Pro-Palestinian activists make their voices heard at Chicago DNC

As Democrats from across the country gathered at the United Center in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention this week, speakers focused on the message of party unity. With issues like abortion and gun control taking center stage, Democrats attempted to mobilize voters from all wings of their party to vote blue up and down the ballot this coming November. 

Amid this central messaging from the Democratic Party, one source of ongoing division within the party — Israel’s military campaign in Gaza — made waves in Chicago this week.

Throughout the convention, protesters took to the streets of Chicago to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with Democrats’ handling of various issues, most notably the Biden administration’s response to the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Although protests remained largely peaceful, police arrested 74 protesters over the course of the convention, according to the Chicago Police Department. Of those arrested, a small number faced misdemeanor charges, including battery, resisting police and disorderly conduct according to CBS News.

Hours before Vice President Kamala Harris was set to officially accept the Democratic nomination for president on the last day of the convention, a coalition of progressive and pro-Palestine organizations hosted the March on the DNC, which began at Union Park and marched to the streets around the United Center. At a rally before the march, Nadia El Yafi, a member of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and one of the organizations involved in the event’s planning, said replacing Biden as the nominee did not address their disapproval of the administration’s response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. 

“(Harris’) stance is crystal clear,” El Yafi said. “She stands firmly behind Israel’s so-called right to defend itself and will continue funneling aid and weapons to war criminals. Her nomination doesn’t change a damn thing. She’s just as complicit now as she was during her term as vice president over the past 10 months.”

El Yafi also clarified that the protesters’ goal was not to have a voice within the Democratic Party but to distance themselves from party leadership and other Democrats who do not support their cause.

“Let us be clear: We are fighting to end a genocide, not just to have a seat at the table of genocide,” El Yafi said. “So when it comes to Biden, Harris, the Democrats and anyone that opposes our demands, we know where they stand morally.”

As protests took place around the convention, opposition to the Biden administration’s handling of the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza also made its way inside the convention hall in the form of 30 “uncommitted” delegates. These delegates represented millions of voters across the country who voted “uncommitted” in their state’s Democratic primary election in lieu of supporting President Joe Biden or other candidates on the ballot. The Uncommitted National Movement, inspired by the Listen to Michigan campaign launched in February, encouraged voters to use their primary ballots to send a message to the Biden administration conveying their dissatisfaction with its policies on Israel and Gaza.

In a press conference on the third day of the convention, “uncommitted” leaders, progressive elected officials and other pro-Palestine activists gathered to explain the role of “uncommitted” delegates within the Democratic Party. Abbas Alawieh, leader of the Uncommitted National Movement and “uncommitted” delegate from Michigan, said he believes this group of delegates and politicians represented the views of the majority of Democratic voters.

“We’re Democrats, and we’re on the inside talking to Democratic Party leadership, saying we need to stop sending weapons that are killing the civilians,” Alawieh said. “We represent the majority of Democrats, the overwhelming majority of Democrats who support a cease-fire.”

The “uncommitted” delegates also had another demand — for a Palestinian American speaker to be given time to speak on the main stage of the DNC. This demand came after news that the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, were given speaking time. Alaweih said he was supportive of the platform given to Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin but also highlighted the official Democratic Party stance that both Palestine and Israel have the right to security and protection from violence.

“We strongly support them,” Alaweih said. “We also know that (the) Democratic Party platform says that Israeli and Palestinian lives are valued equally by this party. If that is true, then there should be no problem featuring a Palestinian American speaker from the main stage.”

After the third night of the convention, still with no confirmation that a Palestinian American speaker would be allowed to speak, a number of “uncommitted” delegates staged a sit-in outside of the United Center in protest.

Yaz Kader, an “uncommitted” delegate from Washington state, told reporters he felt allowing a Palestinian American to speak was a small ask in the context of the convention as a whole.

“What are we asking for?” Kader said. “We’re not asking for money, I’m not asking for a house, I’m not asking for universal health care. I’m not asking for other things that I want. What I am asking for is five minutes of a Palestinian voice featured in that building tomorrow.”

Kader said in not providing a platform for a Palestinian speaker at the convention, party leadership was suppressing the voices and experiences of people in Gaza. 

“I am here to give every child in Gaza a voice,” Kader said. “The fact that the Democratic Party will not allow that voice in this convention is censorship. They are silencing Palestinians.”

On the last night of the convention, after spending nearly 24 hours outside of the United Center demanding the inclusion of a Palestinian American speaker in the night’s programming, participating “uncommitted” delegates linked arms and walked single file into the United Center, hours before Harris formally accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. The DNC did not allow time for a Palestinian American speaker.

Daily News Editor Mary Corey can be reached at mcorey@umich.edu.

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