone.
While the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran are being fueled by billions of American dollars, the actual policies are being driven by Israel’s government. And in American politics, Israel enjoys Teflon-like protection from major change.
Republican Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s presidential election will be little more than a news story and a subject of discussion for the pundits. Meanwhile, the Israeli genocide in Gaza will not stop until Israel wants it to stop. And Israel will also decide how far it will go in its wars with Lebanon and Iran.
As for Arabs in America, there will be a lot of pictures and smiles with the winning candidate. A lot of back-slapping. And maybe some jobs and appointments for some Arabs and Muslims. But this does not mean there will be a change in American foreign policy or any enhancement in their engagement with government.
Fundamentally, the US’ Middle East policy did not change the last time Trump was president between 2017 and 2021. There was no recognition of a Palestinian state or easing of support for Israel. Accords were signed with several Arab countries that sought American financial or diplomatic assistance.
America’s support for Israel in the UN Security Council is rock solid and the US ambassador to the organization, regardless of who holds the seat, will continue to veto any resolution that tries to significantly change the path Israel is currently taking.
US ambassadors to the UN have cast 91 vetoes in the council since the world body was founded in 1945, with nearly half protecting Israel and more than 30 directly blocking Palestinian rights. These votes have been consistent under both Republican and Democratic White House administrations.
American presidents do not brag about that veto record, but it is a fundamental fact that will not change just because one party or another has taken control of the White House.
It did not change under Democratic President Joe Biden either. Despite press releases about engaging in a “partnership” with Arab Americans, that relationship was dead on arrival. All the Arabs and Muslims appointed to key White House and State Department posts were muzzled. They were not allowed to engage in media interviews unless they were tightly choreographed and controlled.
A Kamala Harris presidency would also not have been any different.
There is only one area of American politics that can change. It is not on the national level, such as the presidency or even representation in the US Congress. It is at the local level.
Despite the perception, the headlines and the news reporting, American politics starts at the grassroots level, not at the top.
Only when Arab Americans change the attitudes and understanding of their neighbors in their cities, towns and counties will American foreign policy start to show a seismic shift.
That is how Israel did it. It funded huge public relations campaigns, involving the news media, movies and even entertainment, to change how Americans saw the Arab-Israeli conflict. It portrayed Israelis as victims of the “terrorist” Arab world and “educated” (i.e., brainwashed) Americans into being sympathetic with Israel’s needs and suspicious of Arab demands.
Israelis were embraced as if they were American, while Arabs were demonized, largely because of their faith — a historical remnant of the Crusades, as Christianity continues to be pitted against Islam.
But who cares about facts when defending Israel? Facts mean nothing in that equation. Palestinians kill 1,200 Israelis and it is a mini version of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Israel then kills more than 44,000 Arabs and Muslims in response and it is a mere consequence of Israel defending itself.
Change will not come from electing a new president. But it will come from electing Arabs and Muslims to local government offices.
The lowest levels of government have the greatest power and the most direct and personal contact with the American people. Meanwhile, the offices of the highest levels of government reflect broader policies that are the result of societal perceptions.
You cannot change US foreign policy by electing a new president. But you can change it by altering how American society sees the Middle East and all its issues through getting Arabs and Muslims into local government offices.
Change in America happens one person at a time. But that means that more Arabs and more Muslims need to run for local political office, pursuing a less grandiose goal.
Sure, serving as a congressman or senator carries much prestige and a semblance of authority and power. But a position as a trustee or alderman in a village or city in America, or even as a mayor or state legislator, has much greater weight in terms of impacting public perception in a substantive way.
When our peers at the grassroots level learn to trust us and understand our history, then and only then will American politics change at the international level.
It is a simple dynamic in which egos and arrogance have to be shelved in favor of pragmatism and less grandiose, less selfish personal airs.