Biden Visits Dearborn Amid Turmoil In Middle East

DEARBORN, MI — President Joe Biden's first visit to the east side of Michigan since his inauguration is expected to be met with protests Tuesday as people object to Biden's response to the Israeli-Palestine crisis.

The president is expected to be in Dearborn Tuesday to visit the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, where the company will manufacture its new electric F-150 truck. But Biden's visit comes on the heels of mass protests in Dearborn — which has the nation's highest concentration of Arab Americans — as bombardments and attacks by the Israeli government have led to the deaths of more than 200 people in Gaza.

"If you support a cease-fire, then get out of the way of the U.N. Security Council and join other countries in demanding it," Rashida Tlaib tweeted at the president late Monday after the U.S. blocked a UN Security Council statement demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. "Apartheid-in-chief Netanyahu will not listen to anyone asking nicely. He commits war crimes and openly violates international law."

Related: Biden To Visit Ford Electric Vehicle Center In Dearborn On May 18

On Monday, Biden called for a ceasefire on Twitter after previously saying he supported Israel's right to defend itself.

Protests Planned For Biden's Visit

President Biden is scheduled to arrive in Michigan around 11:30 a.m. He will tour the Ford plant around 12:45 p.m. before speaking at around 1:40 p.m. He is scheduled to depart the state shortly before 4 p.m.

His visit comes a day before Ford reveals its all-new electric F-150 truck. The Lightning, as it will be called, is set to be built at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center.

"The truck of the future will be built with quality and a commitment to sustainability by Ford-UAW workers at the Ford Rouge Complex -- the cathedral of American manufacturing and our most advanced plant," Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said previously.

But Biden's visit to the area has been clouded by turmoil in the Middle East, where the war in Gaza showing no sign of abating and truce efforts apparently stalled, according to The Associated Press.

Heavy fighting broke out on May 10, when Gaza's Hamas rulers fired rockets toward Jerusalem in support of Palestinian protests against Israel’s policing of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint site sacred to Jews and Muslims, and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers, The Associated Press reported.

At least 213 Palestinians have been killed in heavy airstrikes since, including 61 children and 36 women, with more than 1,440 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Thousands of people protested in the streets of Dearborn on Saturday and Sunday, similar to demonstrations around the world that called for an end to the violence.

On Friday, about 100 people rallied in support of Israel in West Bloomfield, according to The Detroit Free Press.

“This didn’t just happen in the last two weeks in Jerusalem and Gaza, this has been going on since 1948,” New Generation for Palestine President Amer Zahr told the Free Press. “They use words on TV like ‘eviction’ and ‘clashes,’ that’s not true. (They say) it’s a conflict, no it’s not. It’s an occupation, it is apartheid and it is ethnic cleansing and it’s been going on for 73 years.”

Three protests are planned for Tuesday by various Arab American groups. They are planned for 10 a.m. at the American Moslem Society mosque in Dearborn, 1 p.m. outside the Dearborn Police station and at 1:30 p.m. in Lapeer Park, The Free Press reported.

Michigan State Police officials told Patch Tuesday morning that they do not discuss security operations with the president, but have not been requested to assist in Dearborn.