MI-GOV: Gilchrist (D) calls Gaza, Palestine crisis a genocide at Arab convention, fundraising communications
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist is staking out new territory for establishment Michigan Democrats in his campaign for governor, offering his support for Palestinians facing hunger and strife in the Israel-Hamas war and plainly calling the situation in Gaza a genocide.
Gilchrist first made his stance on Gaza clear over the weekend as a speaker at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s national convention in Dearborn, also known as ArabCon. The city has the nation’s largest cohort of Arab Americans and would be a key pick up in the Democratic primary next August.
The lieutenant governor, in a clip that was shared on his Instagram account, said that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was committing a genocide of the Palestinian people, to which the crowd erupted in cheers.
“This is not a matter of opinion. It is a matter of fact,” Gilchrist said. “This has been established by the global leaders who study genocide. This is not something we should support. American taxpayer dollars should not fund offensive weapons of war while children are starving, while medical resources are being blocked to civilians, and while lineages of families are being erased.”
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/09/29/gilchrist-calls-gaza-palestine-crisis-a-genocide-at-arab-convention-fundraising-communications/