Harris said the plan will aim to "protect Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim from hate, bigotry and violence. And to address the concern that some government policies may discriminate against Muslims".
President Biden’s support among Arab-Americans has fallen to 17% after he backed Israel’s war on Hamas, a poll commissioned by the Arab American Institute found. Forty percent of Arab-American respondents said they would vote for Donald Trump.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, who has demanded that foreigners expressing support for Hamas are deported, criticised the initiative.
"After the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and a breakout of pro-Hamas activism on campus, the White House is claiming *Islamophobia* is our top concern," he tweeted.
Professor Gad Saad, from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University, also took aim at the scheme.
"According to the [FBI] director, Jews make up 2.4% of the US population but are the targets of 60% of hate crimes. This is why it is apparently important to fight Islamophobia according to the White House," he said.
