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Harris and the Dems Still Have a Chance to Correct Course on Gaza
By committing to policy changes such as an arms embargo, Harris can regain the support of communities that have distanced themselves from the Democratic Party in recent months.
Aug 22, 2024
When U.S. Vice President Harris addresses the Democratic National Convention today, it will mark a historic moment for our nation, emblematic of what the future of representation can look like. As the first Black and Asian woman to earn a major party’s nomination, communities of color, much like my own, see in her the opportunity for a new direction in our country.
But for a majority of Americans, that new direction must include charting a different path than that of President Joe Biden and his predecessors when it comes to the war in Gaza and Palestinian rights.
As a Palestinian American who is an elected Democrat to the Colorado State House, it has been disheartening to witness Biden facilitate and abet Israel’s brutal war on Gaza with billions of dollars in U.S. weapons. While Israel has traditionally been the top recipient of U.S. foreign military aid (now surpassed by Ukraine since Russia’s invasion), the U.S. has, on average, sent Israel a weapons shipment every four days over the last 10 months, appropriating over $18 billion in weapons transfers during that period—and the administration just approved another $20 billion worth of military funding.
Harris can set a precedent in defending human rights without prejudice. Not only is this the right thing to do, it will also bolster her chances in November.
When I speak with my constituents, they are keenly aware of the billions in economic and military aid sent to Israel each year. Imagine if those funds were invested in education, housing, and healthcare right here at home.
Over the past 10 months, Israel has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, including upwards of 15,000 children. It has used starvation as a weapon against the population and violated every “red line” set by Biden. The International Court of Justice and a U.S. federal court have even ruled that Israel may be guilty of genocide and opened up an investigation.
In May, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister for war crimes. In July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza violates international law and constitutes apartheid.
Shortly after the court’s ruling, Israel’s parliament overwhelmingly voted to reject the creation of a Palestinian State, officially declaring what has been unofficial Israeli policy for decades. This rejectionist Israeli position is problematic for the U.S. at best.
For decades, the two-state solution has been the default talking point the U.S. uses to deflect from acknowledging the reality of Israel’s apartheid system, but Israel is making it harder and harder to maintain this fiction.
Biden has followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, providing, in essence, unconditional support to Israel despite its violations of international law and U.S. policy. This has fostered a sense of impunity among Israeli leaders, paving the way for and worsening the current crisis.
Earlier this year, however, more than 750,000 voters chose “uncommitted” on their ballots in the Democratic primaries, signaling a demand for a new direction.
Harris has expressed concern and empathy for Palestinian suffering in ways Biden has not, but she hasn’t shown any openness toward a fundamental policy change—at least not yet. Her notable absence during Netanyahu’s speech to Congress and her choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate—seen as more favorable to progressive and Palestinian rights supporters—are encouraging signs.
However, these symbolic gestures need to be matched with concrete policy changes.
Harris has said that an arms embargo—which human rights organizations have been calling for—is off the table, but that she supports a cease-fire. To truly reach a cease-fire and prevent a regional conflict, the U.S. must halt the arms shipments that fuel the conflict.
As a former attorney general and as current vice president, Harris has taken an oath to defend the Constitution. She is no stranger to the responsibility to enforce existing laws and policies that prevent weapons transfers to foreign military units that commit gross human rights violations. Meanwhile, U.S. made bombs continue to kill Palestinians seeking safety in schools, tents, and hospitals.
Harris can set a precedent in defending human rights without prejudice. Not only is this the right thing to do, it will also bolster her chances in November.
Polls and recent protests show that a majority of Democrats want an immediate cease-fire and a change in U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine, including sanctions imposed on Israel over settlement construction, and sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis. Indeed, most Americans of all political stripes want a cease-fire, a halt in weapons transfers to Israel until it ends its assault on Gaza, and for the U.S. to be neutral between the two parties. By committing to policy changes, Harris can regain the support of communities that have distanced themselves from the Democratic Party in recent months—Arab and Muslim voters, young people, people of color, progressives, anti-war advocates, and the uncommitted movement.
The national Democratic party platform states, “We will speak and act with clarity and purpose on behalf of human rights wherever they are under threat.” This week, the Democratic Party has a chance to correct course on the war in Gaza and revive our democratic principles. We must adhere to the values that define us as Democrats.
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Palestinian Rights Advocates Hold Sit-In After DNC Refuses Speaking Slot
"DNC, we will stay here until we get the call from Democratic leadership."
Aug 22, 2024
Delegates from the "uncommitted" movement led a sit-in outside of the Democratic National Convention and refused to accept no for an answer late Wednesday after the party declined their request to provide a mere five minutes of onstage time for a Palestinian American to speak to the horrors unfolding in the Gaza Strip, which Israel has been bombing relentlessly with U.S. support for more than 10 months.
DNC organizers did not say publicly why they are refusing to allow a Palestinian American to speak at the event at Chicago's United Center, which is located in the county with the largest Palestinian American population in the U.S.
The Uncommitted National Movement secured dozens of delegates to the DNC after hundreds of thousands of Democratic primary voters cast ballots earlier this year protesting the Biden administration's support for Israel's assault on Gaza.
In a joint statement late Wednesday, Abbas Alawieh, June Rose, Sabrene Odeh, and other uncommitted delegates said that "we are waiting for a phone call from Vice President [Kamala] Harris and the DNC to allow a single Palestinian American speaker from the convention stage."
"Our party's platform states that every life is valuable: whether American, Palestinian, or Israeli," the delegates said. "We will conduct a moral act of sitting in at the convention to push our party to better align our actions, instead of just our words, with the notion that every life is valuable by simply allowing a Palestinian American to speak from the stage."
Memo to Harris campaign: since you invited American Jews w/ a child held captive in Gaza, you should’ve also invited to speak a Palestinian American w/ family in Gaza suffering from the assault. Palestinians deserve respect. To fail to do this is an unforced error. Fix it now. pic.twitter.com/mImkced0tj
— James J. Zogby (@jjz1600) August 22, 2024
The DNC's speaker lineup thus far has included Republicans, the former CEO of American Express, and the parents of an Israeli American held hostage in Gaza.
"The Democratic Party has ignored Palestinian voices—canceling meetings, belittling protestors, and now blocking a Palestinian speaker from appearing at the DNC," the Uncommitted National Movement wrote on social media. "We won't let that happen. Palestinian Americans have watched for 10+ months as Democrats have spent their own tax dollars supplying Israel with weapons to kill their loved ones in Palestine."
"All we asked for was five minutes," the movement added. "DNC, we will stay here until we get the call from Democratic leadership. We will not stop until we win an arms embargo. We will not stop until the Democratic Party becomes the party of Palestinian rights."
The window for a reversal from DNC organizers is rapidly closing: Thursday is the final day of the convention, which will feature remarks from Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
The Washington Postreported Wednesday that "many Democratic leaders were concerned" that providing even a brief speaking slot to a Palestinian American "would threaten the unity that has been on vivid display at the convention," given the likelihood that the speaker would criticize U.S. support for Israel's assault.
Waleed Shahid, a progressive organizer and Democratic strategist, said that "several names" of Palestinian Americans were submitted to the DNC for consideration and uncommitted delegates were "well aware that every speech would be vetted and edited by the campaign and have agreed to that process."
"There are tens of thousands of Palestinian Americans," Shahid added. "The DNC can find one person to speak."
In response to the DNC's decision, the group "Muslim Women for Harriz-Walz" announced that it "cannot in good conscience" keep its organization going "in light of this new information."
"The family of the Israeli hostage that was on stage tonight has shown more empathy towards Palestinian Americans and Palestinians than our candidate or the DNC has," the group said in a statement. "This is a terrible message to send to Democrats. Palestinians have the right to speak about Palestine. We pray that the DNC and VP Harris' team makes the right decision before this convention is over. For the sake of each of us."
Ongoing Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip—enabled by tens of billions of dollars of American weaponry transferred by the current Democratic administration—and the enclave's appalling humanitarian crisis have received scant attention from DNC speakers thus far. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the two most prominent progressive lawmakers to speak at the convention, each mentioned Gaza just once, with the latter offering praise for the Biden administration's diplomatic efforts that critics said was entirely unwarranted.
Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan wrote Wednesday that "there are plenty of Dem delegates at this convention here in Chicago who I am sure support an arms embargo and are against what's happening in Gaza."
"But," he added, "they don't want it to get in the way of pro-Kamala party atmosphere. It's an inconvenient genocide."
Reps. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) joined the sit-in late Wednesday, expressing solidarity with the demand for a Palestinian American speaker on the convention stage.
"To still speak up in your grief in the face of people who would essentially spit in your face, and to do it anyway, is a love that some people will never understand," Lee told the demonstrators.
This story has been updated to include a statement from the group "Muslim Women for Harriz-Walz."
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For First Time in Its History, DNC Will Feature Panel on Palestinian Rights
"We will keep pushing for our party's leadership to break away from its current financing of Israel's horrific assault on Gaza and military rule over Palestinians," said the co-founders of the Uncommitted National Movement.
Aug 19, 2024
The opening day of the Democratic National Convention on Monday will feature its first-ever panel on Palestinian rights, a result of persistent grassroots organizing against U.S. support for Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip—a war that a majority of Democratic voters believe is genocidal.
The co-founders of the Uncommitted National Movement—which urged voters to mark "uncommitted" on their Democratic primary ballots earlier this year to protest the Biden administration's support for Israel's bombardment of Gaza—announced the panel in a statement on Monday, calling it an "important step toward recognizing the rightful place of human rights advocates for Palestinian rights within the Democratic Party."
"With this panel and throughout our engagement at the DNC, we will use our platform to communicate the cries of the majority of Democratic voters who want an end to the unconditional flow of U.S. weapons that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is using to kill Palestinian families," said Layla Elabed—the sister of U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)—and Abbas Alawieh.
"We thank DNC leadership for working with us on this historic panel, and we remain hopeful that they and the Harris campaign will honor our request for Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan and a Palestinian-American to be granted speaking time from the convention stage," they continued. "Our focus remains on policy change. Vice President Harris has an opportunity to unite the party against [Republican nominee Donald] Trump this week by turning the page toward a human rights policy that saves lives and helps us re-engage key voters for whom Gaza is a top issue."
"We will keep pushing for our party's leadership to break away from its current financing of Israel's horrific assault on Gaza and military rule over Palestinians," Elabed and Alawieh added.
On Monday, for the first time in its history, the Democratic National Convention will hold a panel on Palestinian human rights. We thank the DNC for recognizing this pivotal issue and remain dedicated to pushing VP Harris to stop providing weapons for Israel's assault on Gaza. pic.twitter.com/4rgvlPMG9w
— Uncommitted National Movement 🌺 (@uncommittedmvmt) August 18, 2024
The last time the DNC featured discussion of Palestinian rights was in 1988, during a policy debate that included Arab American Institute founder James Zogby, who will take part in Monday's six-member "Democrats for Palestinian Rights" panel.
"What's happening today is that it's not a candidate-led effort, it's a people-led effort," Zogby said in an MSNBC appearance on Sunday, contrasting the current Palestinian rights push with the 1988 effort spearheaded by Jesse Jackson.
Palestinian rights advocates "have elected their own delegates," Zogby noted, referring to the dozens of "uncommitted" delegates who will be in attendance at the Democratic convention in Chicago, where tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected to rally in the streets in opposition to the Biden administration's ongoing military support for Israel.
"They're not Jackson delegates, they're uncommitted delegates. They're not Bernie delegates, they're uncommitted," Zogby continued. "I think Kamala Harris has to read the room."
In recent weeks, Palestinian rights advocates have been pressuring Harris, the Democratic nominee, to substantively break with the Biden administration on Gaza by endorsing an arms embargo against Israel—a position backed by a majority of American voters.
Harris has expressed an openness to dialogue with Palestinian rights advocates but has yet to accept their concrete demands.
We spent this morning in Chicago with uncommitted DNC delegates who want answers from Kamala Harris on Gaza. https://t.co/f5YZwvPeWx pic.twitter.com/rMh0bwyBWO
— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) August 19, 2024
Monday's panel will also feature Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care surgeon who recently served in Gaza; Hala Hijazi, a Democratic organizer who has had several family members killed in Gaza by Israel's military; Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison; and former U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.), a Jewish progressive who was unseated in the 2022 midterms by an AIPAC-backed candidate.
On top of the efforts of panel participants, "uncommitted" delegates, and outside demonstrators, a roughly 60-member group called "Delegates Against Genocide" plans to "exercise its freedom of speech rights during main events" at the four-day convention, Reutersreported Sunday.
The delegate group is urging a "no" vote on the Democratic Party's 2024 platform over its "failure to demand a permanent and sustainable cease-fire in Gaza enforced by a U.S. arms embargo on Israel." The proposed platform expresses support for an immediate and "durable" cease-fire agreement and voices opposition to the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements.
"We must take a stand for justice, both domestically and internationally," Nadia Ahmad, a DNC delegate from Florida, said in a statement. "A 'no' vote on the platform sends a clear message that we, as Democrats, will not support policies that enable genocide, war crimes, and human rights abuses."
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