“Not another bomb” rallies in solidarity with the Uncommitted movement called for an arms embargo in dozens of cities across the US the day before the Democratic National Convention. John Arthur Brown/ZUMA Press
The most significant aspect of the press conference held by the Uncommitted Movement on Monday morning at the Democratic National Convention was that it happened at all. Never before has there been an official delegation at the DNC devoted to defending the rights of Palestinians.
Since President Joe Biden stepped aside, Democrats have tried to frame the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris as one of “joy” and “unity.” Despite fears of infighting, the party quickly coalesced around Harris and moved beyond the questions about Biden’s age. But one of the central problems of the primary still looms large: How to handle the war in Gaza.
“Unity is great,” said Uncommitted organizer Natalia Latif. “But that unity can’t come at the cost of Palestinian lives.”
Inside the hall are the thirty uncommitted delegates elected by primary voters in states including Minnesota, Michigan, and Washington. At the Monday press conference, these delegates repeatedly emphasized their main two demands: a permanent ceasefire and an arms embargo against Israel.
They are vastly outnumbered by the more than 4,000 delegates pledged to Harris. But the presence of uncommitted delegates elected by a grassroots movement remains a powerful sign of many Democratic voters’ outrage over Israel’s actions in Gaza and their vote to push for a ceasefire and overall shift in how Democrats work with Israel.
“Unity is great,” said Uncommitted organizer Natalia Latif. “But that unity can’t come at the cost of Palestinian lives.”
The efforts to pressure Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party are split between those within the convention hall and the protesters outside. And not all these groups are in total agreement on every issue, or on methods for pushing Democrats.
Outside the arena, a major protest is scheduled for later on Monday. Protest organizers have said they expect up to 40,000 people to attend. The march is sponsored by a coalition of more than 200 groups including the Arab American Action Network, American Friends Service Committee, and the Democratic Socialists of America, along with the Chicago chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace. Other groups in the march coalition such as the Denver Communists have much smaller national profiles.
Thus far, Harris has not broken from Biden on Gaza, even if she has shown more empathy for suffering Palestinians. But some delegates and other pro-peace activists see her as more persuadable than Biden, whose fervent support for Israel calcified back when he was a senator in the 1980s.
Over the past month, delegates with the Uncommitted movement have been pushing for a speaking slot for Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care doctor who saw the carnage inflicted by the Israeli assault on Gaza while volunteering at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
“I’m hoping to provide moral witness to the delegates of the Democratic National Convention because an end to this military campaign is the only way to preserve human life under the current circumstances,” Haj-Hassan said on an Uncommitted Movement Zoom call on August 1. Thus far, the DNC has not agreed to let Haj-Hassan or Palestinian American elected officials speak from the mainstage of the DNC. Relatives of hostages taken by Hamas during its attack on October 7 have also reportedly not been told whether they will have a speaking slot.
“I think that building bridges is going to be the most effective approach in this specific space.”
“It’s definitely telling that there’s not going to be a Palestinian speaking on the convention stage,” Latif, the Uncommitted organizer, said. The DNC will, for the first time in its history, host an official panel on Palestinian human rights on Monday afternoon.
Sabrene Odeh, a delegate from Washington, said on Friday that those associated wtih the Uncommitted movement will speak to as many fellow Democratic delegates as possible this week to build support for their movement. “A lot of it’s real old school,” said Odeh, who is Palestinian American. “I think most of my days are going to be spent giving my elevator speeches to folks—and I really hope that they care about what’s going on in Gaza.”
Odeh and other uncommitted delegates are trying to build support for a broader ceasefire delegation that includes Harris delegates. “I think that building bridges is going to be the most effective approach in this specific space,” she explained.
To that end, Uncommitted organizers estimated 120 delegates have already pledged to sign a petition calling to make an arms embargo part of the Democratic Party platform this campaign cycle. Organizers plan to send the petition to Harris. The 91-page platform the party unveiled Sunday evening, according to the Washington Post, makes no mention of an arms embargo and is expected to pass as written.
Latif said that Harris delegates who sign on to the “ceasefire” pledge and walk around the convention with “not another bomb” pins and t-shirts will help show Harris and Biden that “even their own delegates are in line with this policy.”
“A ceasefire and an arms embargo is actually in line with what a majority of Democrats want, and our leadership right now is actually out of step with those desires,” Latif said. According to one Data for Progress poll in May, 83 percent of Democratic voters support a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Latif and the Uncommitted Movement believe that a permanent ceasefire can only come about when coupled with an arms embargo.
Uncommitted delegates are clear-eyed about the challenges they face. Harris has served as vice president while Biden has offered Israel almost unconditional support as it wages a war on Gaza that has killed more than 40,000 people. The International Court of Justice has found that Israel’s actions may constitute genocide, and has argued that the country’s conduct in the West Bank and Gaza is equivalent to apartheid. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for crimes against humanity for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with leaders of Hamas for their actions on October 7.
“At the end of the day, what we really want folks to realize is this movement has been pulled together in like six months,” Odeh said. “This is incredibly, incredibly successful—especially for really something that is one issue. We don’t see this happen very often. And so as a Palestinian, I’m just incredibly proud.”