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A political action committee with apparent ties to Republican groups has aired advertisements in Michigan zip codes with notable Mulsim populations that emphasize Vice President Kamala Harris’s ties to Israel and her husband, Doug Emhoff’s, Jewish faith – seemingly in an attempt to draw the specific voters away.
A series of six advertisements from the Future Coalition PAC have aired in cities like Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck where the largest concentration of Arab Americans live.
At first, the ads appear celebratory of Emhoff potentially being the “first Jewish presidential spouse ever”.
But a repeated strong emphasis on Emhoff being Harris’s “top adviser”, the claim that Harris “hates” Free Palestine protestors and the assertion that the two will “always” support the “unbreakable bond” between the U.S. and Israel begins to feel more like an attempt to play into the antisemitic trope that Jewish people are equally loyal to Israel and the U.S.
The ads use emotive language, saying Harris is “tough on Hamas terrorists who murdered innocent Jews” and “Harris put [Free Palestine protesters] in their place.”
An image from one of the Future Coalition PAC’s advertisements that ran in Michigan depicts Harris as a “pro-Israel president” (Future Coalition PAC / YouTube)
Future Coalition PAC spent at least $50,000 on the ads, which began airing on September 5, according to Google Ads Transparency.
Information about the PAC is little-known because it only first registered with the Federal Election Commission in July.
It currently lists its custodian of records as Cabell Hobbs and its treasurer as Ray Zaborney.
It also lists its bank as Chain Bridge Bank – a privately-owned bank that has worked on every Republican Party presidential nominee’s campaign since 2008.
The ads arrive at a time of heightened political tension due to the Israel–Hamas war.
Many Jewish Americans have faced an increasing amount of antisemitism over the last year and some have voiced concern about attacks on their communities due to the war. Notably, college students and faculty raised issues with antisemitism on campus after pro-Palestinian protests took over universities this past year.
Arab Americans have also faced attacks on their communities as a result of the war. Some have expressed outrage over the U.S. backing Israel’s military since more than 40,000 Palestinians have died and people in Gaza are being put in a dire humanitarian crisis.
During the Democratic presidential primaries this year, areas of Michigan with a large Arab American population voted uncommitted over Biden.
Those are the same areas being targeted with the advertisements.
The Independent has reached out to the Future Coalition PAC for comment.
