The White House will scale back the end of Ramadan ceremony amid Arab-American anger over Joe Biden’s support for Israel and fears of a boycott by prominent Muslims

The White House is preparing to host a much smaller ceremony for Ramadan amid Arab-American anger at Joe Biden and fears the event will be boycotted by prominent Muslims.

Traditionally, the president hosts hundreds of Muslim leaders from across the country for an Eid al-Fitr celebration, which marks the end of Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar.

But the White House has discussed limiting invitations this year to a smaller group of government officials and ambassadors from Muslim-majority countries, officials said. Politics.

The administration faces continued frustration within the Arab-American and Muslim communities over President Biden’s handling of the war in the Middle East.

Outside the White House bubble, President Biden has been repeatedly harassed at several events by pro-Palestinian protesters who call him “Genocide Joe.”

White House officials have held meetings with several Muslim groups to hear their concerns and that outreach will continue.

“The White House is actively engaged in the community and we have been doing so since October 7,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday.

But some Muslim leaders told the news channel that there was no desire to celebrate Eid al-Fitr with the president.

“I’m not sure how they’re going to be able to do that this year. A lot of people are just not going to go,” said a Muslim leader who has attended previous Ramadan receptions hosted by Biden, adding that many would find it difficult to celebrate “with the president they say is responsible, or partially responsible respect, for what happens. .’

Salam al-Marayati, the chairman of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said there was “no appetite” among the community to attend.

Biden has been the target of protesters dissatisfied with his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas

Protesters in Los Angeles express their anger at the government’s policies

The Biden AThe administration is facing increasing pressure at home and abroad to do more to rein in Israel and help the suffering Palestinian people.

The president has been regularly targeted by protesters while protesters harass him for standing with Israel and the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they continue their war in Gaza after the October 7 terrorist attacks organized by Hamas.

The White House is trying to counter the demonstrators.

The president’s campaign and security teams are downsizing Biden’s events, withholding exact details from the media until the last minute and avoiding college campuses, according to NBC News.

Students are among the most vocal protesters.

Polls show that young voters in particular are dissatisfied with President Biden’s handling of the war.

Amid the misfortune, Biden and his advisers have made several trips to Michigan. That state is home to the country’s largest Arab-American population.

But Biden was in Michigan on Thursday. And he did not visit Dearborn, which has a high concentration of Palestinian voters, but was further north in Saginaw.

Biden’s team kept the location of his stop close to minimize the chance of protests.

Protests continued in Saginaw on Thursday.

Activists from the ‘Abandon Biden’ movement held a press conference in the city center and urged Biden to support a permanent ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. He has called for a temporary measure to get the hostages out and provide aid to starving Palestinians.

President Joe Biden was in Michigan on Thursday but did not meet with any Muslim groups

Protesters lined the route for Biden’s State of the Union address last month

Biden has another goal in Michigan: courting his own Democrats. During that state’s primaries, 13% voted “uncommitted” rather than for the president, citing his handling of the war.

That turned out more than 100,000 voters across the state, raising concerns about Biden’s general election prospects after he defeated former President Donald Trump in Michigan by 154,000 votes in 2020.

As Biden made several stops around Saginaw on Thursday, senior White House officials held private meetings with leaders of the Arab American and Muslim communities in Chicago, which has a large Palestinian American population.

But more than 40 Muslim, Palestinian and Arab-American leaders and groups there refused these meetings, citing continued US funding of Israel’s war on Gaza.

In a letter to the White House, leaders said there was “no point” in holding any more meetings, even though they had already made clear their demand for a permanent ceasefire.

“We believe that another meeting could only serve to make up for months of inaction in the White House followed by meek handouts. We are interested in serious action,” they wrote in the letter.