RFK Jr.’s Anti-Arab Remarks Prompt Broad Condemnation

At a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. The comments were made while the event highlighted the U.S. Senate race between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed**. Kennedy’s statements were quickly labeled factually inaccurate and racially charged by multiple civil-rights groups and public officials.

The Independent

The rally occurred amid a heated midterm campaign in Michigan, a state with the nation’s largest Arab-American population (about 2 percent of its residents, according to 2024 Census data). Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim candidate, has repeatedly denied alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a claim repeatedly amplified by President Donald Trump and other Republicans. Kennedy’s remarks referenced the Brotherhood’s “dangerous” ideology and described it as a “death cult” that has left Arabic culture “atrophied and stagnant.”

The Independent

• Peter Hotez, professor at Baylor College of Medicine, noted that the late Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail, an Arab chemist, would have disagreed with Kennedy’s claim.

The Independent

• The Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment when approached for a response.

Times of Israel

• Population: Approximately 500 million Arabs worldwide, as cited by Kennedy.

The Independent

• Award Winners: Arab individuals have received multiple prestigious awards: Nobel Prizes in Chemistry (Zewail, 1999) and Literature (Mahfouz, 1988); the Nobel Peace Prize (Karman, 2011); and the Fields Medal and Wolf Prize have also been awarded to scholars of Arab descent.

The Independent

• Michigan Demographics: Arab-Americans constitute roughly 2 percent of Michigan’s total population, the highest concentration in any U.S. state.

The Independent

• “There’s 500 million Arabs in the world,” — Robert F. Kennedy, US health secretary

The Independent

• “To stand on a public stage as a sitting U.S. cabinet official and dehumanize half a billion people – and millions of Muslim and Christian Arab Americans – with fabricated, white supremacist talking points is utterly disqualifying for public office,” — CAIR

The Independent

No major outlets provided differing figures on the number of Arab award winners or the size of the Arab population. The primary gap is the absence of a direct response from Kennedy himself, despite requests for comment.

The Independent

The controversy has intensified scrutiny of Kennedy’s tenure as health secretary, with calls from civil-rights organizations for his removal. The ongoing Senate race in Michigan continues to feature debates over alleged foreign-religious affiliations, a theme amplified by recent references to September 11, 2001 by President Trump in attacks on El-Sayed.

Times of Israel