Ansam Bizzari - AlJazeeraTalk - Texas
 A recent poll by “Zogby international” revealed that the overwhelming majority of 62% Arab-Americans favor the democratic party this election year, contrary from the past, where their support used to go republican, especially among the more educated and more affluent crowd. The poll also showed that Barak Obama was the candidate that Arab-Americans are more likely to vote for, where he scored 37% at the time of the poll (the poll was conducted in June 2007, while John Edwards and Bill Richardson were still in the race). Dr. James Zogby, the Head of the Arab-American Institute, predicted that this support to Barak Obama “had probably increased by now”.
Certain issues are significant to Arab-Americans, top of the list are Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli issues, where 61% of the polled said that Iraq and Palestine are the number one issue to them in determining who to vote for; jobs and the economy ranked second, where 31% of the polled said are determining factors for them.
Despite all of these figures, the blunt reality is that the Arab-American vote is not a significant one that could change the course of the election, nor is an attractive one to the presidential hopefuls to sway. The unfortunate reality is that the 3.5 million Arab-Americans have not succeeded –thus far- in being identified as a one unified entity, and are far from being known as one mass or lobby for the candidates to please or satisfy.
It is commonly echoed in the presidential campaigns, debates and in the media that the Latino/Hispanic vote, for example, is vital in the race at certain states, like Florida and Texas. It is therefore, a wise endeavor from the presidential candidates to assess the needs and views of that mass and hence fore tackle their issues to appease and to tailor messages to that crowd per se. Sadly, that is not the case for our fellow Arab-Americans who fail to be recognized as one bloc.
Enormous efforts have been undertaken by the Arab-American Institute (AAI) to assemble and congregate the Arab-American voice, which was vivid in the campaign “Yalla Vote 2008” launched early on this election year, attempting to increase Arab-Americans awareness, involvement, and significance of voting. Like every election year, AAI organized a conference and invited Arab- American attendees along with presidential candidates to speak to the audience. Merely a bit over 600 people attended the conference, living up to the Arab-Americans reputation of low turnout in the election process. That crowd was not sufficient enough for the candidates to campaign for, which was evident when just a few candidates showed up, and the more significant ones (Obama and Clinton) addressed the crowd through taped messages that lasted an average of 4 minutes!
It is essential for Arab-Americans to be involved in the election process. It is quite simple: Register to vote, and actually vote! It is their constitutional right as American citizens.
That was not the case in Dearborn, Michigan, home of the largest Arab-American population in North America. There, only a 9% of registered voters showed up to cast their ballots on the day of the primary election held in the city.
Being involved in the election process would also be translated into volunteering in the campaigns of those you support, help in organizing those campaigns, financial contributions, and providing public endorsements from nationally recognized figures. Simply being a part of the community and not shying away from the action.
 If Arab-Americans are not taking a step forward to make their votes more powerful, and have a stronger recognition in the community, they can’t simply ask for their top issues to be addressed as top issues to any new administration.
No one can argue that this is an easy task; on the contrary, it is a dire mission that requires a lot of commitment, coordination, and belief in the cause; besides the fact that it is a long term process that requires patience and endurance. I am not saying that this is a magic bullet that will solve all problems and secure addressing the issues that concern Arab-Americans, but I believe it can subside as a factor in tackling some of the issues, and could help in taking the Arab-American vote as a crucial one that matters in the election and political process.
It is so true that “All politics are Local”, therefore, it is essential that Arab-Americans work together as a community within the community in order to instigate the change they seek; being away or excluded doesn’t help their issues; and having a goal and pursuing it is a noble endeavor that is worth the sweat and the hard work.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Good that the Arab Americans put Iraq and Palestine issues on top of their agenda and priorities!