**August 27, 2024**
Bridgeview, Illinois – Standing outside his local mosque in suburban Chicago, Robhi Gharallah expressed that the war in Gaza is at the forefront of everyone’s mind in his community.
“We’re praying, protesting, raising funds—doing everything we can for Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera after Friday prayers.
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However, Gharallah and his neighbors are grappling with a different issue—how to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
Living in Bridgeview, Illinois, an area known as Chicago’s Little Palestine, Gharallah is part of Cook County, which houses one of the largest Palestinian communities in the U.S., with an estimated 22,518 Palestinian Americans.
Wearing a cap adorned with the colors of the Palestinian flag—red, white, green, and black—Gharallah highlighted the significant presence of the Palestinian diaspora in Chicago’s cultural and business spheres.
Despite this, he noted a dilemma among Palestinian Americans regarding the election, as both Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic rival Kamala Harris have demonstrated strong support for Israel.
“There’s no difference between Ammar and Amira,” Gharallah said, using Arabic names to represent Trump and Harris.
“We are American citizens who want to vote, but we’re uncertain who to support. Voting for either option feels like a loss, and not voting at all feels like a denial of our political existence.”...
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