With the United States going through its presidential election, the future of America’s relationship with the Middle East has never been more pressing. As a citizen of Jordan, the closest country to the conflict, I wonder what direction the next president will take to address the region’s long-standing conflict for peace and stability.
As an international student living in the U.S. for only nine months, I don’t think the changes of the new American president would affect me much. Jordan’s government is unlike America, instead of a representative democracy, we have a monarchy–so this is my first experience seeing a presidential election.
However, the U.S. has the most influential economic and political power in the world, so I’m curious about the changes and foreign policy initiatives the new president will execute regarding the Middle East, especially the Israel-Hamas conflict.
On Aug. 10, I moved to the U.S. as a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant and it wasn’t until I began taking a public opinion and propaganda course that I was inspired to start learning about U.S. presidential elections.
I found it a bit challenging to fully understand what Republicans and Democrats stand for over a short period of time. So, I began to watch debates to listen to the candidates’ plans for the future regarding the ongoing issues in the Middle East.
Donald Trump’s presidency shaped his policies, with significant changes such as recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital instead of Tel Aviv, cutting funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency which impacted Palestinian refugees and creating relations between Israel and four Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Bahrain and Morocco.
On the other hand, Kamala Harris is running for the elections for the first time and we can only wait and see what she might do as president if she wins. But, as of late, she has taken the stance of President Joe Biden regarding Israel-Hamas, which has created discourse amongst her voters.
Both of these candidates have made promises about how they would handle Israel and Palestine. Trump said if it was under his leadership, the war in Gaza would have never occurred whilst Harris said she would do everything in her power to bring peace to the region with a two-state solution.
Situations have been hostile and I wish the war never happened. I wish the innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives would have been spared. Both sides deserve to live in peace, a century of conflict is long enough.
U.S. presidents continuously promise to make America “great again,” whether it’s Trump or Harris, but the only promise I want to see fulfilled by the next U.S. president is peace being prioritized and achieved. I don’t want to see more bloodshed, wars and political discord in the Middle East.
I hope the next president makes the whole world a better place. True peace could only be achieved if Israeli and Palestinian lives were considered equally valuable and worthy. Voters may not have the authority, but it starts with them.
Whenever voters see the president they elected take a certain stance or make a certain decision they should ask themselves: is this what I stand for?
Categories: Opinion
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