A group seemingly aligned with the Republican party is targeting areas in Michigan that are home to large Arab American and Muslim communities with digital ads purporting to “celebrate” the Jewish faith of Kamala Harris’s husband, Douglas Emhoff. The New York Times reported that the group, Future Coalition Pac, is running new ads on social media sites including Facebook and YouTube highlighting that Emhoff is Jewish and focusing on Harris’s support for Israel. In one ad the narrator states: “Kamala Harris is a strong leader for these difficult times – and joining Kamala will be her husband and top adviser, Doug Emhoff, who would be the first Jewish presidential spouse, ever” as the screen shows videos and pictures of Emhoff wearing a yarmulke, visiting Oskar Schindler’s factory and lighting Hanukah candles with Harris. “Emhoff, making history, standing up for what’s right, supporting Israel,” the narrator says. The Pac, which seems to have been formed in July, has run six advertisements since early September, according to the Google Ads Transparency Center, three of which focus on Emhoff’s faith and the other three on Harris’s support of Israel. All of the ads were only shown in Michigan, with the most money spent in the congressional districts with large Arab and Muslim populations. Overall, the Pac has spent just under $60,000, according to Google. The specific zip codes targeted include Dearborn, Michigan, which has a significant Arab American community and is the focal point of the “uncommitted” movement, as well as Hamtramck and Coldwater, both towns with sizable Arab or Muslim populations. The Future Coalition Pac did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this month, HuffPost reported that the Pac was founded by Republicans and said that the ads seem to be aimed at persuading Muslim and Arab Americans, as well as other voters who may be sympathetic to Palestinians, not to support Harris. Many are frustrated with the Biden-Harris administration due to its military aid to Israel as the war in Gaza continues. Many Jewish Americans are concerned about antisemitism from both sides of the political spectrum. The Future Coalition Pac lists Chain Bridge Bank, which Reuters reported has worked with many Republican campaigns, as its bank. The Pac also lists RightSide Compliance in the filing, which, according to the company’s website, has provided record-keeping and services to numerous Republican campaigns. A Michigan Democratic operative told HuffPost that the ads were nothing more than a dirty trick from Republicans designed to “get low-information and low-engagement Arab-American and left-leaning voters to oppose Harris”, adding that the Pac was helping a former president who “uses Palestinian as a slur”. In April the New York Times reported that Trump allies were planning an effort in Michigan to amplify Muslim voters’ concerns about President Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza, and that they had discussed running ads in Dearborn and other parts of the state with large Muslim populations that would “thank” Biden and his administration for standing with Israel. During the Democratic primary in February, 6,432 voters in Dearborn chose “uncommitted” in protest against Biden’s military support for Israel’s war in Gaza, part of the more than 100,000 voters in Michigan who voted uncommitted – roughly 13.3% of the vote there. A survey published in August by the Council on American-Islamic Relations found that just under a third of American Muslims said they were planning to vote for Harris. About the same number said that they would vote for the Green Party candidate, Jill Stein, and 11.2% for Trump. Four per cent named the independent candidate Cornel West. The most pressing concerns for Muslim voters surveyed included international human rights, religious freedom, healthcare access and hate crimes. Read more about the 2024 US election: Fears mount that election deniers could disrupt vote count in US swing states Microsoft billionaire fights US election disinformation Palestinian advocacy groups pressure Harris as election looms Presidential poll tracker