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August 29, 2024
The party may have succeeded in blocking a Palestinian from speaking at the Democratic National Convention, but it can’t stem the tide forever.
Anti-war protesters march near the United Center, where the Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago on August 21, 2024.
(Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Despite months of planning, intensive organizing, and a clear set of demands, the 2024 Democratic National Convention has been an undeniable disappointment for the Uncommitted National Movement. The group’s call for an arms embargo against Israel remains vague at best, and the Democratic Party platform only makes passing reference to Palestinian statehood and the right to dignity and security. Perhaps most irritatingly, the DNC rejected the Uncommitted National Movement’s request to allow Palestinian Americans a mere two-minute speech at the convention.
But not all was a failure. Secured It was the first panel in DNC history to focus on Palestinian human rights, and the call for a speaker brought together a range of interest groups, from labor unions to black and left-wing Jewish groups.
Moreover, the trends revealed by the events in Chicago — both the major setbacks and the small victories — are instructive for those of us looking to the future.
It is important to clarify a few key points about our approach to the Uncommitted movement and the Games.
First, the fight over who would be the speaker at the convention attracted the most attention, but the arms embargo Remaining This is a central demand of the Uncommitted Movement and many Palestinian-American and Arab-American voters. pointed outIt is not reasonable to support a ceasefire while providing the means to set fires. Military support for Israel is arguably the worst thing that could happen, given that the blockade of Gaza illegally blocks food and medicine supplies to civilians. Violate The United States and International Humanitarian Law.
Opposing this influx of weapons is not an outlandish opinion. A June CBS poll found that: Found 61% of all Americans and 77% of Democrats currently oppose military aid to Israel, according to a recent poll. Survey conducted by YouGov and the Middle East Institute This suggests that an arms embargo and permanent ceasefire could galvanize voters in battleground states. It would be wrong to say that such a policy shift would be uncontroversial, but it is clear that a real and growing group of Americans sympathetic to the Palestinian plight exists. And they are becoming organized.
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Second, the request to speak on the convention stage was neither a new nor controversial request. Posted 1 month agoUncommit’s first request was for intensive care physician Dr. Taniya Haj Hassan to give her time; she witnessed Israeli massacres while volunteering at Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Gaza. Eventually, the movement softened its request and asked for a Palestinian-American to be on the shortlist to speak about Palestinian suffering in the war. Despite the symbolic and conservative nature of this request, the Democratic Party still refused. Despite allowing parents of Israeli-American hostages Rachel Goldberg and John Pollin to speak (Uncommit rejected this request), Publicly supported).
So what happens to Uncommitted, Inc., and the Democratic Party?
On the one hand, the DNC’s snub of Uncommitted shows how deep the antipathy toward Palestinians runs among the party’s upper echelons and reflects the Harris campaign’s calculation that antagonizing the movement will come with little or no political cost. Playing by the rules hasn’t worked as some have argued. The cause of Palestinian liberation has more support than ever, yet the Democratic leadership still seems to think it’s 1982. The failure to force change by working “within the system” over the past six months or so will surely add fuel to the fire for those looking for reasons to grow skeptical of electoral politics and the Democratic Party as an instrument of change.
Meanwhile, if Democratic Party leaders were trying to effectively stifle any discussion of Palestine and remove Palestinians themselves from the conversation, they failed. After being denied a speaking opportunity, Uncommitted’s leadership took action, staging a sit-in outside the party conference in the hope of forcing a change of course. Their demand for a speaker garnered support from leaders of various organizations and parties. United Auto Workers We gave each member of the squad a chance to “Bend the Arc.” On the final day of the tournament, Among the relatives Of Israeli hostages.
Support for a two-minute speech does not necessarily equate to support for an arms embargo, but Democrats clearly miscalculated if they assumed that denying Palestinians a fundamental right to express their views would cause no uproar. “Uncommitted,” with its decision to front a capable congressman, Louwa Roman (who, frankly, is a friend of mine), and to deliver a speech centered on the suffering of Palestinians and the need to enforce U.S. laws “friend and foe alike,” showed Democrats not just being strong-minded, but also highly irrational.
These miscalculations have many Comparison At the 1964 Democratic National Convention, the Mississippi Freedom Democrats and their leaders’ appeals for an end to apartheid in the American South fell on deaf ears. Figures like Fannie Lou Hamer tried to force members of the Democratic coalition to decide whether they supported equality or Jim Crow. Similarly, the Uncommitted forced Democrats to face the consequences of their party’s policies on Palestine, Not another bomb Will we fund the murder of civilians or continue to support apartheid in Palestine?
Will that be enough? Of course not, especially given the urgent need to end the genocide now. Will it change the trajectory of this election? We don’t know. But it’s a foundational piece, and a variety of strategies will continue to be employed as we navigate this hostile political climate.
There is a deeper lesson to be learned from the DNC: Whether Democrats like it or not, the movement for Palestine is getting stronger.
Prior to the impromptu sit-in, Ta-Nehisi Coates Moving parts in Vanity Fair He spoke at the Democratic National Convention about his fight for Palestine’s liberation. At the end of the article, Coates paid tribute to Edward Said and wrote, “Palestine Narration Permission It was still under consideration.”
That’s true for Democratic Party leaders, but the bigger picture tells a different story: Palestinians continue to speak out about their suffering and aspirations, no matter how much Democratic Party leaders wish they’d stop, and with each passing day more of the party’s supporters are listening.
It’s not just people like Rashida Tlaib and Luwa Roman anymore. Thousands of Arab Americans are more politically engaged than ever before and organizing around the Palestinian cause. Rhetoric and promises Previous presidents, Republican and Democratic, will not be content with vague references to dignity, security, and Palestinian self-determination in their acceptance speeches. It is time for the Harris-Waltz team, and a future Harris-Waltz administration, to prove that they are different.
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This is not an issue that will go away, even if Harris manages to calm it down in the coming months. Without an internationally coordinated movement for Palestinian self-determination, a ceasefire in Gaza is unlikely to actually become permanent. The enforcement of international law through an arms embargo and substantial sanctions against Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are essential for Palestinian self-determination, but without an internationally coordinated movement for Palestinian self-determination, a ceasefire in Gaza is unlikely to actually become permanent. If the horrific and oppressive occupation of Palestine does not end, this issue will only become an even bigger test of the party’s credibility than it is today. And there will never be any meaningful peace unless there is an end to the apartheid system that oppresses more than 7 million Palestinians and denies millions more the right to visit or return to their homeland.
Equal rights, dignity, self-determination. These are nice-sounding words when you first say them, but they ring hollow when you say them to avoid having to do something. actionAnd Palestinians and their allies of all backgrounds will continue to organize until Palestine is free, and there is nothing the Democratic Party leadership can do about it.
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