中東政策に失望のアラブ系住民、民主党離れ加速　米ミシガン州

【ディアボーンＡＦＰ＝時事】米ミシガン州ディアボーンのレバノン系米国人で民主党員のスジュード・ハマデさん（３２）は５日、大統領選で左派の小政党「緑の党」から出馬したジル・スタイン候補に票を入れた。中東で連日吹き荒れている暴力に心を痛めているためだ。（写真は、米ミシガン州ディアボーンで期日前投票期間中に投票する有権者）
　不動産関連の弁護士のハマデさんはＡＦＰの取材に、「ニュースを見たりＳＮＳにアクセスするたびに同胞が殺され、祖国が破壊されているのを目にする」と話し、バイデン・ハリス政権がイスラエル支持を堅持していることに幻滅したと語った。
　大統領選ではカマラ・ハリス副大統領かドナルド・トランプ前大統領かの事実上２択しかないことは分かっているとしながら、自身が投じた１票は単なる抗議にはならないと主張。
　スタイン氏が全国で５％を上回る得票率を獲得すれば、将来、緑の党への連邦資金供与に道が開け、二大政党制の打破に向け「針を進める」ことになると訴えた。
　ディアボーンの人口約１１万人のうち、５５％が中東や北アフリカにルーツを持つ。
　前回２０２０年の大統領選ではバイデン氏支持が圧倒的で、ミシガン州での同氏の勝利に貢献した。しかし、最近の世論調査では、イスラム教徒やアラブ系の間で民主党離れが目立つ。
　エンジニアのムハンマデ・ヒジャジさん（２８）は、「彼女（ハリス氏）は唯一の反ジェノサイド（大量殺害）主義者だ」とし、これまでは民主党に投票してきたと話した。しかし、今は「信頼をなくした」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/11/06-16:48）

Haunted by the daily violence ravaging the Middle East, Soujoud Hamade, a registered Democrat, felt compelled to back Green Party candidate Jill Stein in the US presidential election.
It is very emotional, the 32-year-old real estate lawyer told AFP after casting her ballot Tuesday at a school in Dearborn, the nation's largest Arab-majority city, where voters could prove decisive in the key battleground of Michigan.
Every time I watch the news or get on social media, I see my people being decimated, I see my home country being destroyed, added the Lebanese-American, disillusioned by the Biden-Harris administration's unwavering support for Israel.
Hamade says she's clear-eyed about the two-way nature of the race between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump.
Still, she insists her vote is far more than just a protest.
She's banking on helping Stein crack five percent of the national popular vote, a threshold that would unlock future federal funding for the Green Party and move the needle forward toward breaking the two-party hold on US politics.
Dearborn, a Detroit suburb famous as the birthplace of Henry Ford and the home of Ford Motor Company's headquarters, has a population of around 110,000, with 55 percent of residents claiming Middle Eastern or North African heritage.
The city overwhelmingly backed President Joe Biden in 2020, helping him narrowly flip Michigan blue.
But recent polling shows a shift away from the Democratic Party among Muslim and Arab-Americans.
That trend was evident in conversations with voters around the city on Election Day.
- 'Single-issue voter' -
Stein, a Jewish physician and the Green Party's perennial left-wing candidate is predicted to do well among Muslims, as well as progressives and youth voters nationwide -- potentially acting as a spoiler for Harris.
She's the only one who's anti-genocide, said Muhammad Hijazi, a 28-year-old engineer who described himself as a single-issue voter who had previously voted Democrat but had now lost faith.
The Democrats, he argued, don't have a plan to bring peace to the Middle East, and he doesn't trust Trump to do any better.
Yet signs suggest Trump, too, may fare better than in past cycles. Unlike Harris, he visited Dearborn, addressing a modest-sized audience last week.
His outreach to Michigan's Muslim community secured endorsements from the Muslim mayors of Hamtramck and Dearborn Heights, while his newfound connection to the community -- through Lebanese-American son-in-law Michael Boulos, husband of Tiffany Trump -- has further endeared him.
Harris' decision to campaign with former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney, a staunch supporter of the Iraq War, was the final straw for Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi, he told Trump supporters at the former president's final Michigan rally.
Charles Fawaz, a 29-year-old first-grade teacher of Lebanese descent who voted for Trump, told AFP he was impressed that the former president showed up.
When Trump was president, everything was fine with our foreign policy because other leaders respected our country, Fawaz said.
Even if Trump doesn't deliver on Middle Eastern peace, he hopes Republicans will manage the economy better.
Former Democrats here say they know some liberals will blame them if Harris loses, but they reject the accusation.
To put the onus on Arab Americans to vote for someone who's directly contributing to the genocide of other people is outrageous, Hamade said.