The White House this month sought advice from Arab-American activist Osama Siblani regarding President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, ignoring Jewish groups’ concerns about Siblani’s history of anti-Israel rhetoric and his praise for terrorist groups.
Biden advisers contacted Siblani, the publisher of the Michigan-based Arab-American News, to gauge his reaction to Biden’s phone call with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month, the Associated Press reported. Siblani, whom the AP referred to as an “occasional sounding board” for Team Biden, said he relayed that the president needs to take “giant steps” to stop Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Days after his latest White House chat, Siblani said last week that Iran had a “right to defend itself” after Israel bombed the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing Iranian general Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Siblani called the United States an “accomplice” in what he said was an illegal bombing of the embassy, and referred to President Biden as “Genocide Joe.”
Siblani has a well-documented history of anti-Israel and pro-terrorist rhetoric. He has accused pro-Israel lawmakers of being “bought” by the “Zionist lobby,” and in 2022, he urged Arabs to fight against Israel with “stones” and “guns,” and praised fedayeen, or Islamic militants.
Citing those remarks, Jewish groups criticized the White House in February for meeting with Siblani as part of Team Biden’s bid to shore up support from Michigan’s Arab- and Muslim-American communities. Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez met Siblani in Dearborn, Michigan, in January, and White House national security officials visited him there in February.
“Siblani is simply the wrong choice to serve as an interlocutor with the administration as they hear from the local Muslim community,” Anti-Defamation League president Jonathan Greenblatt said in February.
Siblani has thus far been spared the fate of other Biden allies who made anti-Israel remarks. In December, White House officials criticized the head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for saying he was “happy to see” Hamas attack Israel on Oct. 7.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment about its latest interactions with Siblani.
The White House’s silence on Siblani could perhaps be a testament to his influence within Michigan’s Arab-American community, a historically Democratic voting bloc in a crucial presidential swing state. Siblani backed the campaign to vote “uncommitted” in last month’s Michigan primary to protest Biden’s handling of the war. More than 100,000 people voted uncommitted, enough to win two of Michigan’s delegates.
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