US President Joe Biden is almost certain to lose in Michigan in November as Arab American and younger voters punish him for his unfettered support of Israel since October 7, a result that could spell disaster for his chances of staying in the White House, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has predicted.
The physician, who previously ran for president in 2012 and 2016, also discussed her arrest at a pro-Palestinian protest last month and said American police have grown increasingly “militarised and violent”.
Michigan has the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the US and about 200,000 registered Arab American voters. Mr Biden beat his Republican rival Donald Trump by about 154,000 votes in the Midwestern state in 2020, so the collapse in Arab American support augurs poorly for the President as he seeks a second term.
Mr Biden is also polling behind Mr Trump in five of the six swing states he must win on November 5.
“He certainly will have lost the Arab American vote. … Michigan is one of those swing states, I think he's almost certain to lose [there],” Ms Stein told The National.
“Americans do not like either of their choices, for certain. And in particular, they find Biden's approach to foreign policy in particular in the Middle East, and especially around the genocide in Gaza, absolutely unacceptable and abhorrent.”
Dr Stein, 73, is considered a long-shot candidate at best in the presidential election but her presence – and that of other third-party candidates – on ballots across the country may affect results in swing states where margins of victories are often decided by just a few thousand votes.
She has been aggressively courting the Arab American vote in Michigan and elsewhere and pointed to a recent poll that showed her outperforming any candidate among Arab Americans, including Mr Biden and Mr Trump.
“It's not just the Arab American community, it's really quite across the board that people have really had enough of Biden's policy in the Middle East,” Dr Stein said in an interview from New York, where her campaign is pushing to get on to the November ballot.
For a Green Party candidate, Dr Stein's campaign is unusual in that it has focused more on foreign policy than it has on the climate crisis and other environmental issues.
After Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election to Mr Trump, despite winning the popular vote, some Democrats accused Dr Stein of siphoning crucial support and enabling a Republican presidency that saw Mr Trump pull out of the Paris climate accords and push for more oil drilling.
The effect of Dr Stein's candidacy in that race, where she received a little more than 1 per cent of the national vote, is still a matter for debate.
Political pundits see third-party votes as typically hurting Democrats more than Republicans, and this year two other candidates are running – Robert F Kennedy Jr and Cornel West.
Dr Stein said it matters little whether a Democrat or a Republican is in the White House and said she wants to highlight the shortcomings of the “failed two-party system”.
Both parties are sponsored by “the war machine” and take money from the Jewish lobbying group Aipac, Dr Stein said. She has proposed cutting military spending by up to 75 per cent and wants to establish a foreign policy based on “diplomacy, international law and human rights”.
She also wants to stop US funding for Ukraine in a conflict she considers a “proxy war” between America and Russia.
Trump could be even friendlier to Israel
Mr Biden, a self-described Zionist, has given Israel almost unconditional support since it launched its war in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led October 7 attack that killed about 1,200 people.
More than 36,000 people in Gaza have been killed.
Mr Biden paused one shipment of heavy bombs over fears Israel would use these indiscriminately in an assault on Rafah. He also has pushed for the delivery of more aid, including through the construction of a temporary pier.
Republicans have reacted furiously to any restriction on how Israel conducts itself in Gaza and a second Trump term could see him give Israel even freer rein to destroy what's left of the Palestinian enclave.
Mr Trump has oscillated between criticism of Israel and support, but son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was his adviser on the Middle East, and David Friedman, his former ambassador to Israel, have both embraced Israel's right-wing ideas of expelling Palestinians from Gaza.
Mr Kushner, calling the war “a little bit of an unfortunate situation”, said Gaza’s beachfront properties could be “very valuable”.
But for Dr Stein, fear of how Mr Trump might handle Gaza is no reason to support Mr Biden.
“Trump often speaks in a way that's more frightening. But if you look at the votes, it's actually the Democrats who are more unified in a much more aggressive foreign policy,” she said.
“What people know, and this is what I hear from Arab Americans in particular, is that they know that Joe Biden has been absolutely genocidal and is murdering their families. You know, in my view, one has to hold all politicians accountable.”
In April, Dr Stein was one of about 80 people arrested at a pro-Palestinian encampment at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri.
She said she was charged with assaulting a police officer during an incident in which a policeman lifted her leg in what she said was an attempt to knock her over. She is scheduled for a court appearance in early June.
“It was really staggering to see how militarised and violent US police forces have become, and this is not an isolated incident,” Dr Stein said.
“We're seeing this happening in most of the campuses that are being broken up, where the administrations are ruthlessly calling in militarised police forces”.
As Washington seeks to crack down on campus anti-Gaza war protests, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that expands the definition of anti-Semitism to include criticism of Israel and Zionism.
Dr Stein, who is Jewish and grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust of the Second World War, described the “horrible” legislation as anti-Semitic because it attempts to stifle criticism of Zionism or of the war in Gaza.
“I find it rather anti-Semitic to tell you the truth, because that amounts to saying that protesting genocide is being anti-Semitic, which implies that it's OK with Jews for genocide to be conducted”, she said.
Civilians ordered to flee eastern Rafah as Israel begins invasion – in pictures
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
- It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
- Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Racecard
5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
Result
Crystal Palace 0 Manchester City 2
Man City: Jesus (39), David Silva (41)
The five pillars of Islam
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Persuasion
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarrie%20Cracknell%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDakota%20Johnson%2C%20Cosmo%20Jarvis%2C%20Richard%20E%20Grant%2C%20Henry%20Golding%20and%20Nikki%20Amuka-Bird%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on animal trafficking
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
The five pillars of Islam
The%20specs
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Zayed Sustainability Prize
ICC men's cricketer of the year
2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
UAE SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Four%20scenarios%20for%20Ukraine%20war
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
The view from The National
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
