“They came for her and they destroyed my family,” he said.

Then, in 2006, both of Turfe’s grandmothers were killed in Lebanon as Israel fought alongside Hezbollah in a war backed by President George W. Bush.

Turfe said his community had been primarily Republican until then. But members shifted to Democrats during Barack Obama’s presidency, then helped Biden beat Trump in 2020.

These political ties are now severed.

Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping more than 200 hostages. Israel launched its offensive soon after with military and diplomatic support from the Biden administration.

As civilian casualties mounted in Gaza, anti-war Democrats in Michigan and elsewhere launched a protest voting movement during the Democratic primaries. They raised more than 100,000 “uncommitted” votesthe majority coming from the state’s Muslim-majority towns like Dearborn.

Turfe was part of the “uncommitted” movement as Biden ran for re-election, but he said he changed his mind when Harris became the nominee. He endorsed her in August and met with her before a rally near Detroit in October.

He said he spoke to Harris about his grandmothers’ deaths nearly two decades ago and “I felt her empathy.”

“She felt my pain,” Turfe said.

Turfe’s endorsement sparked a backlash. On social networks, retouched images accuse him of approving the atrocities committed in Gaza. He also received text messages calling him a traitor. Long-standing relationships in his hometown of Dearborn became strained.

Dearborn resident Suehaila Amen is used to seeing her community in the national spotlight, having starred in the 2012 TLC reality series “All-American Muslim.” A lifelong Democrat, Amen said she would not vote for Harris.

“They want to send their people to come and see how we feel because now they’re afraid of losing a swing state,” said Amen, who lived in Lebanon from 2017 to 2021. “But you know, if she loses, it’s is of her own initiative, of her own hand, and she will deserve it.

Amen said she doesn’t want Trump to win, but “I have to, ultimately, sleep at night.”

Harris made a rare reference to Israel’s fight against Hamas and Hezbollah during a recent speech in Oakland County, outside Detroit.

“This year has been very difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon,” she said. The death of Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamasshe said, “can and must be a turning point.”

Harris also said she was “very proud to have the support” of Turfe and other Muslim leaders.

But Harris has not called for a reduction in the flow of U.S. arms to Israel, and her campaign did not allow a pro-Palestinian speaker to take the stage at August’s Democratic National Convention, a key demand of the “uncommitted” movement.

Khanna, a progressive Democrat from California, has remained in close contact with Arab American leaders in metro Detroit for months and received the Arab American Civil Rights League’s “Profile in Courage” award this summer. Khanna is Hindu but said his family background allowed him to share experiences with Arab Americans.

At the Oct. 26 meeting with Arab American leaders, Khanna sat next to Harris’ Arab and Muslim outreach directors while acknowledging that “not enough” was done by Harris to help end the war between Israel and Hamas.

“If Trump is elected, people like me won’t be in any of the rooms,” Khanna said. “Harris gives people like us a seat at the table to advocate for you.”

That’s the kind of message that resonates with Mike Musheinesh, a Palestinian American who runs his own auto parts store and who attended the meeting. He said the community should vote for Harris “even if we have to hold our noses.”

“If we want a seat at the table, we have to help get it across the finish line,” he said.

___ Associated Press writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.

___

This story has been updated to correct Assad Turfe’s position and remove reference to his election. He was appointed and not elected.