Talking Points: Israel-Hamas war drives U.S. voters apart ahead of 2024 presidential election
MINNEAPOLIS — A new report by the American Jewish Committee found that 63% of American Jews say they feel less safe living in the U.S. than a year ago.
Muslim groups are feeling it, too. The Council on American Islamic Relations reported a 300% increase in requests for help in the weeks after Oct. 7.
It's all part of the fallout of the Israel-Hamas war. But a world away, it's having a profound impact on people in the United States.
In Talking Points, Esme Murphy looks at how the war is fueling tensions here at home and deepening a political divide that could impact the 2024 Presidential election.
The Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who is Jewish, vetoed the measure, but the council overrode the veto.
"The resolution they passed was unlike any other resolution in the entire country. It was far more aggressive, in that it uplifted one community, the Palestinians who deserved by the way to be uplifted. And it pushed down and all but eliminated the history of Jews and Israelis, many of whom were refugees following the Holocaust," Frey said.
However, Robin Wonsley, the Ward 2 city council member, says her constituents demanded the resolution.
"I know that while we are separated from the violence in Gaza by thousands of miles, this has had an immediate deep impact on members of our local community," said Wonsley.
The impact of the war is personal on both sides. Steve Hunegs, the executive director of JCRC Minnesota and Dakotas, says everyone knows a victim caught up in the ongoing war.
"Everybody knows somebody in Israel. Many people know people who are impacted, killed, wounded, fought back, taken hostage, etc. And now you have the City Council weighing in on an issue," said Hunegs.
Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of CAIR-MN, recognizes the great loss Minnesotans are feeling as the death toll grows.
"Over 100 deaths that are attributed to relatives of folks here in Minnesota who have died now in Gaza," said Hussein.
Hussein is also the co-founder of a National Abandon Biden Movement made up largely of Muslims who are furious with President Biden's support for Israel.
"Many of us actually voted for him than we expected him to, to adhere to the same values that he shared with us when he ran as a campaign for president," said Hussein.
Political analyst Larry Jacobs, a politics professor at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs, says the growing divide is dangerous for Biden.
"Given the level of backlash that Joe Biden is suffering from Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and progressives. More broadly, it's a very dangerous development for Joe Biden," said Jacobs.
NOTE: Above is a preview of Talking Points presented on "The 4."
