White House Forced to Downsize Iftar Event amid Growing Muslims’ Dissatisfaction
The sources, who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, said the cancellation on Tuesday came after Muslim community members warned leaders against attending the White House meal.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), also said the event was nixed because so many people chose not to attend, including invitees who had initially agreed to go.
“The American Muslim community said very early on that it would be completely unacceptable for us to break bread with the very same White House that is enabling the Israeli government to starve and slaughter the Palestinian people in Gaza,” Mitchell told Al Jazeera.
Both CNN and NPR had reported on Monday that the White House was preparing a small community iftar.
But hours later, on Tuesday, the White House announced instead that it would be hosting a meal for Muslim government staffers only and holding a separate meeting with a few Muslim American community figures.
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The cancelled iftar underscores Biden’s struggle to stem growing anger in US Arab and Muslim communities over his unconditional support for Israel.
Critics warn the outrage could translate into peril for Biden at the ballot box during November’s presidential election.
Over the past two decades, US presidents have hosted iftars with dozens of prominent Muslim Americans. Mirroring other religious and cultural events at the White House, Ramadan meals have served as a celebration of the Muslim community and are traditionally open to the press.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris would meet with Muslim “community leaders” on Tuesday.
Asked why the “community leaders” will not attend the iftar, Jean-Pierre said that they requested a meeting instead of a meal.
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A key issue with such talks, activists say, is that the administration has been handpicking whom to meet with.
A Muslim advocate close to the administration presented a list of credible Palestinian American leaders to invite for a meeting at the White House last year, but the government rejected the suggested individuals, one source told Al Jazeera.
The Biden administration has ruled out conditioning or stopping the flow of weapons to the Israeli regime despite mounting Israeli atrocities.
The regime’s offensive has killed close to 33,000 Palestinians, destroyed large parts of Gaza and pushed the territory to the verge of famine.
While the Biden administration has occasionally expressed concern about the actions of the Israeli cabinet, it has regularly asserted its commitment to the alliance with the regime.
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On Tuesday, for example, the White House expressed outrage over the Israeli attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers.
Still, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the US will not hold a “sort of condition over their [Israel’s] neck”.
“We’re still going to make sure that they can defend themselves,” he said.
Source: Al Jazeera
