Joe Biden privately apologized and vowed to “do better” to a group of Muslim Americans for expressing “excessive skepticism” about the number of Palestinian deaths released by the Hamas-led Health Ministry.
The 81-year-old president faced five angry community figureheads a day after he publicly rejected a Palestinian death toll on October 25. One person who organized the meeting said the process was a “s**tshow.”
At the White House press conference, Biden – who has been steadfast in his support of Israel since October 7 – said: “I have no idea that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are being killed.”
The next day, October 26, Biden had charged discussions with five public figures from the community who were outraged by his comments. Their group exceeded Biden’s allotted scheduled time by 30 minutes.
All five attendees were hand-picked by the White House.
President Joe Biden pictured at a news conference Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Biden said, “I have no idea that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people have been killed,” angering the focus group
The guest list included according to the Washingtonpost: Attorney General Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Rami Nashashibi of Chicago, interfaith leader Imam Mohamed Magid, Muslim lobbyist Wa’el Alzayat and health care advocate Suzanne Barakat.
This was said by a person involved in the conversations After: ‘Why do you sit down with him without any agreement that he will retract that statement and apologize?
“Which seat at the table are you negotiating about, the toilet seat?”
One participant, speaking to the Post, said the goal was to pressure Biden on the ceasefire issue. The guests were ‘furious’ that Biden discussed the fatality figures a day earlier – instead of accepting that thousands were killed in Gaza.
Because Hamas, the terrorist organization that slaughtered 1,300 Israelis, is the body releasing the death toll in Gaza, these figures were approached with caution at the start of the conflict.
All five at Biden’s meeting said they knew people affected by the ordeal in Gaza.
One of those present said they had lost a hundred family members.
It was at this point that Biden reportedly apologized for his words and actions.
He reportedly told them, “I’m sorry. I’m disappointed in myself. I’ll do better.’
Imam Mohamed Magid and Suzanne Barakat were among the five at the meeting with Biden
Rami Nashashibi, a Chicago-based Muslim community organizer, and Wa’el Alzayat, of the Muslim lobby group Emgage, both of whom were involved in the meeting
Keith Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota
One participant told the Post: “We said, ‘Palestinians are dying. We are not okay with the numbers of their deaths being disputed.”
The meeting was only supposed to last 30 minutes, but instead it lasted over an hour.
The president eventually hugged one of the participants and promised to “do better.”
Keith Ellison, one of the five attendees, told the story Washingtonpost: “Muslim community leaders told President Biden that the suffering of innocent Gazans trying to survive in extremely difficult conditions has actually increased the likelihood of Islamophobic attacks in the United States.
“The President listened attentively, responded with sincerity, and showed empathy and compassion for the suffering of all. I have good hope that he will act from that empathy.’
Biden and his officials have met with several groups of Muslim, Palestinian and Arab Americans in recent weeks as the conflict in the Middle East continues to divide public opinion.
And the war could also impact Biden’s 2024 prospects. Swing states, like Michigan, have dense Arab-American communities whose opinions on Biden’s response to the conflict will be fresh in their minds when they go to the polls next year .
As it stands, the terrorist-run Ministry of Health reports that more than 14,000 people have been killed in Gaza.
About 10,000 of those are believed to be women and children, NYTimes reports.
According to the Post, another White House-organized meeting saw a dozen Palestinian Americans tell aides that Biden would lose Arab and Muslim voters to the war.
An aerial view of heavily damaged buildings following Israeli attacks during the third day of the humanitarian pause in Khan Yunis, Gaza
Palestinians sit on a bench amid the rubble of residential areas
On Sunday evening, a young American orphan who turned four while held hostage by Hamas was one of nine hostages of children and teenagers handed over to the Red Cross by the terrorist group Hamas.
A total of thirteen Israelis, two Thai nationals and one person from Russia have now been released by the militant group, including four-year-old Israeli-American Abigail Idan, whose parents were killed in Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 raid.
The other children, whom Hamas has held in Gaza’s underground tunnels for the past seven weeks, have been named: Ella Elyakim, eight, Dafna Elyakim, 15, Ofri Brodutch, 10, Yuval Brodutch, eight, Oriya Brodutch, four, Agam Goldstein, 17, Tal Goldstein, nine, and Gal Goldstein, 11.
Other hostages released today, as part of the Hamas-Israel deal in which around 50 women and children held by the terror group are released in exchange for a short ceasefire, include: Hagar Brodutch, 39, Chen Goldstein, 48, Alma Avraham, 84 and Adrian Aviva Siegel, 63.
All but one of the 13 Israeli hostages were taken to Israel, while an elderly Israeli woman was taken to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, along with Thai and Russian nationals who were driven in a Red Cross van.
It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was determined to return about 200 hostages held by Hamas.