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Community leaders share what happened inside private meetings with top White House advisors in Dearborn

Biden sent advisors to talk with community members, leaders amid backlash of Hamas-Israel conflict

DEARBORN, Mich. – Community leaders and Palestinian Americans share what happened inside private meetings Thursday with top White House advisors in Dearborn.

“There’s no question that it was emotional,” said Abbas Alawieh. “There were tears, there was yelling.”

Biden sent his advisors to talk with community members and leaders amid the backlash to the administration’s handling of the Hamas-Israel conflict.

Abbas Alawieh with Listen to Michigan met with senior White House advisors for an hour and a half on Thursday (Feb. 8).

Also in the meeting were local Palestinian-Americans like Dr. Yamaan Saadeh, who pled for his family to be evacuated from Gaza.

“It was more of a listening meeting, they didn’t come with action items of what will change or be done differently,” said Saadeh.

Alawieh was direct when talking with the senior advisors.

“I looked every one of them in their eyes and said, ‘Will you go back to President Biden and advise him to call for a cease-fire immediately and stop funding genocide,” Alawieh said.

“None of them could make that commitment to me but I hope on their way back to D.C. that they come to that realization that it’s the right thing to do to advise President Biden to stop the killing.”

If an immediate cease-fire is not called, Alawieh and others in the Arab American and Muslim communities say they will not support Biden in the upcoming election.


About the Author
Jacqueline Francis headshot

Jacqueline Francis is an award-winning journalist who joined the WDIV team in September 2022. Prior to Local 4, she reported for the NBC affiliate in West Michigan. When she’s not on the job, Jacqueline enjoys taking advantage of all the wonders Michigan has to offer, from ski trips up north to beach days with her dog, Ace.

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