On DNC Sidelines, Divisions Over Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Are on Full Display - U.S. News - Haaretz.com
CHICAGO – Democrats' intraparty divide on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the power dynamics and numbers associated with this, were on full display on the sidelines of Democratic National Convention's penultimate day.
Pro-Palestinian lawmakers, delegates and activists gathered in a park near the United Center to explain why they are insisting the Biden administration institute an immediate arms embargo on Israel, a demand that has been central to their efforts at engaging with the official Democratic Party.
Pro-Palestinian protesters march through the streets of Chicago where the DNC is being held in Chicago, Illinois, Monday.Credit: Getty Images via AFP
Pro-Israel supporters demonstrate in Union Park before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, on Monday.Credit: AFP
On the other side of town, dozens of Democratic members of Congress attended a lunch reception organized by the Democratic Majority for Israel, an organization founded squarely to combat the rise of Israel's progressive critics in the party and reinforce its roster of pro-Israel lawmakers.
The splitscreen comes as pro-Palestinian activists are claiming DNC organizers are planning to grant Israeli hostage families speaking time from the main convention stage, while still not hearing back if a Palestinian-American speaker will be afforded a similar opportunity.
"We strongly support that," said Uncommitted movement cofounder Abbas Alawieh. "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."
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Among the speakers at the progressive gathering, organized by the Uncommitted National Movement, include Reps. Ilhan Omar and Cori Bush (who was recently defeated in her Missouri primary after significant spending from pro-Israel Super PACS).
"The pro-genocide lobby spent millions to buy my seat in an attempt to silence my voice. It ain't working, but I will never, never, never stop speaking up for what's right," Bush said. "I will never stop standing up for the dignity and safety of all people."
Omar took specific aim at the Biden administration, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in particular, for prioritizing aimless cease-fire talks rather than taking proactive action through efforts like arms embargoes.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MI) attends the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Monday.Credit: Getty Images via AFP
"Ask yourselves: how does our Secretary of State travel 11 times begging for an end to a situation that we truly have continued to provide the bombs and the weapons that are creating that situation," she said.
"Where is our patriotism? Where is our dignity? How do we allow our Secretary of State to go into Israel to say we are close to securing a cease-fire now for the eleventh time, to leave for Egypt, only for Bibi Netanyahu to have a press conference right after him and say we are not taking a deal that ends this war," she continued. "How are we not ashamed that that is the humiliation that our administration's representatives are faced with?"
"You can throw everything you have at trying to tear down this movement, but I've got news for those genocidal naysayers. You won't stop us," she added.
Joining the Democratic members of Congress included official DNC delegates, union leaders and doctors and humanitarian workers.
Protesters march outside the Israeli consulate during the Democratic National Convention on in Chicago, Illinois, Tuesday.Credit: Getty Images via AFP
Many of these doctors told reporters at McCormick Place, the site of many DNC gatherings, about the horrors they observed while serving in Gaza.
Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care doctor, described caring for children "taking their last, final gasps with no family alive able to comfort them" and the commonality of wounded children arriving alone to hospitals because they have no surviving family.
"The things we were seeing in Gaza were unimaginable. Children do not have access to basic nutrition," said Dr. Tammy Abughnaim, an emergency medicine specialist. "Every single child is in need of psychological care that they are not going to be able to get for a very long time."
For many of these doctors, the trauma they witnessed in Gaza is inseparable from U.S. military assistance to Israel, as well as the Biden administration's continued political support and the seemingly disjointed celebrations throughout Chicago this week.
A delegate wearing a keffiyeh wears a pin reading "not another bomb" on the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday.Credit: AFP
"I cannot tell you how disheartening it is to know as I'm standing in front of a patient pulling shrapnel from my patient's body," said Abughnaim, "that my tax dollars have paid for this."
Dr. Thaer Ahmad, who previously detailed his time working at a Khan Yunis hospital while explaining why he walked out on U.S. President Joe Biden during a White House meeting, pointed to the disconnected nature of the DNC's party vibes.
"There is no music that you can play on the main stage during this convention that's going to make us forget the sounds and the tears of all of the children that we saw laid on the hospital floors," he said.
Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., Tuesday.Credit: Mike Segar/ REUTERS
DMFI and other pro-Israel groups, meanwhile, held their comparably ritzy events showcasing their deep bench of support in the party — including national figures like Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Sen. Ben Cardin (the retiring Jewish pro-Israel stalwart who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee), alongside dozens of lawmakers.
Also present was Wesley Bell, who defeated Bush while being buoyed by millions of dollars in spending from DMFI and AIPAC's United Democracy Project Super PAC. The only Democratic primary in history that was more expensive than the Bell-Bush race was New York's primary battle between Rep. Jamaal Bowman and George Latimer.
Latimer, too, won after millions of dollars spent in his favor. He was also present at the DMFI luncheon.
A counter-protestor shows up at a protest outside the Israeli Consulate while the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, Tuesday.Credit: Getty Images via AFP
Orna Neutra, mother of hosatge Omer Neutra, spoke at the DMFI event: "We've had amazing access to the administration. We feel like we're part of a team, but we're not there yet, and our son is still there. We need to make sure that everyone is doing everything that they can to secure the release of the 8 American hostages."
Gilli Roman, the brother of former hostage Yarden - whose sister-in-law Carmel Gat remains held captive in Gaza - told DMFI that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "delaying and torpedoing" a potential cease-fire and hostage release deal.
The events were held as pro-Palestinian protests throughout Chicago and outside the DNC grow increasingly tense. The National Lawyers Guild Chicago said 72 protesters were arrested outside the Israeli Consulate in Chicago.
Demonstrators clash with police near the Israeli Consulate during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Tuesday.Credit: Noah Berger,AP
"We are appalled to see violence during the protest in front of our offices. This is anything but peaceful and completely contradictory to the spirit of the DNC. This vocal minority does not represent the vast bipartisan majority of Americans who stand strong in support of Israel," said the Israeli Consulate in Chicago.
"It was incredibly heartwarming to see many Americans countering this hate in front of our office, echoing the strong bond between America and Israel," it added.
It further described itself as "beyond disappointed" with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's support for the protest movement — "particularly during the DNC, and his continued disregard for the large pro-Israel and Jewish community in the city."
Protesters have additionally begun to disrupt sideline events, including what is likely the first disruption of a Jewish-organized event that was not explicitly focused on Israel. Protesters disrupted an event organized by Agudath Israel, an Orthodox Jewish organization, focused on the rise of antisemitism and the importance of the religious Jewish vote.
A demonstrator and a counter protester argue near the Israeli Consulate during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Tuesday.Credit: Julio Cortez,AP
Chanting "brick by brick, wall by wall, Zionism has got to fall" and "shame on you," protesters were quickly escorted out by the sizable security presence, and it remains unclear how they discovered the event. The only mention of Israel at the event focused on the horrors of October 7, and Ronen and Orna Neutra recited Psalms 130 to pray for the return of the hostages.
At an official DNC Women's Caucus event across town, protesters from CODEPINK disrupted Minnesota Governor Tim Walz demanding the U.S. institute an arms embargo on Israel, chanting that "Gaza is a feminist issue."