On the final night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the party’s nomination for the presidential election. But in spite of weeks’ worth of lobbying by the Uncommitted national movement for a Palestinian to take the DNC stage, the DNC and Harris campaign ultimately refused. Harris’s speech signified a continuation of the Biden administration’s approach to Gaza and Israel: continued military and diplomatic support for Israel, and sympathies for Gaza, where the estimated death toll ranges from over 40,000 to over 186,000 killed since October 7.
Protesters went to Chicago in droves in advance of the DNC to call for a ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel. (Last week, the US State Department approved the sale of $20 billion in arms to Israel.) On Wednesday night, the Uncommitted movement announced it had been told the DNC would not offer the group's speaker a slot, leading to widespread disappointment among those who were hoping to see a concession on the DNC's final day in response to months of pro-Palestine outcries.
Part of the controversy is in the broad range of speakers who were given slots, including Republicans and controversial former Democrat electeds like the Clintons. The parents of an Israeli hostage, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, spoke Wednesday night on the DNC stage; Uncommitted representatives told Mother Jones they supported the choice to platform them.
Overnight on Wednesday, organizers with Uncommitted launched a sit-in outside the convention space to pressure Democrats on their policy on Gaza and Israel and the requested speaker slot. Among the speakers organizers floated was Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman (D), who spoke to Teen Vogue in May 2023 about being the first Muslim woman and first Palestinian American elected to the Georgia House. As noted by Jezebel’s Kylie Cheung, Romman has simultaneously condemned the Biden-Harris administration's role in Gaza while encouraging participation in the electoral process. Romman’s potential speech, which backed Harris, was published on Thursday after the speaker request was denied; it reads in part:
“For 320 days, we’ve stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. That’s why we are here — members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all.”
Teen Vogue was at the sit-in with Uncommitted organizers just before the DNC’s final night, and spoke to delegate Ahmad Awad about what they wanted to say onstage:
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In the days leading up to the end of the convention, groups like IfNotNow and letters from progressive and Black leaders nationwide flooded in to back the call for a Palestinian speaker, including signatures from multiple DNC delegates, US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and filmmaker Ava DuVernay. Electeds such as Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MI) and Cori Bush (D-MO) joined the overnight-into-Thursday sit-in. But when Thursday night came, there was no celebrity “surprise guest,” nor any new offer for a Palestinian speaker; the last word of the night on Palestine was from newly minted Democratic nominee VP Harris.
Harris’s remarks on Israel and Gaza opened with a stated commitment to a ceasefire and hostage deal, stating, “I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.” Harris then referenced the “scale of suffering” in Gaza as “heartbreaking” and “devastating,” concluding the portion by saying: “President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity. Security. Freedom. And self-determination,” to huge applause from the crowd.
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Harris used the speech to say that she and Biden were working to end the war, but critics responded that without an arms embargo, that promise rings hollow.
Uncommitted cofounder Abbas Alawieh told Reuters that Harris had missed an opportunity in her speech to win over some of the more than 750,000 voters that had withheld their vote in the primaries due to Gaza, many of whom reside in battleground states like Michigan. One Michigan Uncommitted delegate, Rina Mohammad, told Reuters of the speech (and that it followed the denial of a Palestinian speaker), “I'm actually more concerned now. This is just a bad look. You're going to lose Michigan.”
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