And Bernie Sanders Carries Dearborn

The big surprise in yesterday's US primaries was the surprise victory of Senator Bernie Sanders in the Michigan Democratic Primary, where polls had predicted a strong victory for Hillary Clinton. One of the factors that has drawn a lot of comment is the fact that Sanders, who is Jewish, strongly carried Dearborn, the most Arab and most Muslim city in the US. (Even more Arab than Muslim, as there is a considerable Arab Christian population.)

I don't find it surprising, though it may defy some popular stereotypes. At a time when the other party's leading candidate advocates banning Muslims from entering the US, Sanders openly courted Arab-American support and denounced Islamophobia. This at a time when anti-Muslim hysteria is reaching record levels.

A case in point, though I didn't write about it at the time, occurred on Valentine's Day, someone put up a banner on a building in Lubbock, Texas reading, in Arabic, "Love for All."

The Mayor called in the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security and blocked off several streets.

Recently a teenager in California was stabbed, apparently for speaking Arabic, and in December I noted other incidents.