They pushed the president to show more empathy toward Palestinians and to support a cease-fire.
While President Joe Biden offered unqualified support of Israel in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ rampage, he has sought to show more compassion toward Palestinian civilians in recent days. | Francis Chung/POLITICOMuslim leaders urged President Joe Biden to back a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas during a closed-door White House meeting and criticized him over comments he made this week about the Palestinian death count, according to three people who attended.
Rami Nashashibi, a MacArthur fellow and founder of the Inner City Muslim Action Network, attended the meeting and said he “very explicitly” talked to Biden about his remarks on the death count. Without providing specifics, Nashashibi said he was heartened by Biden’s response to his concerns about the statistics and other issues: “We were genuinely hopeful about the way the president received that very honest and unequivocal critique.”
The Biden administration has rejected calls for a cease-fire, arguing Israel has a right to defend itself. “We should have those hostages released and then we can talk,” Biden said“The participants were very clear, very forthright in calling for a cease-fire, telling the president that this is a matter of saving lives and also avoiding escalation,” said the second person in attendance. “More violence is not going to solve this problem. All it’s going to do is kill more people.
While several Muslim leaders left the conversation feeling optimistic, they are ultimately looking for follow-up action from the Biden administration.
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