DEARBORN, Mich. – U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is in Dearborn this weekend for ArabCon, a national Arab American convention that has drawn community leaders and activists from across the country.
Khanna, a progressive Democrat who has become a frequent visitor to Metro Detroit, said Michigan is central to understanding the political and humanitarian issues shaping national debates.
“This is a place where we can understand the pain and the suffering of the Palestinian people and what is going on in Gaza,” Khanna said in an interview in the newsroom of WDIV in downtown Detroit. “We need to end this war. We need to stop providing military sales to Israel that are being used to kill civilians. We need to recognize a Palestinian state that doesn’t have Hamas, that recognizes a secure Israel.”
The congressman has led a letter in the U.S. House urging recognition of Palestinian statehood, joining a position held by dozens of U.S. allies.
“One hundred fifty countries have recognized a Palestinian state,” said Khanna. “The letter explicitly says no Hamas and that they need to recognize Israel as a secure Jewish democratic state.”
Khanna said Dearborn voters have sent a clear message. “They have failed our country, they have failed the moral test,” he said of both parties. “We lost Michigan because of Gaza. Anyone who says otherwise just hasn’t seen the numbers.”
While in Dearborn, Khanna is also making headlines in Washington. He and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., are leading a bipartisan discharge petition to force a vote on releasing all of Jeffrey Epstein’s files.
“This isn’t about politics. This is about standing with survivors,” Khanna said. “These were young girls at the age of 14 who were raped and then told to recruit junior high and high school students to be abused. It’s horrific.”
The petition has 217 signatures, Khanna said, and is expected to reach the 218 needed to trigger a floor vote.
Khanna warned the files could expose powerful figures.
“There is something that is rotten there,” Khanna said. “The American people are sick of a government that protects rich and powerful people while they see their own lives not succeeding.”
Khanna has been floated as a potential presidential candidate, but he said his focus remains on “ending this brutal war in Gaza, getting the Epstein files released, and building an economy that works for every American.”
ArabCon runs through Sept. 28 at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn.