WASHINGTON: Last year, President Joe Biden hadn鈥檛 even spoken a word at the White House celebration of Ramadan before someone shouted out 鈥渨e love you.鈥� Hundreds of Muslims were there to mark the end of the holy month that requires fasting from sunrise to sunset.
There are no such joyous scenes during this Ramadan. With many Muslim Americans outraged over Biden鈥檚 support for Israel鈥檚 siege of Gaza, the White House chose to hold a smaller iftar dinner on Tuesday evening. The only attendees will be people who work for his administration.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just in a different world,鈥� said Wa鈥檈l Alzayat, who leads Emgage, a Muslim advocacy organization. 鈥淚t鈥檚 completely surreal. And it鈥檚 sad.鈥�
Alzayat attended last year鈥檚 event, but he declined an invitation to break his fast with Biden this year, saying, 鈥淚t鈥檚 inappropriate to do such a celebration while there鈥檚 a famine going on in Gaza.鈥�

After rejections from Alzayat and others, he said the White House adjusted its plans on Monday, telling community leaders that it wanted to host a meeting focusing on administration policy. Alzayat still said no, believing that one day was not enough time to prepare for an opportunity to sway Biden鈥檚 mind on the conflict.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the format will lend itself to a serious policy discussion,鈥� he said Tuesday afternoon.
The refusal to break bread 鈥� or even share a room 鈥� with the president is fresh evidence of how fractured the relationship between Biden and the Muslim community has become six months after Israel and Hamas began their current war.
When the Democratic president took office three years ago, many Muslim leaders were eager to turn the page on Donald Trump鈥檚 bigotry, including his campaign pledge to implement a 鈥� total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.鈥�
But now Democrats fear that Biden鈥檚 loss of support among Muslims could help clear a path for his Republican predecessor to return to the White House. This year鈥檚 election will likely hinge on a handful of battleground states, including Michigan with its significant Muslim population.
鈥淭here are real differences between the two,鈥� Alzayat said. 鈥淏ut emotionally, there may be no differences for some folks. And that鈥檚 the danger.鈥�
He added, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not good enough to tell people Donald Trump is going to be worse.鈥�
Several Muslim leaders were expected to attend Tuesday鈥檚 meeting with Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Muslim government officials and national security leaders. The White House did not name them. Some people who had attended events in previous years, such as Mayor Abdullah Hammoud of Dearborn, Michigan, were not invited.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said 鈥渃ommunity leaders expressed the preference鈥� of having a 鈥渨orking group meeting,鈥� which she described as an opportunity to 鈥済et feedback from them.鈥�
As far as the private iftar, Jean-Pierre said that 鈥渢he president is going to continue his tradition of honoring the Muslim community during Ramadan.鈥�
No journalists will be allowed to capture either the iftar or private meeting, a change from previous years. Neither was listed on the president鈥檚 public schedule.
Outside the White House, activists prepared their own iftar on Tuesday evening in Lafayette Park. Organizers planned to distribute dates, a traditional food for Ramadan, so people can break their fasts at sundown.
The boycotting of Biden鈥檚 invitation is reminiscent of a trip that White House officials took to Detroit earlier this year. They faced an icy reception from Muslim American community leaders in the swing state, where more than 100,000 Democratic primary voters cast protest votes for 鈥渦ncommitted鈥� as part of an organized showing of disapproval for Biden鈥檚 approach to the war.
The fighting began on Oct. 7 when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in a surprise attack. In response, Israel has killed roughly 33,000 Palestinians. The number comes from Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry. It鈥檚 unclear how many are combatants, which Israel accuses of operating in civilian areas, but the ministry said two-thirds of the deaths are women and children.
The Biden administration has continued to approve weapon sales to Israel even as the president urges Israeli leaders to be more careful about civilian deaths and encourages them to allow more humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American鈥揑slamic Relations, said he encouraged other Muslim leaders to decline invitations to the White House if they received them.
The message, he said, should be 鈥渦nless he calls for a ceasefire, there will be no meeting with him or his representatives.鈥�
鈥淚 believe that the president is the only person in the world who can stop this,鈥� Awad said. 鈥淗e can pick up the phone and literally tell Benjamin Netanyahu, no more weapons, just stop it, and Benjamin Netanyahu will have no choice but to do so.鈥�
Awad has previously clashed with the White House over his comments on the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. Gaza has spent years under an effective blockade by Israel 鈥� with help from Egypt 鈥� and Awad said he was 鈥渉appy to see people breaking the siege鈥� so they could 鈥漺alk free into their land that they were not allowed to walk in.鈥�
After the comments were circulated by a Middle East research organization founded by Israeli analysts, the White House issued a statement saying 鈥渨e condemn these shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms.鈥�
Awad called it a 鈥渇abricated controversy鈥� and said he had criticized the targeting of Israeli citizens in his same speech.

Battleground: Jerusalem

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