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Rep. Andy Levin (Photo: Larry L
Ex-Congressman Andy Levin, a self-described Jewish progressive, said Monday in Chicago that Vice President Kamala Harris needs to "keep pushing the envelope" on the Israel-Gaza war policy if she wants to win over Arab Americans this fall in Michigan, the Detroit News reports.
"She can say things that don’t betray the president. She can say that, 'In my administration, we are going to follow U.S. and international law,'" Levin said at a panel discussion focused on the rights of Palestinians at the Democratic National Convention. "...She can say these things and we need her to do more."
In the presidential primary in Michigan in February, more than 101,000 people voted uncommitted. Many were believed to be Arab Americans and others protesting the Biden administration's policy in the Middle East.
Jim Zogby, founder and president of Arab American Institute, praised the existence of the panel, but said it wasn't enough in the face of a "genocide" in Gaza, the News reports.
"It’s not the big prize," Zogby said. "But it is something I do not want to dismiss for a minute.”
Levin, the son of former Congressman Sander Levin and the nephew of the late Sen. Carl Levin, was beaten handedly in his bid for re-election in the 2022 Democratic primary against Congresswoman Haley Stevens.
The Jewish lobbying group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, aka AIPAC, poured money into the campaign to defeat Levin because it felt he was too pro-Palestinian. Levin accused Israel of being an apartheid state, a statement that angered some Israel supporters in Michigan and elsewhere.
