Democratic National Convention officials rejected a request to allow Palestinian Americans to speak from the conference’s main stage. In protest of that decision, a group of “Uncommitted” delegates critical of the party’s stance on the war, staged a sit-in in front of the United Center Wednesday evening as party leaders continued speaking inside.
At an impromptu press conference announcing the protest, Abbas Alawieh, an uncommitted delegate from Michigan and a leader with the Uncommitted movement, phoned the Kamala Harris campaign. “Tell the Vice President that I’m sitting outside, I’m not going anywhere, I hope she changes her mind – the Palestinian children need to be heard,” Alawieh said before hanging up and taking a seat on the pavement.
As the convention’s programming ended late Wednesday evening, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who blasted President Joe Biden’s administration earlier in the day for “refusing to recognize the genocidal war in Gaza,” joined in the sit-in.
DNC organizers did not comment on the record on their decision to exclude Palestinian American speakers from the main stage at the four-day convention.
Delegates with the Uncommitted movement and political leaders, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, had urged DNC officials throughout the convention to include two Palestinian American speakers on the convention’s main stage to address the ongoing war on Gaza.
Earlier this month, they had suggested as a speaker Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care physician who most recently treated patients in Gaza with the nonprofit Medical Aid for Palestinians. Delegates also proposed a number of Palestinian American elected officials to DNC officials. Until Wednesday, Uncommitted members had expressed that negotiations with the DNC had proceeded in good faith.
The DNC scheduled a panel discussion on Palestinian human rights on Monday, but delegates said that discussion was no substitute for their speaker demand. Uncommitted delegates said they were seeking equal treatment and representation at the convention, considering speaker slots had been granted to family members of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.
“This was a simple ask,” said Rima Mohammad, an uncommitted delegate from Michigan whose grandparents survived the 1948 Nakba. “Abbas worked tirelessly for a simple ask – to be heard, to share the stories of the Palestinian people, my people, that are struggling in Gaza, that are struggling in Israel, that are struggling in the West Bank.”
Three miles away from the United Center, a group gathered at Grace Episcopal Church on Wednesday evening for a screening of a Fault Lines documentary following three families in Gaza whose relatives were victims of executions by Israeli forces. Reps. Summer Lee, D-Penn., and Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., gave remarks.
“The reality is that we are on day three of the Democratic National Convention and we have not heard most of the speakers ever talk about the rise of Islamophobia in this country and the world,” Ramirez said. “But we’ve heard the rise of other kinds of hates over and over and over and over.”
Ramirez added that the convention was taking place in the heart of one of the biggest Palestinian populations in the country. Her district is just outside the convention site.
“At the minimum, we should have a Muslim Palestinian leader on that stage for seven or eight minutes. We’ve had families of hostages. We’ve had a number of Jewish leaders. That’s great,” she said. “And we should also have a Palestinian leader.”
“You can’t say you hear me and you see me if you’re unwilling to actually see me and give me a space to be heard,” Ramirez said.
In a Twitter post Wednesday night, Rep. Cori Bush, D-Miss., said the DNC’s decision was “disgraceful.”
“When a majority of voters are demanding a ceasefire & an end to the genocide, it is completely out of touch & disgraceful for the DNC to deny Palestinian Americans a voice at the convention,” Bush wrote. “Michelle Obama implored us all to do something. I’m imploring our party to do better.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also criticized the DNC’s decision, calling on the convention to “change course and affirm our shared humanity.” Ocasio-Cortez also received backlash from other progressive members of the party for her praise of Harris’ apparent push for a ceasefire during her own DNC speech
“Just as we must honor the humanity of hostages, so too must we center the humanity of the 40,000 Palestinians killed under Israeli bombardment,” she wrote. “To deny that story is to participate in the dehumanization of Palestinians.”
The Uncommitted movement emerged as a protest against Biden’s policy on Gaza, including sending unconditional military aid to Israel, when hundreds of thousands of Democratic voters marked “uncommitted” during primary elections. The Biden administration approved a $20 billion weapons package for Israel last week.
As the party coalesced support around Harris in recent months, delegates committed to Harris also joined the Uncommitted movement’s push for a ceasefire and change in Israel policy. At least 200 Harris delegates signed a pledge pushing the administration to secure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Harris has called for a ceasefire and the protection of civilians in Gaza, though it’s not yet clear whether her administration would adopt a policy toward Israel that differs from Biden’s.
Among the Harris delegates opposing U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza were several who unfurled a banner during Biden’s speech on Monday with the message, “Stop Arming Israel.” Other delegates seated around them responded by hitting and blocking them with “We Love Joe” signs and eventually snatched the banner away. Delegate Nadia Ahmad filed a complaint with Chicago Police on Wednesday alleging that she was the victim of simple battery.
At the start of the sit-in, Alawieh said he did not intend to stay overnight and hoped the Harris campaign would call before then.
“As soon as I get a call [from the Vice President] saying they’ll allow a Palestinian American speaker from this stage … then I want to go home,” Alawieh said. “Until then, we’ll be right here — my phone is charged.”