The Lack of Balance in Biden’s Policies towards Arabs
April 10, 2021, 4:50 am

The Lack of Balance in Biden’s Policies towards Arabs

Dalia Ziada

The US State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, announced in a video statement, at the beginning of April, that the US State Department will recognize April as the national Arab-American heritage month. "The United States is home to more than 3.5 million Arab Americans representing a diverse array of cultures and traditions;” said Price. Despite this important recognition by the State Department and some American states, on individual basis, the US federal system, as a whole, has not officially recognized the Arab-American month, yet. For long years, lawmakers and Arab-led advocacy groups have been calling for observing the month for honoring the culture, history, and contributions of Arab-Americans to the United States and the world. Arabs

Accommodating Americans from Arab and Muslim origins was an important item on the agenda of Biden-Harris electoral campaign. Unlike his predecessor, Donald Trump, Joe Biden showed greater interest in celebrating the Arab-Muslim culture as an integral part of the American culture. In 2020, Biden-Harris campaign proposed “a plan for partnership” between Joe Biden, as president and the Arab-American community. In the proposal, Biden pledged to fight against anti-Arab bigotry and “embrace the partnership of Arab Americans in his campaign and to include Arab Americans across his administration.” The campaign, also, promised to review the resolutions made by the Trump Administration, that hurt the interests of Arabs, either those flying to the US or those living in the US; including the review of Homeland Security’s “watchlist” and “no-fly list” processes.

Despite the very limited number of Arabs and Muslims as voters, this smart approach by Biden-Harris electoral campaign towards the Arab and Muslim community played a tangible role in Biden’s victory in the presidential elections, last November. On one hand, it highlighted the great contrast between Biden policy of tolerance against Trump’s policy of discrimination. That attracted a lot of voters from different ethnic origins, not only Arabs, who felt suppressed under the Trump Administration. On the other hand, the actual voter weight of the Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans exceeds their percentage of 1.1% of the total American population. Their actual impact is multiplied by the number of the American youth groups they are active members of, and the vast ethnic communities they are involved in.

According to Pew Research Center, adults between 18 to 39 years-old make up 60% of the Muslim American adult population, compared with 38% of the US adult population as a whole. According to statistics by the Migration Policy Institute, Arab Americans came to the US from twenty-two Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. According to Pew Research statistics, the majority of Muslim-Americans are from Arab origins. Also, it is a proven fact that Muslims are the vast majority of the people living in MENA, including in Arab and non-Arab countries, such as Iran and Turkey. Even in the Hebrew-speaking Israel, Arabs represent 21% of the population, according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

In the Middle East, the hopes are rising high that this decision by the US State Department to celebrate Arab culture, may contribute in melting the currently growing blocks of ice between MENA leaders and the Biden Administration. Ironically, the Trump Administration which shamefully discriminated against Arabs and Muslims inside the United States, was the most successful US Administration in containing and accommodating the ruling regimes of the Middle East. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration which is exerting a huge effort to ease and please the Arab and Muslim community in the US, are adopting an almost hostile stance towards Arab and non-Arab regimes of the MENA region. The Biden Administration should be careful that this lack of balance in its stances towards Arabs, at home and abroad, may open the door once against for political Islamists, who are dominating a huge space in the American civil society, to abuse the situation for promoting their extremist anti-America rhetoric, especially against secularism, liberalism, and democracy. Arabs

BY:Dalia Ziada levant

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has announced its sponsorship of the “Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition (GU - IST Solutions), hosted by Gulf University at its main campus.
This strategic sponsorship reflects BENEFIT’s active role in advancing technological innovation and fostering sustainable solutions to future challenges. It also seeks to empower Bahraini youth by enhancing their skills, capabilities, and competitiveness in innovation and solution development—contributing meaningfully to the broader goals of sustainable development across all sectors.
As part of BENEFIT’s active involvement in the competition, the company has announced that Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication, will serve on the competition’s supervisory committee. Her upcoming participation reflects BENEFIT’s forward-looking commitment to championing academic and professional excellence.
Commenting on the occasion, Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication at BENEFIT, said, “We are privileged to support this pioneering initiative, which aligns seamlessly with BENEFIT’s enduring commitment to fostering innovation and nurturing the potential of Bahrain’s youth. Our participation is rooted in a deep sense of social responsibility and a firm belief in the pivotal role of innovation in shaping a sustainable future. Through such platforms, we seek to empower the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and foresight required to develop impactful solutions that address future challenges, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
Dr. Aseel Al Ayash Dean of the College of Engineering in Gulf University commented, “We extend our sincere gratitude to BENEFIT for their generous sponsorship and support of the Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition. This contribution plays an instrumental role in helping us achieve the strategic goals of this initiative, namely, cultivating a culture of innovation and sustainability, encouraging efforts that address the imperatives of sustainable development, and enhancing the practical and professional capabilities of our students and participants.”
The event will bring together a diverse spectrum of participants, including secondary school students, university undergraduates, engineers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and subject matter experts representing a wide range of disciplines.
The competition seeks to inspire participants to develop and present innovative, sustainable technologies aimed at addressing pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. It encourages the formulation of business models that integrate advanced technological solutions with core principles of sustainability. Moreover, it serves as a platform for emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators to contribute to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, promote the ethos of responsible technology, and demonstrate its transformative potential across various sectors.
Attendees will have the opportunity to view a series of project presentations submitted by participants, covering diverse areas such as eco-friendly product design, smart and sustainable innovations, renewable energy technologies, water conservation and management, waste minimisation and recycling, green architectural solutions, and sustainable transportation systems. Outstanding projects will be formally recognised and awarded at the conclusion of the event.